I was wondering if you have any experience with CuSO4. They say it gives a nice blue collor to fireworks. Is it true.

LP Aspirin

actualy in my post #111, I forgot to mention Copper Chlorate, that DOES work quite well, but again it`s important to keep it dry!

it`s not too difficult to make either, just time consuming.

 

you`ll need to dissolve some KClO3 in methylated spirits using heat (try to avoid setting yourself on fire!

then add finely powdered CuSO4 and mix well and re-heat.

ther`e will be a precipitate of potassium sulphate and a near flourescent green liquid.

remove the liquid and allow to dry thouroughly, that`s your Copper Chlorate

Would Mg + KNO3 perform well in Salutes and other pyro stuff.

 

LP

if powdered to a fine enough mesh, sure it will

you can burn pine cones...that makes good charcoal...

Rose wood cutting or Willow are good too (and you`ll get them this time of year as now is the time to prune them).

 

wrap them up in tinfoil, pop a few tiny holes in it with a nail and throw it in a fire, it makes great charcoal (even for art work), although lumpwood BBQ charcoal does work very well if you sellect the largest but lightest peices

does anybody know what uses Pentaerythritol C(CH2OH)4 has in pyrotechnics? theres 1kg for sale on ebay and im wondering if i should add it to my collection of chemicals...

not much in use for Pyro, it`s a Hydrocarbon, and if you don`t want to attract alot of unwanted attn from the police, I wouldn`t bother even looking at it, nevermind trying to purchase it!

ay, that's the stuff you nitrate and make high explosives with. you dont want it, as it will be intercepted by the police and you will be closely monitored for life

yeah. the ATF will be at your doorstep asking you questions about who your enemies are and such.

It makes me sad how the US is so afraid of terrorists, and yet one could get hold of components for high explosive material WAY more easily there than in Europe, especially Finland. :< Not that I would want any high explosive material components, though.

i want a $150k grant to start a lab in, say, siberia...

Can I move next door? Soon Siberia will be full of mad scientists! Mwahaha.

 

No, really, it would be nice to have a couple of km^2 of forest as a "testing ground", though.

haha we should all move to siberia, the collective lot of us. all we'd need is money:\

and we'd need to stay away from those uranium mines that random campers come upon and die in 10 minutes later

I'm in!

it would be nice to live in such times where such considerations don`t apply (they hadn`t used to apply in any country once), I rem being able to buy much of the chems talked about here as a kid, but now, due to fears rational or otherwise even simple things are being banned

and sadly us majority of good scientists/experimenteers must suffer because of a few idiots, it`s not right I agree, and moving country isn`t the answer, having alot of money most probably is though. it seems the "rich" can still get away with things that we can only dream about of do ilegaly because "THEY" say it`s ilegal

 

kinda sux huh!

 

<end rant mode>

i'll guarantee that bush set off a couple illegal fireworks over the 4th...he's a good ol' boy, he had to of.

that has been a dream of mine for a long time... to move to some other country and buy a bunch of land for cheap and do what ever the hell i want. So what countries have cheap land and no "big brother" type restrictions? Canada maybe? I live in the US so Canada would be an easy move, i dont know about Mexico, even though its just 40 minutes south of my house on the freeway. Been arrested there too many times already.

so back to pyro stuff... what other oxidizers can be used in pyrochem besides the common nitrates, chlorates, and perchlorates?

peroxides(dangerous), permanganates(very reactive with water), dichromates, bromates, sulfides, iodides, trioxides, oxides, dioxides, hypochlorates, hypochlorides.....there are plenty to choose from. i think thats all of them, but i could be missing a few.

oops, i think carbonates and acetates can also be considered. or are carbonates bases?

permanganates arent reactive with water...

good oxidizers are things whose cation is easily reducible, so:

permanganates

perhalates

halates

nitrates

osmium tetraoxide

 

halites and hypohalites arent good oxidizers, nor are oxides, chromates, sulfates, dichromates, phosphates, sulfites, thiosulfates, phosphites, carbonates, acetates and a bunch of others

but they are oxidizers. and a lot of permanganate mixtures react with moisture. mainly potassium permanganate. add to that 25% powdered sugar and 25% aluminum dust and pour water on it, and then tell me that it doesnt react with water.

so of all the (solid) oxidizers, which ones are actually useful in pyrotechnics or rocket fuels?

The only ones i know of are KNO3, KClO(3,4), NH4NO3, and what was the one the space shuttle boosters use? NH4ClO4?

add to that 25% powdered sugar and 25% aluminum dust and pour water on it, and then tell me that it doesnt react with water.

um, that's the aluminum dust and sugar being oxidized, not the permanganate reacting with water.

 

useful oxidizers for pyrotechnics/rocket fuels:

potassium nitrate

potassium chlorate

potassium perchlorate

ammonium nitrate

ammonium perchlorate

hydrogen peroxide

barium nitrate

barium sulfate (at high temperatures)

iron oxide [math](Fe_2O_3 and Fe_3O_4)[/math](at high temperatures)

potassium permanganate (but it's not so good in fireworks)

 

really, just about all alkali/alkaline earth halates, perhalates and nitrates work well

are there any other liquid or gasous oxidizers besides O2 and N2O?