The Anarchist Cookbook (68 page)
ANFO sacks float, which is no good, and additionally, the low density means the power is
somewhat low. Generally, the more weight of explosive one can place in a hole, the more
effective. ANFO blown into the hole with a pneumatic system fractures as it is places,
raising the density to about .9 or .92. The delivery system adds to the cost, and must be
anti static in nature. Aluminum is added to some commercial, cartridge packaged ANFOs to
raise the density---this also raises power considerable, and a few of these mixtures are
reliably cap sensitive.
Now than, for formulations. An earlier article mentioned 2« kilos of ammonium nitrate, and
I believe 5 to 6 liters of diesel. This mixture is extremely over fueled, and I'd be
surprised if it worked. Dupont recommends a AN to FO ratio of 93% AN to 7% FO by
weight. Hardly any oil at all. More oil makes the mixture less explosive by absorbing
detonation energy, and excess fuel makes detonation byproducts health hazards as the
mixture is oxygen poor. Note that commercial fertilizer products do not work as well as
the porous AN prills dupont sells, because fertilizers are coated with various materials
meant to seal them from moisture, which keep the oil from being absorbed.
Another problem with ANFO: for reliable detonation, it needs confinement, either from a
casing, borehole, etc, or from the mass of the charge. Thus, a pile of the stuff with a
booster in it is likely to scatter and burn rather than explode when the booster is shot. In
boreholes, or reasonable strong casings (cardboard, or heavy plastic film sacks) the stuff
detonated quite well. So will big piles. That's how the explosive potential was discovered:
a small oil freighter rammed a bulk chemical ship. Over several hours the cargoes
intermixed to some degree, and reached critical mass. Real big bang. A useful way to
obtain the containment needed is to replace the fuel oil with a wax fuel. Mix the AN with
just enough melted wax to form a cohesive mixture, mold into shape. The wax fuels, and
retains the mixture. This is what the US military uses as a man placed cratering charge.
The military literature states this can be set off by a blasting cap, but it is important to
remember the military blasting caps are considerable more powerful than commercial ones.
The military rightly insists on reliability, and thus a strong cap (maybe 70-80 percent
stronger than commercial). They also tend to go overboard when calculating demolition
charges...., but hey, who doesn't...
Two manuals of interest: Duponts "Blaster's Handbook", $20 manual mainly useful for rock
and seismographic operations. Atlas's "Powder Manual" or "Manual of Rock Blasting" (I
forget the title, its in the office). This is a $60 book, well worth the cash, dealing with
the above two topics, plus demolitions, and non-quarry blasting.
Incidentally, combining fuel oil and ammonium nitrate constitutes the manufacture of a
high explosive, and requires a federal permit to manufacture and store. Even the mines
that mix it on site require the permit to manufacture. Those who don't manufacture only
need permits to store. Those who don't store need no permits, which includes most of us:
anyone, at least in the US may purchase explosives, provided they are 21 or older, and have
no criminal record. Note they ought to be used immediately, because you do need a license
to store. Note also that commercial explosives contain quantities of tracing agents, which
make it real easy for the FBI to trace the explosion to the purchaser, so please, nobody
blow up any banks, orphanages, or old folks homes, okay.
2 02.Picric Acid by Exodus
Picric acid, also known as Tri-Nitro-Phenol, or TNP, is a military explosive that is most
often used as a booster charge to set off another less sensitive explosive, such as TNT.
It's another explosive that is fairly simple to make, assuming that one can acquire the
concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids. Its procedure for manufacture is given in many
college chemistry lab manuals, and is easy to follow. The main problem with picric acid is
its tendency to form dangerously sensitive and unstable picrate salts, such as potassium
picrate. For this reason, it is usually made into a safer form, such as ammonium picrate,
also called explosive D. A social deviant would probably use a formula similar to the one
presented here to make picric acid.
MATERIALS:
Phenol (9« g)
Concentrated Sulfuric Acid (12« mL)
Concentrated Nitric Acid (38 mL)
Distilled Water
EQUIPMENT:
500 mL Flask
Adjustable Heat Source
1000 mL Beaker -or- other container suitable for boiling in
Filter Paper and Funnel
Glass Stirring Rod
Place 9« grams of phenol into the 500 mL flask, and carefully add 12« mL of concentrated
sulfuric acid and stir the mixture.
Put 400 mL of tap water into the 1000 mL beaker or boiling container and bring the water
to a gentle boil.
After warming the 500 mL flask under hot tap water, place it in the boiling water, and
continue to stir the mixture of phenol and acid for about thirty minutes. After thirty
minutes, take the flask out, and allow it to cool for about five minutes.
Pour out the boiling water used above, and after allowing the container to cool, use it to
create an ice bath, similar to the one used in steps 3-4. Place the 500 mL flask with
the mixed acid an phenol in the ice bath. Add 38 mL of concentrated nitric acid in
small amounts, stirring the mixture constantly. A vigorous but "harmless" reaction
should occur. When the mixture stops reacting vigorously, take the flask out of the ice
bath.
Warm the ice bath container, if it is glass, and then begin boiling more tap water. Place the
flask containing the mixture in the boiling water, and heat it in the boiling water for 1«
to 2 hours.
Add 100 mL of cold distilled water to the solution, and chill it in an ice bath until it is cold.
Filter out the yellowish-white picric acid crystals by pouring the solution through the
filter paper in the funnel. Collect the liquid and dispose of it in a safe place, since it is
corrosive.
Wash out the 500 mL flask with distilled water, and put the contents of the filter paper in
the flask. Add 300 mL of water, and shake vigorously.
Re-filter the crystals, and allow them to dry.
Store the crystals in a safe place in a glass container, since they will react with metal
containers to produce picrates that could explode spontaneously.
