Homemade Explosives, often referred to as Improvised Munitions or Improvised Explosives are a huge problem right now.
These are the kinds of munitions that the Zazi group was allegedly conspiring to use within the U.S. Pictured above is homemade Napalm being used.
Before this subject is explored a word of warning; This article is for information or entertainment purposes only, explosive chemicals are very dangerous and should be handled carefully, never lose sight of the fact that the careless handling of explosive devices could easily result burns, dismemberment or even death to the handler.
A lot of Anarchy related websites have already covered this subject to a large extent however such information is usually impractical and/or not feasible practically. A lot of Anarchy web sites related information is unreliable and vague at best. This article is not a step by step procedure but rather a broad overview that will help you understand these devices. A few easy and simple examples are also reviewed.
Safety Precautions
Fundamental Principles
Fundamental Principles : Types of Explosive
Fundamental Principles : Elements of Devices
Examples : Overview
Examples : Uses of Gunpowder
Examples : permanganate and Sugar
Examples : Permanganate and Aluminium
Examples : Chlorate and Vaseline Plastic Explosive
Examples : Carbon TET and Aluminium Liquid Explosive
Examples : Napalm Alternative as fuel additive
Examples : Urea Nitrate Explosive
Safety Precautions
A few things are necessary for self protection during the creation of explosive devices. Goggles, gloves and overalls for self protection during the handling of toxic materials. Breathing filter for guarding against toxic gases and a long stick to light the small quantities of explosive to be tested. When the materials are added together this should be done gently and carefully to avoid spontaneous detonation, there is especially a danger of friction igniting the material when a chemical is being powdered. Another danger of friction is in the use of pipe bombs, the steel of the pipe can easily cause the powder to explode prematurely so it is advisable to use a plastic bag or paper between the pipe and the chemical. Completed explosive chemicals should be tested in small quantities to verify their operation. When using toxic chemicals such as acids they should be handled in a fuming cupboard or in an open ventilated enviroment. Storage should be in a dark cool dry place away from other chemicals, a lot of explosive devices require use immediately after completion so storage of these could be dangerous. And finally if an electronic detonating circuit is to be used a safety switch should be added to the circuit to prevent an electronic fault causing an explosion.
Fundamental Principles
Explosives are simply chemicals or devices that when initiated are decomposed into a gaseous form at a very rapid rate, expanding into a large volume in high pressure. This in turn causes any casing or parts to fragment and fly outward causing damage. A large amount of energy is released which is dissipated as heat. Explosive chemicals are made up of the oxidizer and the fuel, the oxidizer provides oxygen and the fuel burns that oxygen, they work together at a fast rate to cause an explosion. A fuel ignited alone would try to take oxygen from the air therefore burning very slowly, burning out if the air supply is not present.
Fundamental Principles: Types of Explosive
There are two types of explosive devices, High Explosives which when initiated expand into their gaseous phase at a very fast rate. A low explosive however expands at a slow rate. A well known high explosive is C4 and Gunpowder a low explosive. Detonating explosives are very sensitive to heat, friction and impact, there are two types of detonating explosives; Primary and Secondary, the Primary is extremely sensitive and dangerous to handle, usually used in small quantities in detonators. The Secondary explosive is very safe to handle and is usually initiated by the primary explosive.
Fundamental Principles: Elements of Devices
The fuse is a slow burning cord that is used to initiate an explosive device by use of a short term delay, this is usually used with low explosives that are detonated by incendiary techniques. A High explosive is usually so stable that it requires a blastic cap or detonator to initiate. Explosive detonators can be improvised however their quality does not match the commercial detonators available. The advantage of Detonators is that they can be used with an electronic circuit which provides a large degree of accuracy in control of the explosive device. A metallic pipe can be used to contain low explosives so as to build up pressure and cause an explosion at high pressure. Plastic explosives are High Explosives added to wax or oils to create an easy to handle material that can also be molded into shapes.
Examples: Overview
The following examples are the simplest and easiest techniques for building explosive devices. All the materials are well known and has presented as an uncomplicated approach.
Examples: Uses of Gunpowder
Gunpowder which can be bought from a gun shop or emptied from shotgun shells has quite a few uses. A fuse can be created by laying down sticky tape sticky side up and sprinkling with powder or it can be used as a filler for a pipe bomb.
Examples: permanganate and Sugar
Potassium Permanganate is usually found as a purple powder sold openly in drugstores and chemical supply stores, it is very safe to handle on it's own and is a very well known oxidizer. Sugar is the fuel and is available in grocery stores. The finer the powders are in this case the better the explosion, a rolling pin can be used to refine the powder if it is too coarse however this should not be done to the compounded powders but rather to each powder individually. Once refined they can be added together by placing them on a paper and moving the paper to and fro to effectively create the mixture. Used alone this is a low explosive and will burn slowly, however it can be placed into a capped iron pipe and ignited with fuse for an effective explosion.
Examples : Permanganate and Aluminium
If the explosive force of the Permanganate/Sugar device is not adequate the sugar fuel can be replaced with powdered Aluminium which an be acquired from a paint store or a chemical supply store. The mixture created is a lot more volatile and will produce a better explosion when used in combination with a capped iron pipe and fuse.
Examples : Chlorate and Vaseline Plastic Explosive
Potassium Chlorate is a very useful powerful oxidizer but is a little difficult to acquire. Asides from chemical supply stores where it is well known as an explosive component hardware stores carry it as something called Solidox which is used for welding. It has to be powdered finely before use. 9 parts Chlorate to one part vaseline (Petroleum Jelly) are neaded together to form the plastic explosive. This requires a blasting cap to be effectively used and can be shaped as a plastic explosive.
Examples : Carbon TET and Aluminium Liquid Explosive
Carbon Tetrachloride was commonly used as a solvent, however these days it has been labeled as carcinogenic and is difficult to get hold off without visiting a chemical supply company, even then it causes suspicion as it is considered a difficult to handle chemical. Aluminium powder can be obtained from a chemical supply company or from a paint store as bronzing powder. Stir two parts aluminium to one part Carbon TET in a jar until consistency develops into a syrup. This can be detonated directly without the use of an iron pipe but requires a blasting cap detonator. Beware that the gases given off when the chemicals are stirred is toxic and that the chemical should be detonated within 72 hours afterwards.
Examples: Napalm Alternative as fuel additive
When using an explosive device it is useful to add to the device a container of petrol so as to cause incendiary damage to the target. Petrol being very volatile does not burn for a long time. Napalm burns for a very long time and sticks to any surface it is forced to contact with. To make Napalm simply stir half volume petrol with a half volume of Generic Soap shards, that is, soap with no added perfume or chemicals. This can be placed as a glass container next to the device for effective damage to the target.
Examples: Urea Nitrate Explosive
Finally Urea Nitrate which appears to be very popular with terrorists. Concentrated Nitric acid is required which is difficult to find anywhere but a chemical supply company and in addition Urine from animals or humans. 10 cups of urine are boiled down to 1 cup in size and then filtered and allowed to cool. Then 1/3 cup nitric acid is slowly added and left to set for an hour. After that filter the resulting solution through a cloth, the solid left on the cloth is Urea Nitrate which should be cleaned with water and left to dry for 16 hours. It can be spooned into a metal pipe and exploded with a blasting cap. For better effect powdered Aluminium is added to the Urea Nitrate. Beware that when adding Nitric acid to the urea toxic gases are given off.
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