From: James Rogers (jamesr@best.com)
Date: Fri Aug 03 2001 - 00:09:32 MDT
On 8/1/01 2:44 AM, "Eugene Leitl" <Eugene.Leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de> wrote:
>> of common items or organic peroxides (too unusual), both of which
>
> Organic peroxides (acetone peroxide) can be remarkably nasty, especially
> since they tend to detonate spontaneously at little or no provocation.
> Also, they're frequently volatile, allowing you to identify them via GC/MS
> route, if improperly packaged.
There are several known organic peroxide explosives that are pretty stable,
most of the stable ones being relatively complex compounds. Acetone
peroxide is well-known for a DIY primary, but not exactly the poster child
for quality explosives work. If I was going to use a peroxide
primary/detonator, I'd be using HMTD instead. (HMTD is the only organic
peroxide that I know of that was sufficiently non-reactive and interesting
that it has seen commercial application. It is a superb primary for
applications that require highly optimal detonator performance. The funny
thing is, that the ingredients for HMTD are so innocuous that you really
*can* buy them at the store.) Of course, one of the practical problems with
organic peroxides is they tend to react with the things they are in contact
with, which generally neutralizes the explosive properties in surprisingly
short order. Organic peroxides can be used effectively, but they take a
real chemistry pro to do right.
>> well-known. And then there are metal catalyzed liquid explosives (add
>> a specific metal to a specific organic liquid and watch the organic
>
> I guess sodium or potassium with tetrachlorcarbon would do. Or have you
> something more arcane in mind? Inquiring minds want to know...
Actually, akali metals have explosive reactions with a broad range of simple
hydrocarbon halides, with differing primary and secondary effects depending
on the compound used. Virtually all methyl halides work quite well. These
are the easiest and most reliable ones I know; for some other metals, the
results are often less predictable.
In organo-metallic compound synthesis, it is generally a bad idea to
blithely use elemental metals unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Some reactions are specific to a single kind of elemental metal, others to a
number of elemental metals. All the usual culprits that are commonly used
for catalytic work are likely candidates (e.g. mercury and copper).
Sometimes the bad reaction only occurs if the reagent falls outside certain
narrow temperature guidelines (this happens in general organic chemistry as
well -- a minor change in reaction temperature can send you down a
different, possibly less pleasant, pathway). I know of a couple specific
examples for non-alkali metals, but a competent googlist could track down
the details. Metal-organic explosive reactions are admittedly something I
am only weakly acquainted with.
And then there are the metal-metal explosives, some of which have seen
commercial application. There is no gas generated, but the energy release
is phenomenal and the nature of it gives the explosion special properties.
The problem with these is that it usually takes a substantially electrical
kick to get things rolling, and the most favored metal combinations are
often quite expensive.
-James Rogers
jamesr@best.com
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