28 replies to this topic

[Nitrate lightning]

Right

About a month ago I was doing an expirement with Sulphur and Zinc, testing the power. It wasn't brillant so I got bored and I started to file some magnesium down off a firestarter. I mixed about 3 mg : 1.5 Sulphur by volume. I had about a 1/8 of a teaspoon, not that much! Expecting it to crackle and not really burn i held up a splint to it. FLASH!

The flash was very quick and bright. I was very impressed!

The next test is under confinment. I used about 1 spatual full in a paper tubing which wasnt very thick. BANG!!!! very loud, for some reason it worked better then my KMnO4 flash.

I can't seem to find any info about this anywhere!

Anyone tried this? Does anyone know the stabilty of this composition?

[paul]

Yes, I tried it and got my thumb burned :P It was months ago and I acted very carelessly, igniting 1g [OPEN] of it with a too short fuse....

Anyway: This stuff is quite powerfull. The reaction itself produces no gases. BUT the reaction occours very violently and fast so this stuff heats the surrounding air very fast. The most of the sulfur gets vapourized , too. It?s quite a good (not storable) flash powder.

The stoichiometric mix doesn?t work too well. A 1:1 mix works quite good.

[al69]

i dont see how you managed to mage Mg/S flash better or faster burning than Mg/KMnO4 flash. because Mg KMnO4 flash self confines at 0.5 grams and you said that your Mg/S flash just burned very fast at 1g.

[fishy1]

what mix by weight should i use?

[al69]

do you want to know the mix for the KMnO4 flash or the Mg S ? because i have never made Mg/S flash. but i use 70:30 KMnO4:Mg by weight. with reasonably fine Mg this self confines at 0.5 grams with a decent thud

Edited by al69, 01 September 2005 - 12:30 PM.

[fishy1]

the Mg S

[italteen3]

Isnt there already a thread about Flash...

[Draco_Americanus]

Isnt there already a thread about Flash...

Yeh but it's mostly about the traditional aluminum based flash.
I played around with some kcl04 and 2 micron mg flash I made a few weeks ago and found that the critical mass is much less then normal flash. I had about 8g in a line about 1cm wide and formed a big letter "P" with it and expected a flash from it when a strobe pot burned down to it, well it detonated and blew the strobe across the camp site and also it blew out the strobe pot. Every one was at a safe distance just as a normal protocall.
I am assuming that mag/aluminum alloy is going to be just as touchy so have not burned more then 1g at a time unconfined.

[sizzle]

I tend to use an Al/Mg/KNO3 flash powder, I find it's easier to ignite than plain Mg/KNO3 flash powder (no idea why). anyway, one 3"x 1.5" tube full off this stuff (not rammed) gives a nice white flare with a few sparks which last nearly a minute and a half.

[miniskinny]

do you want to know the mix for the KMnO4 flash or the Mg S ? because i have never made Mg/S flash. but i use 70:30 KMnO4:Mg by weight. with reasonably fine Mg this self confines at 0.5 grams with a decent thud

Al69: Using permanganate flash carries more of a risk than the usual 70/30 Perc/Al, especially when using a KMnO4/Mg mixture. I put permang flash in the same catagory as chlorate/mag flash; It may be powerful, but is consequently more sensetive. I myself have only made small amounts, and through my experimentation have found it to have lesser detonation speed than my perchlorate flash Not sure if one of us is making a mistake on its power, but just stick with perchlorate/KNO3. Beware Glycerin as well....

[completebeginner]

I tend to use an Al/Mg/KNO3 flash powder, I find it's easier to ignite than plain Mg/KNO3 flash powder (no idea why). anyway, one 3"x 1.5" tube full off this stuff (not rammed) gives a nice white flare with a few sparks which last nearly a minute and a half.

if you have ignition problems then add a little sulfur it burns at a lower temperature which makes it easier to ignite

[sizzle]

if you have ignition problems then add a little sulfur it burns at a lower temperature which makes it easier to ignite

I prefer to use the KNO3/Mg/Al as it produces more sparks as well as flash, It also seems to last slightly longer than KNO3/Mg.

[Electron]

I got bored and I started to file some magnesium down off a firestarter.

I think these firestarters are an alloy, perhaps magnalium. Does anyone know exactly? Also, are these firelighters easy to file with regard to 'would i get a good amount from 1 hour filing' and 'doesn't filing produce many sparks'? They are designed to produce showers of sparks upon friction afterall.

[sizzle]

It'd probably work out better to just buy some Magnesium or Magnalium, and hour of filling probably isn't likely to get you much, I think they are very compressed.