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As one can easily see, there is a wide variety of fueloxodizer mixtures that can be made at home. By altering the amounts of fuel and oxodizer(s), different burn rates can be achieved, but this also can change the sensitivity of the mixture.

3.24 PERCHLORATES

As a rule, any oxidizable material that is treated with perchloric acid will become a low order explosive. Metals, however, such as potassium or sodium, become excellent bases for flash-type powders. Some materials that can be perchlorated are cotton, paper, and sawdust. To produce potassium or sodium perchlorate, simply acquire the hydroxide of that metal, e.g. sodium or potassium hydroxide. It is a good idea to test the material to be perchlorated with a very small amount of acid, since some of the materials tend to react explosively when contacted by the acid. Solutions of sodium or potassium hydroxide are ideal.

3.3 HIGH-ORDER EXPLOSIVES

High order explosives can be made in the home without too much difficulty. The main problem is acquiring the nitric acid to produce the high explosive. Most high explosives detonate because their molecular structure is made up of some fuel and usually three or more NO2 ( nitrogen dioxide ) molecules. T.N.T., or Tri-Nitro-Toluene is an excellent example of such a material. When a shock wave passes through an molecule of T.N.T., the nitrogen dioxide bond is broken, and the oxygen combines with the fuel, all in a matter of microseconds. This accounts for the great power of nitrogenbased explosives. Remembering that these procedures are NEVER TO BE CARRIED OUT, several methods of manufacturing high-order explosives in the home are listed.

3.31 R.D.X.

R.D.X., also called cyclonite, or composition C-1 (when mixed with plasticisers) is one of the most valuable of all military explosives. This is because it has more than 150% of the power of T.N.T., and is much easier to detonate. It should not be used alone, since it can be set off by a not-too severe shock. It is less sensitive than mercury fulminate, or nitroglycerine, but it is still too sensitive to be used alone. R.D.X. can be made by the surprisingly simple method outlined hereafter. It is much easier to make in the home than all other high explosives, with the possible exception of ammonium nitrate.

MATERIALS EQUIPMENT ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ hexamine 500 ml beaker

or glass stirring rod methenamine funnel and filter paper fuel tablets (50 g) ice bath container concentrated (plastic bucket) nitric acid (550 ml) centigrade thermometer distilled water blue litmus paper table salt ice ammonium nitrate

1) Place the beaker in the ice bath, (see section 3.13, steps 3-4) and carefully pour 550 ml of concentrated nitric acid into the beaker.

2) When the acid has cooled to below 20 degrees centigrade, add small amounts of the crushed fuel tablets to the beaker. The temperature will rise, and it must be kept below 30 degrees centigrade, or dire consequences could result. Stir the mixture.

3) Drop the temperature below zero degrees centigrade, either by adding more ice and salt to the old ice bath, or by creating a new ice bath. Or, ammonium nitrate could be added to the old ice bath, since it becomes cold when it is put in water. Continue stirring the mixture, keeping the temperature below zero degrees centigrade for at least twenty minutes.

4) Pour the mixture into a litre of crushed ice. Shake and stir the mixture, and allow it to melt. Once it has melted, filter out the crystals, and dispose of the corrosive liquid.

5) Place the crystals into one half litre of boiling distilled water. Filter the crystals, and test them with the blue litmus paper. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the litmus paper remains blue. This will make the crystals more stable and safe.

6) Store the crystals wet until ready for use. Allow them to dry completely before using them. R.D.X. is not stable enough to use alone as an explosive.

7) Composition C-1 can be made by mixing 88.3% R.D.X. (by weight) with 11.1% mineral oil, and 0.6% lecithin. Kneed these material together in a plastic bag. This is a good way to desensitize the explosive.

8) H.M.X. is a mixture of T.N.T. and R.D.X.; the ratio is 50/50, by weight. It is not as sensitive, and is almost as powerful as straight R.D.X.

9) By adding ammonium nitrate to the crystals of R.D.X. after step 5, it should be possible to desensitize the R.D.X. and increase its power, since ammonium nitrate is very insensitive and powerful. Soduim or potassium nitrate could also be added; a small quantity is sufficient to stabilize the R.D.X.

10) R.D.X. detonates at a rate of 8550 meters/second when it is compressed to a density of 1.55 g/cubic cm.

3.32 AMMONIUM NITRATE

Ammonium nitrate could be made by a terrorist according to the hap-hazard method in section 2.33, or it could be stolen from a construction site, since it is usually used in blasting, because it is very stable and insensitive to shock and heat. A terrorist could also buy several Instant ColdPaks from a drug store or medical supply store. The major disadvantage with ammonium nitrate, from a terrorist's point of view, would be detonating it. A rather powerful priming charge must be used, and usually with a booster charge. The diagram below will explain.

_________________________________________

| | | ________| | | | | T.N.T.| ammonium nitrate | |primer |booster| | |_______| | |

| | |

|_______|_______________________________|

The primer explodes, detonating the T.N.T., which detonates, sending a tremendous shockwave through the ammonium nitrate, detonating it.

3.33 ANFOS

ANFO is an acronym for Ammonium Nitrate - Fuel Oil Solution. An ANFO solves the only other major problem with ammonium nitrate: its tendency to pick up water vapor from the air. This results in the explosive failing to detonate when such an attempt is made. This is rectified by mixing 94% (by weight) ammonium nitrate with 6% fuel oil, or kerosene. The kerosene keeps the ammonium nitrate from absorbing moisture from the air. An ANFO also requires a large shockwave to set it off.

3.34 T.N.T.

T.N.T., or Tri-Nitro-Toluene, is perhaps the second oldest known high explosive. Dynamite, of course, was the first. It is certainly the best known high explosive, since it has been popularized by early morning cartoons. It is the standard for comparing other explosives to, since it is the most well known. In industry, a T.N.T. is made by a three step nitration process that is designed to conserve the nitric and sulfuric acids which are used to make the product. A terrorist, however, would probably optain it for the less economical one step method. The one step process is performed by treating toluene with very strong (fuming) sulfuric acid. Then, the sulfated toluene is treated with very strong (fuming) nitric acid in an ice bath. Cold water is added the solution, and it is filtered.

3.35 POTASSIUM CHLORATE

Potassium chlorate itself cannot be made in the home, but it can be obtained from labs. If potassium chlorate is mixed with a small amount of vaseline, or other petroleum jelly, and a shockwave is passed through it, the material will detonate with slightly more power than black powder. It must, however, be confined to detonate it in this manner. The procedure for making such an explosive is outlined below:

MATERIALS EQUIPMENT ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ potassium chlorate zip-lock plastic bag (9 parts, by volume) clay grinding bowl petroleum jelly or (vaseline) wooden bowl and wooden spoon (1 part, by volume)