OT: Mythbusters Last Night

Although I really enjoy the show, they do seem to stretch things quite often, after all, this is TV. One of my favorite episodes was where they were removing hardened concrete from inside a concrete truck with dynamite. They loaded the truck up with what seemed to be half a ton of some kind of explosive and Jamie seemed shocked when the truck practically vaporized. Gee what did you expect!!

JR North fired this volley in news:lNWdnUOKgevB5NnanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@seanet.com:

Nah... they just didn't nitrate it fully. I was appalled at how unreactive it was.

Even un-neutralized - simply washed - nitrocellulose will last a few days to a few weeks in storage, if it's thoroughly dried.

There's nothing about improperly neutralized NC that makes it more explosive than the correctly made kind.

LLoyd

JR North fired this volley in news:AoCdnYqrnNmYGtnanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@seanet.com:

Where did you ever get that idea? Guncotton is pure nitrated cellulose - nothing else - without all the additives and burn rate modifiers that smokeless powders contain. Guncotton IS nitrocellulose, and is the feedstock to all smokeless powder production, and many paint and lacquer processes.

When folks talk about "nitrocellulose lacquer" they're describing a solution of guncotton in acetone or ethyl ether, along with several other solvents and drying rate modifiers, plasticizers, gloss makers/inhibitors, and colorants.

I purchase and use commercial guncotton as well as commercial smokeless powders. I have made guncotton (properly), and understand the chemistry and properties of the material. It's part of how I make a living. (BTW, making it yourself is not worth the trouble or expense.)

LLoyd

The vaporized truck was intentional. That was the first truck they used (the one that they screwed up on and had a half load of concrete in it that hardened).

The earlier part of the show had them try 1/4 stick of TNT then a full stick. They showed that the full stick did loosen up the concrete.

Maybe you missed the part where they admit to NOT showing all the processes when they make explosive materials. That way the shows lawyers are happy.

Pretty face?.......Yikes

I have seen blasting caps used to remove the hardened cement but dynamite is a little too agressive. :)

John

The old mine where they do some of this stuff is about 15 miles down the hill. The Mixer blast rattled a few windows.

LLoyd, for a man who claims to have working knowledge of using and making nitrated cellulose, you are amazingly imprecise in your definitions. Of course, I did not mean to imply that guncotton is not a nitrated cellulose product. That's not what I meant. Nitrated cellulose is defined by different names, which denote it's nitrogen content. As I understand it: Pyroxylin, or pyrocellulose >having a nitrogen content of 8-11%, soluable in ether/alcohol Nitrocellulose >having a nitrogen content of 11.5-12.5%, soluable in ether/alcohol Guncotton >having a nitrogen content of 12.5-13.75, insoluable in ether/alcohol

No > JR North fired this volley in

The common reaction from people who are not familiar with explosives or who have seen them detonated before is similar. Most people are awe struck, as it is something that they never get to see. The concussion is totally unfamiliar.

Steve

"High velocity shock wave" is more accurate . When I was a teen we watched an operation that was blasting for limestone . It was on the mountainside above town (Wasatch Face about 100 miles north of SLC) , and it was awesome . Whole side of the mountain (well , a pretty big chunk !!) jumped straight up . About a second later we felt the shock wave , then a couple more seconds for the sound . Got to set off a few 'splosions myself a few years later . Sometimes I miss my job at the rocket motor factory ...

Snag wrote in article ...

Maybe....if you hadn't set off those explosions.....you would still have your job at the rocket motor factory

Just as easy to set the drum rotating, then hit it all over on the outside with a soft hammer. Does the job very simply.

Mark Rand RTFM

JR North fired this volley in news:d9qdnU_HoLNUVtnanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@seanet.com:

You need to get out of the cellar more often. Hercules calls their feedstock "guncotton" AND "nitrocellulose lint". You pick.

Seein' how I run through roughly a ton-and-a-half of their products each year, I'd run afoul of their ordering system pretty quickly if I didn't have _their_ catalog names at hand.

LLoyd