DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME : Our text files and message bases are for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. DO NOT undertake any project based upon any information obtained from this or any other web site.We are not responsible for, nor do we assume any liability for, damages resulting from the use of any information on this site.
(82 votes) Published: Nov 24, 2007 12:20 a.m. In 4 Favorites Lists Viewed 524 times
I posted a joke egg not too long ago about an "easy firecracker" posted here: http://www.rotteneggs.com/r3/show/se/333122.html . If you took me seriously then you’re an idiot, for example I suggested to use lead azide which is so unstable if you dropped it 6 inches it would combust- basically it’s more sensitive than nitroglycerin. It was all fun and games till it actually got accepted into the egg directory, tisk tisk. So in order to save some lives here I’ll tell you the real way to make flash powder using the safest method possible, enjoy:
Flash Powder
If those words do not strike fear into you then you shouldn’t be reading this guide. This will be the definitive guide to flash powder, it will contain as much information on FP as possible and where available will be updated accordingly.
Flash powder (as you can guess by the name) is an incredibly quick burning powder which produces a bright flash when burnt. If confined it will produce a loud report and shatter the tubing- everyone should know this. However, what most people do is underestimate the true dangers of flash powder and do not understand basic concepts of flash powder, yet still attempt to make it.
You will, in most cases, not have a severe accident when making flash powder even though it is highly dangerous. Of course, this is subject to whether the appropriate safety precautions have been taken. Flash powder in small amounts can still be incredibly powerful, for example 0.050g of flash is used in a single firecracker yet it is still able to produce a report, why? Because flash powder is that dangerous. I will be showing you how to make flash powder, however I will be showing you the safest and most accepted method of doing so.
First off you need a metallic fuel, in flash powder the fuel normally is normally aluminium in a flake form. Some variations of flash powder which are considered obsolete now used sulphur and other non-metallic fuels to aid combustion, however this is unadvised. Why? Because oxidisers such as potassium perchlorate sometimes contain contaminants such as potassium chlorate, if you knew your basic pyro safety then you’d know that potassium chlorate is known to combust spontaneously with sulphuric acid (a common contaminant of sulphur, especially flowers of sulphur). In summary, avoid using sulphur in your flash compositions.
The fuel I’m using is magnalium. Magnalium is an alloy of magnesium and aluminium in a 50:50 ratio, once it has been alloyed together it becomes brittle and easy to crush into a fine powder which is why it is popular among pyro enthusiasts. It is an incredibly powerful and bright fuel which you shouldn’t underestimate. Although, because it is alloyed together it means that magnalium shares the same properties as each other, the same dangerous properties as each other. So we have to observe a few things when we work with magnalium: for example not mixing it with nitrates because of aluminium’s tendency to spontaneously react with nitrates. This means do not mix it with potassium/sodium/ammonium nitrate.
The mesh of magnalium I’m using is +300, this is sufficient for magnalium due to the fact that it is so energetic. If you use aluminium you’d need +600 flake for it to work in flash. Many people have asked whether they can make fine mesh aluminium using foil and I can answer that question: yes! But is it easy? NO! Making flake aluminium requires a heavy duty ball mill and a special type of animal fat- don’t ask me the name of it because I’ve forgotten.
So, in this demonstration I’m making 2g of flash powder, this is more than sufficient for my uses. Normally the ratio I’d mix it in would be 2.5:6 fuel:oxidiser so as I’m making 2g I simply double up. I need 0.5g of magnalium.
To avoid contamination is almost life saving, remember that every chemical should be far from each other and have their own scoops, in my case I label my scoops with what chemicals they have been in:
Next you need an oxidising agent, in this case the only recommended oxidiser would be potassium perchlorate. However it still is highly dangerous, it supposedly causes burning of the skin and all sorts of damage, so use latex gloves and goggles when handling potassium perchlorate. Do NOT use nitrate unless you have boric acid, potassium nitrate reacts spontaneously with aluminium, the only way to prevent this is by using a 5% additive of boric acid. No one here has boric acid so just don’t bother with nitrate based flash mixes. I’m measuring out 1.4g of it. Make sure you use a clean sheet of paper on your scales.
Now because potassium perchlorate is slightly hygroscopic you will need to pre-crush and loosen up the crystals so it can be properly mixed with the fuel, place it on a sheet of paper, place a sheet of plastic on top and roll gently over it with a piece of dowel. Center it in the paper again by raising the edges and repeat 2-3 times.
Here is where it gets dangerous; you now need heavy duty gloves and a full face mask to do this part: Mixing the fuel and oxidiser. You need to first lay the magnalium to the side of the potassium perchlorate, raise one edge of the paper so you fold the magnalium over the perchlorate, do the same with the other side. Keep folding the powder over its self until the mixture is homogenous, this should take a minimum of 5 minutes. If you have it available then you should discharge the area around you with anti-static spray, why? Because in a test conducted by UKPS they discharged static electricity into various pyrotechnical powders, flash powder being one of them. Out of 25 discharges the flash powder ignited 21 times, scary? Very.
Now you have mixed flash powder, use this ASAP, for this demonstration I did not use real potassium perchlorate, I used table salt, the last thing I want to do is hold an electronic device above this devil powder. Yes, it’s that dangerous.
Nov 24, 2007 3:15 am - perclorat is safe when mixed with aluminium % sulfer
but if u put magnesium in it
it becomes unstable.
i like to make my crackers ahead of time
& set them off an inapropreate time
of my choseing, & not have them explode in my face.
Nov 24, 2007 3:37 am - magnesium is incompatebal with allmoast all other
metals besides aluminium
i have put mag powder in a whistel rocket
but i would not sugest to anyone else
to use it it flash
Edit Page
Message Mr_Black
Add Comment
Add to Favorites
Email to Friend
