Subject: Acetone Peroxide - sulfuric acid primary explosive
Date: 29 Aug 93 06:44:40 GMT

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for your actions!
(Taking responsibility for my own is enough trouble.)

Acetone Peroxide

from the BlackBook vol. 3 sec. I no. 26
The BlackBook is a book which our government was nice enough to
print for our Special Forces in Vietnam. It describes in detail how
to wreak havoc with ordinary materials.

You need: acetone (hardware, paint store)
          hydrogen peroxide (hair bleach type - 15 volume or 
                             higher - hair/cosmetics store)
          sulfuric acid (concentrated; if you use battery acid,
                         boil until white fumes appear to remove
                         all of the water)

You also need a thermometer, ice, salt, and containers.

Procedure:

Mix 30 milliliters of acetone and 50 millileters of hydrogen
peroxide into a glass container and mix thoroughly.

The container must now be put into ice/salt water and cooled to
below 5 degrees Celsius. The easiest way to do this: take a coffee
can, put in water and salt to about half full, put container
(empty) into can, put plastic lid on can to keep container from
floating, put can in freezer, when water is frozen, take out,
remove lid, proceed. This will provide excellent cooling and also
keep container from floating.

Now, put a thermometer in the mixture. When it is below 5 degrees
Celsius, start putting in the sulfuric acid, one drop at a time.
Keep stirring and watching the thermometer. Adding the acid
produces heat; if it gets up to 10 degrees, stop adding acid and
wait for it to cool. You need to add a total of 2.5 milliliters of
sulfuric acid, one drop at a time.

What happens if the temp gets significantly higher than 10 degrees?
I don't know, because I never let it happen. The BlackBook usually
warns you if you are in danger, and there is no warning here, but
still, don't try it! Keep the temperature down. Also watch the
acid, as it tends to splatter.

Keep stirring for a couple minutes after adding all the acid. Put
the container in the fridge (not freezer) and let it sit overnight.
When you get it out the next morning, there will be a white
precipitate on the bottom.

Pour the solution through a coffee filter, paper towel, or other
filtering paper. This will collect the precipitate. Pour a couple
of spoonfuls of ice-cold water through the towel to remove acid.
Now set the paper out to dry. The resulting powder/crystals are a
very powerful primary explosive. According to the book, "Keep away
from shock, friction, and flame."

This material can be loaded into a 2.5 inch length of brass or
copper tubing and pressed down to make blasting caps. The pressing
may be hazardous - the book details the manufacture of a loading
press which includes a shield to protect the user. The book says
this type of blasting cap will detonate most homemade explosives
without a booster explosive: "Acetone peroxide is a very powerful
initiator and can be used by itself as the main filler when making
homemade detonators."

My own experience with this material is as follows: When I ignited
a _small_ pile of the loose powder, it produced an instantaneous
red fireball and a slight whump. If the powder is packed into a
length of drinking straw, however, it explodes with a very sharp
crack. I made a strong paper casing out of several sheets of paper
folded and rolled tightly. About a two-inch piece of a straw,
packed with powder, blew it to confetti-sized pieces with a loud
bang. I caved in a piece of sheet metal with the rest of the straw.

I'm not sure how toxic this is, so I would be careful with it. Is
it particularly sensitive/poisonous/carcinogenic or otherwise
likely to kill you? I've hit small pellets with a hammer and they
go bang, but I've never had an accident with it. The crack is very
sharp and loud; protect your ears.

Note that the formula seems to leave acetone left over. I've added
extra hydrogen peroxide, put it back in the fridge, and got quite
a bit more powder the next day. If you make a larger batch, do not
put it all on the same filter paper! It will cake up like chalk,
and I'll be damned if I'm going to break up an explosive. If you
are careful, you can make as much as you want.
