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- FZFF05
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- X X
- X X
- X FOLO ZONE FUN FILES X
- X X
- X FILE "5" -- SILVER ACETYLIDE X
- X X
- X H I G H * E X P L O S I V E X
- X X
- X by X
- X Z. DeBuggah of the Folo Zone Gang. X
- X X
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-
- A L E R T:-
-
- My alert to you this time is in the form of a tale I often tell.
-
- From my years at East Des Moines High, I have a friend and fellow member
- of the LEE TOWNSHIP ROCKET SOCIETY, who once acquired fame and even a picture
- on News At Ten by launching a three stage rocket from an East Des Moines City
- park. His name was John Hill, and he was one of our very best rocket engi-
- neers. Rockets crafted by his hands matched the workings of the best of us.
- He did in fact safely soft land stages One and Two right where he wanted them,
- with parachutes. The only problem was that the timing fuse between stages Two
- and Three was slower than expected, and so the third stage didn't interstage
- until the second two stages had entered turnover at the peak of its trajectory
- and so stage Three took off horizontally Westward across the Des Moines River.
- He couldn't find the third stage until he saw on the Ten O'Clock News (KEZI
- Channel 9.) that it had Crash Landed on a Police Car over by Drake University.
- We'd all seen it, but John called the Police right away and said he wanted his
- rocket back. He did get it; but he also got a $5.00 fine as well as a duely
- Authorized permit for the LTRS and a request from the Judge for an invitation
- to our next Official Club Launching. [He came too.]
-
- Now that intro was so you won't be surprised to know that when Doug Seeley
- found the recipe for SILVER ACETYLIDE in the library, John Hill went directly
- into Mass Production. He is the source of my information on the properties of
- this enticing chemical, <except for how to make it which I got from Doug>.
- John Hill is also the only one of us that ever screwed up with Silver Acetylide,
- and he missed six weeks of our senior year <He was blind for 4 of them> so that
- we could know some of what we know about it. So:-
-
- P R O P E R T I E S O F S I L V E R A C E T Y L I D E : -
-
- IT EXPLODES WHEN YOU:-
- Hit it.
- Heat it.
- Grind it.
- Pack it.
- Shake it.
- Drop it.
-
- WHEN IT DETONATES:-
-
- It disperses a high velocity powder of molecular silver and of amorphous
- carbon, (both black) which can cause blindness (possibly permanent) unless you
- take proper precautions. <See File Header above.> It can fillet open your
- skin and deposit Silver Poisoning directly into your bloodstream if it detonates
- too close to unprotected skin.
-
- BEST POTENTIAL USE:-
-
- Silver acetylide should be properly classed as a detonator type of explo-
- sive. Its explosive strength is concentrated near the material itself only.
- We used to use it to open the nose-cones of our rockets because we knew it
- would not tear the parachute through a cotton ball. We also used it to ignite the
- dispersing charge explosive in a fireworks cluster in the nose cone of a sky
- rocket for the 4th of July.
-
- Silver Acetylide is only a little less touchy than fulminate of mercury
- but is very MUCH LESS POISONOUS. Its raw materials are readily obtainable, and
- can be stored safely for long periods of time. Ag2C2 can also be detonated by
- fire without compression, allowing for lighter weight construction.
-
- ESSENTIAL PRECAUTIONS:-
-
- Make and especially store only small amounts of Silver Acetylide. 1/4 oz.
- (7 g.) or less at a time. Each 1/4 oz. container must be at least 8" through
- styrofoam or 6" through shredded wood from the next nearest container of it.
-
- Use it fresh. Do not store it for more than a few days because of the
- risk of accidental detonation. If you make too much for a foreseeable need,
- detonate the excess when you are through.
-
- YOU WILL NEED :-
-
- An acetylene source; a tank such as on a welders torch, or the Acetylene
- Generator or bags of acetylene filled by the Generator (As shown in the file
- FZFF03; Acetylene Gas.).
-
- A glass or ceramic container of about 250-400 ml capacity (1-2 cups).
