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Why is it that Chemistry forums are obsessed with explosives?


SurfSciGuy

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It does worry me somewhat that loads of little kids out there are making black powder and blowing their fingers off, but hey!

It's probably for the best. Fingers tend to get children into all kinds of trouble.

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remember that thread about what you'd have for lunch with ppl.... ill go and find it, there were lots of:

 

"maybe francium mixed with some cesium, in a sodium dressing, on a mercury base! in a room full of some flammable gas!" type things in it!

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  • 2 weeks later...

ahhh, cesium the great....thats the most i'd play around with...and play is not to be taken literally. potassium makes a great reaction, sodium is falsely regarded as a big reactor, even though it just fizzles. potassium in distilled water, plentifull reaction for any science class....the students can just guess what Fr or rubidium can do...

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see, shows how much i know....i've never messed around with or even seen rubidium or Fr. the only reason i saw a cesium reaction is because i walked in on a lab where the professor was talking about the alkali metals. he said...."cesium, unlike sodium, cesium creates a very ciolent reaction, not to say sodium isnt violent, its a mere fizzle compared with this element....POW" "what can we deduce from this" lol

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nice...well, considering your average high school misfit looking to blow something up isnt going to be able to get cesium without a lot of research and effort...i'd say the worry is minimal. getting back on topic, i think its the fact that people like to make something out of nothing, and to take household chemicals(saltpeter, sugar, sulfur) and make them react in such a way that they instantly react with fire, thats cool. people like that. and the fact that anything like that has an application as a propellent, thats a lot cooler, light has another factor, and smoke too. people just naturally love explosions, as long as they're controlled...some people are moronic with the information, they are the ones you see on the news without an arm or a life....like that guy from VT on the fourth of july, homemade cannon+several ounces of BP+a case of beer=not a very good result. especially when the cannon is made of stainless steel, and acts as a frag grenade...

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yeah, there`s always some bozo that`ll pi$$ on everyones BBQ :(

 

that aside, Dramatic effects are always quite impressive (we wouldn`t bother with Fireworks at parties otherwise) and so it`s only natural to wonder what makes them work, and I can do the same thing myself?

 

Human Nature, you`ve just GOTTA LOVE IT :)

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hey, im going into junior year of high school :D

 

cesium chloride can be found online for moderately low prices. melt it with a blowtorch and connect a car battery to it and molten balls of cesium metal will fly out. only problem is they oxidize incredibly quickly so you may not be able to pick them up and throw them into motor oil first.

 

come to think of it, if you did it in a helium atmosphere you'd be set.

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Anyone could easily produce TNT? I don't know about the easy part. Doesn't it involve nitric and sulfuric acid and sodium bisulfate and all sorts of... things? Talking about explosives, anyone ever tried making nitrogen tri-iodide? I sure haven't... But I'm going to make some the second I get my hands on some NH3 and iodine crystals. :)

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Anyone could easily produce TNT? I don't know about the easy part. Doesn't it involve nitric and sulfuric acid and sodium bisulfate and all sorts of... things? Talking about explosives, anyone ever tried making nitrogen tri-iodide? I sure haven't... But I'm going to make some the second I get my hands on some NH3 and iodine crystals. :)

tnt isn't so hard, but instead of going the extra step and removing the hydroxyl group and adding the methyl group, i'd just keep the hydroxyl group. you need aspirin, nitric and sulfuric to produce it (sulfuric catalyzes most nitration reactions and nitric of course provides the nitrate). i've never tried making nitrogen triiodide, but i know somebody who has made the trichloride, tribromide and triiodide, and i will be producing the triiodide as soon as i stop being lazy and get my tincture of iodine. your iodine crystals surely won't be pure i take it, right?

 

nitroglycerine....yeah, i think i'll stay clear of that crap. heh. not exactly a safe explosive. just dont drop it!!!! :)

nitroglycerin wasn't mentioned above:\

actually, i heard that the peroxide of 2 propanone was about as explosive as ng. is that true?

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