2 03.CHEMICAL FIRE BOTTLE
by
Exodus
The chemical fire bottle is really an advanced molotov cocktail. Rather than using the
burning cloth to ignite the flammable liquid, which has at best a fair chance of igniting the
liquid, the chemical fire bottle utilizes the very hot and violent reaction between sulfuric
acid and potassium chlorate. When the container breaks, the sulfuric acid in the mixture
of gasoline sprays onto the paper soaked in potassium chlorate and sugar. The paper, when
struck by the acid, instantly bursts into a white flame, igniting the gasoline. The chance of
failure to ignite the gasoline is less than 2%, and can be reduced to 0%, if there is enough
potassium chlorate and sugar to spare.
MATERIALS:
Potassium Chlorate (2 teaspoons)
Sugar (2 teaspoons)
Concentrated Sulfuric Acid (4 oz.)
Gasoline (8 oz.)
EQUIPMENT:
12 oz. glass bottle
Cap for bottle, with plastic inside
Cooking Pan with raised edges
Paper Towels
Glass or Plastic Cup and Spoon
Test the cap of the bottle with a few drops of sulfuric acid to make sure that the acid will
not eat away the bottle cap during storage. If the acid eats through it in 24 hours, a
new top must be found and tested, until a cap that the acid does not eat through is
found. A glass top is excellent.
Carefully pour 8 oz. of gasoline into the glass bottle.
Carefully pour 4 oz. of concentrated sulfuric acid into the glass bottle. Wipe up any spills
of acid on the sides of the bottle, and screw the cap on the bottle. Wash the bottle's
outside with plenty of water. Set it aside to dry.
Put about two teaspoons of potassium chlorate and about two teaspoons of sugar into the
glass or plastic cup. Add about « cup of boiling water, or enough to dissolve all of the
potassium chlorate and sugar.
Place a sheet of paper towel in the cooking pan with raised edges. Fold the paper towel in
half, and pour the solution of dissolved potassium chlorate and sugar on it until it is
thoroughly wet. Allow the towel to dry.
When it is dry, put some glue on the outside of the glass bottle containing the gasoline and
sulfuric acid mixture. Wrap the paper towel around the bottle, making sure that it
sticks to it in all places. Store the bottle in a place where it will not be broken or
tipped over.
When finished, the solution in the bottle should appear as two distinct liquids, a dark
brownish-red solution on the bottom, and a clear solution on top. The two solutions will
not mix. To use the chemical fire bottle, simply throw it at any hard surface.
NEVER OPEN THE BOTTLE, SINCE SOME SULFURIC ACID MIGHT BE ON THE CAP,
WHICH COULD TRICKLE DOWN THE SIDE OF THE BOTTLE AND IGNITE THE
POTASSIUM CHLORATE, CAUSING A FIRE AND/OR EXPLOSION.
To test the device, tear a small piece of the paper towel off the bottle, and put a few
drops of sulfuric acid on it. The paper towel should immediately burst into a white
flame.
BOTTLED GAS EXPLOSIVES
Bottled gas, such as butane for refilling lighters, propane for propane stoves or for bunsen
burners, can be used to produce a powerful explosion. To make such a device, all that a
simple-minded anarchist would have to do would be to take his container of bottled gas and
place it above a can of Sterno or other gelatinized fuel, light the fuel and run. Depending
on the fuel used, and on the thickness of the fuel container, the liquid gas will boil and
expand to the point of bursting the container in about five minutes.
In theory, the gas would immediately be ignited by the burning gelatinized fuel, producing
a large fireball and explosion. Unfortunately, the bursting of the bottled gas container
often puts out the fuel, thus preventing the expanding gas from igniting. By using a metal
bucket half filled with gasoline, however, the chances of ignition are better, since the
gasoline is less likely to be extinguished. Placing the canister of bottled gas on a bed of
burning charcoal soaked in gasoline would probably be the most effective way of securing
ignition of the expanding gas, since although the bursting of the gas container may blow
out the flame of the gasoline, the burning charcoal should immediately re-ignite it. Nitrous
oxide, hydrogen, propane, acetylene, or any other flammable gas will do nicely.
During the recent gulf war, fuel/air bombs were touted as being second only to nuclear
weapons in their devastating effects. These are basically similar to the above devices,
except that an explosive charge is used to rupture the fuel container and disperse it over
a wide area. A second charge is used to detonate the fuel. The reaction is said to produce
a massive shockwave and to burn all the oxygen in a large area, causing suffocation.
Another benefit of a fuel-air explosive is that the gas will seep into fortified bunkers and
other partially-sealed spaces, so a large bomb placed in a building would result in the
destruction of the majority of surrounding rooms, rendering it structurally unsound.
2 04.Dry Ice by Exodus
There is no standard formula for a dry ice bomb, however a generic form is as follows:
Take a 2-liter soda bottle, empty it completely, then add about 3/4 Lb of Dry Ice
(crushed works best) and (optional) a quantity of water.
Depending on the condition of the bottle, the weather, and the amount and temperature of
the bottle the bomb will go off in 30 seconds - 5 minutes. Without any water added, the 2-
liter bottles will go often in 3-7 minutes if dropped into a warm river, and in 45 minutes to
1 « hours in open air.
The explosion sounds equivalent to an M-100. _Plastic_ 16 oz. soda bottles and 1 liter
bottles work almost as well as do the 2-liters, however glass bottles aren't nearly as loud,
and can produce dangerous shrapnel.
Remember, these are LOUD! A classmate of mine set up 10 bottles in a nearby park
without adding water. After the first two went off (there was about 10 minutes between
explosions) the Police arrived and spent the next hour trying to find the guy who they
thought was setting off M-100's all around them...
USES FOR DRY ICE
Time Bombs:
