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The world's worst next door neighbour
 
#5
Yeah, the thing about "home-made" explosives is you dont know WHAT is going to explode.

For instance: the easiest method to synthesize nitrocellulose (aka "guncotton") was discovered by accident when someone used a cotton apron to wipe up some nitric acid.

Everything *seemed* fine until the apron exploded after being dried.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose#Guncotton

...Around 1846 Christian Friedrich Schönbein, a German-Swiss chemist, discovered a more practical solution. As he was working in the kitchen of his home in Basle, he spilled a bottle of concentrated nitric acid on the kitchen table. He reached for the nearest cloth, a cotton apron, and wiped it up. He hung the apron on the stove door to dry, and, as soon as it was dry, there was a flash as the apron exploded.
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Messages In This Thread
[No subject] - by Morganite - 12-08-2010, 03:38 AM
[No subject] - by LynnInDenver - 12-08-2010, 04:04 AM
[No subject] - by CattyNebulart - 12-08-2010, 04:39 AM
[No subject] - by VladimirTherin - 12-09-2010, 02:32 PM
[No subject] - by Bob Schroeck - 12-09-2010, 04:51 PM

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