-
- Silver Nitrate (Technical grade is sufficient). Obtainable form VW&R,
- American Scientific or other lab supply house. Better grades can cost around
- $90/qtr. lb.(4 oz. = 113 g.).
-
- Distilled Water (or any very low chloride water like rainwater and some
- well, lake, or stream waters. Snow melt is excellent, but can be scarce in
- some parts of the country.)
-
- Clear aqueous ammonia solution. Very little is needed.
-
- Filter paper and a filter funnel. Use a fine filter paper.
-
- CHEMISTRY:-
- NH3
- 2 AgNO3 + C2H2 ----------> 2 HNO3 + Ag2C2
- Ammonia Cat.
- Silver Acetylene Nitric Silver
- Nitrate Acid Acetylide
-
- THE SETUP/ASSEMBLY:-
-
- Put 150-200 ml of distilled water into the REACTION BEAKER. Then add up
- to two ounces (56 g.) [a rounded TEASPOONFUL] of Silver Nitrate Crystals. Stir
- the Reaction Beaker with a plastic, glass or wood rod <NO METAL> until all the
- crystals have dissolved. Then stir in 5-10 ml (1-2 teaspoonsfull) of clear
- ammonia solution
-
- THE REACTION:-
-
- Now from whatever source of acetylene you have <tank, bag or Generator>
- put the outlet tube to the bottom of the Reaction Beaker with the NH3/AgNO3
- solution and begin bubbling acetylene gently through it. Before long, the REACTION
- SOLUTION will turn milky and then white curds will form at the bottom of the
- beaker.
-
- The reaction is complete when the water begins to clear a bit. The END
- OF REACTION TEST is to stop the bubbling long enough to let the water over the
- precipitated Silver Acetylide to become clear, then take a drop of the clear
- liquid and drop it on a few grains of salt on a dark colored plate. If the
- drop stays clear the reaction is complete. If the drop turns milky around the
- salt grains, resume bubbling the acetylene, as there is still unreacted silver
- in the Reaction Solution.
-
-
- COLLECTION/PURIFICATION:-
-
- When the Reaction Solution tests COMPLETE, filter the white Silver
- Acetylide (powdery curdlets) onto filter paper in the filter funnel. Rinse the
- precipitate on the paper with distilled water with a few drops of clear ammonia
- per cup of water. An ounce or so of rinse water dripped slowly over all of the
- precipitate in the funnel is sufficient.
-
- DRYING:-
-
- After rinsing, AIR DRY the filter papers. Remove the filter paper with
- the Silver Acetylide from the funnel and open it carefully to keep all the Ag2C2
- on top of the filter paper. Place the filter paper on a mat of paper towels or
- news paper, indoors in a protected area. Let it dry undisturbed, which will
- take time varying inversely with the relative humidity. <<DO NOT HEAT AT
- ALL>> or you are likely to lose the whole batch in one loud black >BANG<.
-
- STORAGE:-
-
- When the filter papers have dried, gently scrape all of the Ag2C2 cake
- loose from and into the center of the piece of filter paper with a spatula or
- a dull (as in butter) knife. Gently chop (spatula or butter knife) the cake
- into grains or powder (depending on your patience level) being careful not to chop
- through the filter paper, or spill it. <DO NOT GRIND OR CRUSH WITH FORCE>,
- that's how John Hill got his; trying to crush the Ag2C2 in a mortar and
- pestile. When you have it ready, fold some envelopes of fresh filter paper,
- and put about 1/4 oz. (7 g.) in each. Fold them closed and put each one
- separately into stamp/coin collector sized zip-loc bags or glassine paper
- envelopes. Store the envelopes in a box of plastic pop-corn or shredded wood
- or paper with 6-8" spaces between envelopes
-
- Use the Ag2C2 fresh. It is not a safe thing to have lying around.
-
- USING Ag2C2:-
-
- If you've gotten this far, you'll have your own use for it. Except for
- holiday celebration amusement, I've given you my uses for it above.
-
-
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