Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: EDI-21 on 10/05/2011 21:17:21

Title: what explosive compounds are easy to make
Post by: EDI-21 on 10/05/2011 21:17:21

i have made flash powder and used gun powder but I'm looking for something that has a little more poke for breaking up large rocks but the fumes cant be to toxic as there is no fast moving air where i need to detonate if any one knows a mixture that is also stable to move that would be great :-)

Title: what explosive compounds are easy to make
Post by: Bill.D.Katt. on 10/05/2011 21:31:38

To answer the question: too many. If you're looking to rock blast, make sure you have a permit, and to get the permit, you need to have a little prior knowledge about explosives. Many compounds such as TATP are fairly non-toxic, but are very unstable (TATP is sensitive to light, friction, shock, heat -the big four). Many people have lost fingers, hands, and some have died because of this and other explosives. I do not advise making explosive compounds unless you have a degree in something related. 

Title: what explosive compounds are easy to make
Post by: SeanB on 10/05/2011 21:38:30

Use water and freeze it in the hole, the ice will crack the rock. Meets all the criteria, just needs some liquid nitrogen to make it work.

Title: what explosive compounds are easy to make
Post by: Geezer on 10/05/2011 22:39:41

There is a proprietary non-explosive compound called Dexpan for splitting rocks. You drill a hole in the rock, pack some of the compound into the hole, then just add water.

My son-in-law used it to remove some enormous boulders from his basement. He had tried lots of other methods, but this was the only one that worked.

Title: what explosive compounds are easy to make
Post by: EDI-21 on 10/05/2011 22:51:37

mmm i think Tapt would not be a good one i dont wish to lose any limbs but thankyou i do have some knowledge but it is limited and freezing would be tricky as the build up of nitrogen could cause us issues as there is not much air flow i can appreciate the power of freezing water within the rock but a little too slow

ok so would there be anyway to increase the power of flash powder?

Title: what explosive compounds are easy to make
Post by: EDI-21 on 10/05/2011 22:52:56

Dexpan could work i shall look into that Thankyou Geezer

Title: what explosive compounds are easy to make
Post by: Mazurka on 13/05/2011 14:50:00

Unless you know what you are doing blasting rock is a tricky business...  Too little charge just makes it harder to drill another shothole, too much wastes money and effort and depending on what you are trying to acheive can destabilse material you want left intact.
 
For all domestic/ confined space rock breaking I would recomend a physical method such as "plug and feathers" - split down into a manageable size to break with a hammer - can be hard work but very precise

For larger scale breaking hire/ acquire a hydraulic hammer - there are some hand held ones or better yet mount one on an excavator

If you insist on a chemical method Cardox is a lot less messy than Dexpan (but not as effective in some rock types).

A lot of quarries/ mines use Amonium Nitrate Fuel oil mix, this has a low sensitivity (so is relatively safe to handle/ mix) but consequently is quite hard to detonate.

Title: what explosive compounds are easy to make
Post by: SeanB on 14/05/2011 13:01:58

There are also mortars which are used for rock breaking, as they expand quite significantly when they cure.