****************** NITROGLYCERIN by Gray Chance for >TARGET< ****************** INTRODUCTION: This file was composed in April of 1985, so it is by far the newest, and after you read this you will see that it is by far the safest of all previous nitro files. Hopefully you will learn a little bit about chemistry (although I doubt it) and not just how to blow things up. I myself am not a chemist, and have had no more than high school chemistry. This recipe is a modified form of the one found in the ANARCHISTS COOKBOOK, but much better. It was obtained from a grad student in chemistry at one of top universities (for chemistry at least) in the nation. His name and the university are not mentioned for purposes of privacy. As most people know, nitroglycerin is an extremely powerful explosive, used largely today by industry, and made in huge cement mixers that hold hundreds of gallons. It is not safe to make, and you shouldn't even think of making any unless you plan to use it (and don't make more than you need). I personally do not condone the use of nitroglycerin at all--this file is for informational purposes only. I hope anyone who does make some has had at least some chemistyr and a little bit of brains. The last thing anyone wants to hear is how some 14 year old punk blew himself up trying to make nitro. One last thing. I encourage you to upload this file to other systems, but I insist that my name and club remain. MATERIALS: 1) 70% concentrated nitric acid 2) 98% concentrated sulfuric acid 3) Glycerin 4) Baking soda 5) A *GOOD* thermometer and glassware (beakers, glass rod-stirring device, test tubes, eyedropper, whatever--must be all glass materials though. Acid eats everything else. Also, whatever you use to hold your solutions should have as thin a glass wall as possible--to diffuse heat faster.) 6) Very large ice-bath 7) Gloves, Goggles, etc. 8) Blue litmus paper 9) Kitchen sink OBTAINING MATERIALS: Nitric acid can be bought for about $19+ per gallon (it's cheaper to buy in this quantity). You need to be 21, but some chemical places don't card. Sulfuric acid can be bought the same way, at $14+ per gallon. Glycerin can be bought at any drug store. You won't need half as much glycerin as acid. The actual quantity and ratio varies--and is really unimportant in this recipe. The thermometer and glassware, etc., can be bought by anyone, but it's cheaper to 'borrow' from chem lab. If you have to buy, there should be a place near any college campus that sells the stuff. THE REACTION: H ! H-C-O-NO2 ! H-C-O-NO2 ===========> N2 + CO2 + O2 + H2O ! H-C-O-NO2 ! H PROCEDURE: 1) Mix by volume 3 parts sulfuric acid with 1 part nitric. Add the sulfuric to the nitric *NOT* vice versa (you never add water to acid because it splatters, and the nitric is 30% water). Your beaker/test tube should be contained in the ice bath because this solution is gets *HOT*--but isn't dangerous, yet. Stir a little bit, but don't put your face right over it (vapors). Wait til it cools to 0-5 degrees centigrade. You'll need to rig some kind of contraption, if you don't have the proper lab equipment, in order to keep the thermometer from touching the edge of the beaker/test tube--an accurate reading is *VERY* important. 2) Once the acids are cool enough you can start adding glycerin. While stirring constantly, use the eyedropper and add about 5 drops. If the heat doesn't rise, add 8 drops, and see what happens. Keep adding larger amounts until the temperature rises. Once it does, wait (don't stop stirring til at least 30 seconds after adding glycerin) for the temperature to drop back down to 0-5 degreees centigrade. DON'T EVER LET THE TEMPERATURE GET ABOVE 30 DEGREES CENTIGRADE--If you do, you lose. It might not blow up, but it will decompose, and you'll get nothing but garbage (the person who designed this recipe has had it go as high as 40 and not explode). To be safe, keep it below 20 degrees centigrade, and if it gets above that, dump the whole thing in the ice bath (there better be plenty of ice too, cause sulfur and water react, and you need plenty of ioce to keep that reaction cool). The nitroglycerin reaction is done when the glycerin you add no longer affects the temperature. 3) The nitroglycerin is slowly decomposing at this point, so you want to work fast here. The sulfuric has only been a catalyst for the reaction and needs to be washed out. Fill a container 10x the volume of your solution with ice water (again, ice is important cause sulfur and water react giving off enough heat to set off the nitro) and add your solution to it. Stir thoroughly (nitro and water don't mix). Let the nitro seperate (it will settle to the bottom) and pour off the water (acids and all) down the drain. Put your saolution under the tap and add more water. Stir again and let settle (settling can be helped by adding a little of ordinary dishsoap--like half a drop). Pour off again. Repeat the process 3 or 4 times. Make sure *ALL* the water is poured off (to get the last little bit, try dragging paper towells across the top). Take the blue litmus paper and test the nitro. If it stays blue, everything is fine. If it turns red, wash your solution a few more times. 4) After the solution is 'clean', wash with a baking soda solution (1 tsp./ quart of water). Follow the same steps outlined above, but only wash once. Pour your final solution into a glass bottle. Put in the fridge. CAUTIONS: First of all, stor nitroglycerin in a cool place--like the fridge (or try the freezer. I don' If you touch some you'll get the headache of your life that will last up to 12 hours. DETONATION: What you wil probably want to try as soon as you make nitroglycerin is a simple little experiment to prove to yourself it works. Put *ONE* drop on a paper towell and strike with a hammer. Nitro, in this form, is not all that easy to blow up. Throwing a bottle of the stuff at a wall or dropping it off a five story building will do nothing more than break the bottle. The best way to detonate nitroglycerin is with a wax coated firecracker taped on the inside of your container. VARIATIONS: Putty- Mix your final solution with sawdust or diatomacious earth (which you can get at pool stores) to the consistency of silly putty. All this does is make your nitro easier to work with. Flash Paper- This is a little more difficult to make, a little safer, and maybe more fun. Instead of adding glycerin to your acids in step 2, use gun cotton (*REAL* cotton). You don't have to watch the temperature either. Just toss a bunch of cotton in and let it soak up your solution (don't be stupid though--add them slowly the first time). You don't need to be in as much of a rush either because it doesn't decompose as fast. You're nitrating the cotton, so let it sit a couple hours in the mix. Then pour off all the acid and wash in water (the same way you wash regular nitro), then after it's fairly clean you can pull out the cotton and wash by hand--*VERY WELL*. Let the cotton dry out, then put a piece in a jar with a very small amount of acitone (which you can purchase at any hardware store and is perfectly safe). The cotton will dissolve like cotton candy in water. Any cotton left in the jar should be taken out. Now let the acitone evaporate. There will be a small plastic-like film at the bottom of the jar. You can light this stuff like flash paper. Jelly- If you are brave you can dissolve the 'flash paper' in nitro and get a jelly like substance that is quite powerful and easier to work with. Use very little nitro and a lot of 'flash paper' (you'll have to experiment to find what works best for the consistency you want. LAST WORD: By all means--*DON'T BE STUPID!* X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm) & the Temple of the Screaming Electron Jeff Hunter 510-935-5845 The Salted Slug Strange 408-454-9368 Burn This Flag Zardoz 408-363-9766 realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510-527-1662 Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 415-583-4102 Tomorrow's 0rder of Magnitude Finger_Man 415-961-9315 My Dog Bit Jesus Suzanne D'Fault 510-658-8078 New Dork Sublime Demented Pimiento 415-566-0126 Specializing in conversations, obscure information, high explosives, arcane knowledge, political extremism, diverse sexuality, insane speculation, and wild rumours. ALL-TEXT BBS SYSTEMS. Full access for first-time callers. We don't want to know who you are, where you live, or what your phone number is. We are not Big Brother. 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