Can you identify this explosive??

[Red Beret]

On mythbusters, they were testing the exploding pants myth which originated in New Zealand in the 1930's. They eventually settled on potassium chlorate being responsible for the myth.

Thats beside the point, afterwards they wanted to detonate the pants on buster. The FBI explosives expert used a "special purpose" explosive that was silver and liquid. I assume the silver was aluminium powder, but what was the explosive? It really did detonate, maybe it was aluminised PETN with a solvent? They painted it on the overalls and let it dry before detonating. It wasn't a terribly thick coat of the explosive paint either

It was really cool and I would like to try and make some. Does anyone know what it was? The only thing I can really think of is the PETN based type. Some other things might have trouble detonating due to critical diameter and such. Except RDX and the like.

Thanks.

[Bugger]

Actually it was sodium chlorate. It was still being used an an herbicide to kill grassy weeds as late as the 1950s and 1960s, as I recall, applied as both the straight powder and in solution as a spray (although it is not very soluble). It was used extensively in this part of New Zealand to kill kikuyu, a highly invasive bright-green creeping grass with underground rhizomes (like Australian buffalo grass and carpet grass, but much worse) imported from southern Africa as stock food, although it was since found that its nutritional value is poor compared to other grasses.

[Jacks Complete]

AFAIK, Sodium Chlorate weedkiller is still freely (well, ok, you shouldn't shoplift - YMMV) available in the UK from garden centers. I use it on my front garden as a cheap and fairly effective, if not ever-lasting, path clearing agent.

[Red Beret]

Yeah sorry, it was the sodium salt. It's funny, sodium chlorate has never been available easily in recent memory, not in Oz anyhow. Its so fucked here, you can't have AN but you can store less than 7 litres of chloropicrin without a permit, no shit!! Farmers use it to gas rabbits.

What if some nut explodes a gas truck in front of a packed building, what will they do? Ban gas trucks of course!!...dunno why but this place really shits me.

[Lewis]

Bugger: He was asking what explosive myth busters used for the finale, after they were done screwing around with sodium chlorate.

I wondered this myself. Aluminum is a likely candidate for the silver colour now that I think about it. My first thought was that it was some silver compound, but that's doubtful.

[wymanthescienceman]

I too would like to know what that compound is that they were using. The referred to it as "Magic Silver" and it has a detonation velocity of over 21,000fps (6400m/s). I ruled out that it must not have been NG for obvious reasons, they only had gloves for protection and I'd imagine they'd have had very bad headaches soon after. Plus they were applying it to the overalls with hands and a broom head. It could have been heavily desensitized, that may also drop the VOD of NG from 7700m/s. I really have no idea and it really got me intrigued. I agree that the silver has to be from bright flake Al as it is super bright silver, like silver paint. I was thinking it could also be MEKP, as that is the only other liquid explosive I can think of right now, though it would stink to high heaven. I really want to know what this stuff is, it could have many potential uses. I have done numerous Googles to no avail.

[Cobalt.45]

How about nitrocellulose lacquer/Al applied with a paint brush or broom head?

[Lewis]

How about nitrocellulose lacquer/Al applied with a paint brush or broom head?

If you'd seen the episode you'd know that it was no NC lacquer. They painted a thin layer on the test dummy's overalls and it blew him into like 15 pieces over a 20 meter radius.

[Red Beret]

Yes it was VERY powerful stuff thats why I thought it was PETN based.