Tyler Durden (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2008-06-12 12:02 am
tyler_gone) wrote in fandomhigh2008-06-12 12:02 am
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Chemistry for Anarchists, Thursday, Period 4
Someone had a headache today, and was wishing he'd found something to teach that involved fewer loud noises.
Maybe he could teach very, very quiet explosions next term.
"Hey," he greeted the class. "This is the week we study C-4." He held up an illustrative block of the stuff. "It's a bit more complex than most of what we make, but may as well do it while we have the set-up. Neat thing about it is, a little goes a very long way." As he spoke, he broke off a wad of C-4 about the size of a gumball. "This is about all you need to blow up a car. The whole block would take down a skyscraper."
"C-4 is military; it's made of made up of explosive, plastic binder, plasticizer and, if it's commercial, marker or taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane to help detect the explosive and identify its source. That's where making your own comes in handy -- no marker. If it's too much for you, at least have the brains to buy from a big wholesaler who doesn't track orders."
"To make it, we're combining RDX with water to get a slurry, then mixing it with a binding solution. You need to let it sit so the water evaporates -- in the shop we have a doodad that does that for you so it's finished during this session -- and then you take the powder and add a plasticizer. The most common ones are lignosulfonates."
"When you're done it will look and feel like modeling clay. It's stable unless you get it hot or light it on fire. And it is much more powerful than TNT."
He waved a hand at the lab tables. "Wear safety equipment, work in pairs, and please try not to blow anything up too loudly this week. I'll be around."
Maybe he could teach very, very quiet explosions next term.
"Hey," he greeted the class. "This is the week we study C-4." He held up an illustrative block of the stuff. "It's a bit more complex than most of what we make, but may as well do it while we have the set-up. Neat thing about it is, a little goes a very long way." As he spoke, he broke off a wad of C-4 about the size of a gumball. "This is about all you need to blow up a car. The whole block would take down a skyscraper."
"C-4 is military; it's made of made up of explosive, plastic binder, plasticizer and, if it's commercial, marker or taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane to help detect the explosive and identify its source. That's where making your own comes in handy -- no marker. If it's too much for you, at least have the brains to buy from a big wholesaler who doesn't track orders."
"To make it, we're combining RDX with water to get a slurry, then mixing it with a binding solution. You need to let it sit so the water evaporates -- in the shop we have a doodad that does that for you so it's finished during this session -- and then you take the powder and add a plasticizer. The most common ones are lignosulfonates."
"When you're done it will look and feel like modeling clay. It's stable unless you get it hot or light it on fire. And it is much more powerful than TNT."
He waved a hand at the lab tables. "Wear safety equipment, work in pairs, and please try not to blow anything up too loudly this week. I'll be around."
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