Brainiac - Exploding Paste

**scaira** · 21st November 2003

I was watching that Brainiac programme on Sky One last night (its quite a good show if you havent seen it yet, they do 'pub-science' type experiments) and they had this exploding paste on it. Stable as a liquid but when it dries and is disturbed, it explodes..........i want some!!! hehehe!

I was just wondering if anyone knew how to make some? They said someting about iodine crystals, i guess its a bit like those fun-snap things the kids terrorize grannies with!!

Any ideas anyone?

:thumbs

**DWEM** · 21st November 2003

if i remember it's amonia and iodine.
Mix iodine crystals into ammonia until the iodine crystals will not dissolve into the ammonia anymore. pour off any exess liquid, and your left with a paste.

though it been a wile scince i made any, but good fun to paint on car tires and round door frames

DWEM

**hoodedclaw** · 21st November 2003

I don't know if you know this, but iodine is quite an unusual element in that it sublimes. That means that it will go directly from a solid to a gas phase and spend little time as a liquid. Hence, protesters, vandals and those who graffiti use iodine crystals to throw against monuments and walls. It will leave a big purple/brown mark and sublime into a cloud of gas.
Dodgy stuff; don't breathe it in, don't get it on you.

I think quite a lot of things could be stabilised by being in a liquid. If you had enough of it, you could use a solvent to pretty much put anything in liquid. All you would have to do is pour the mixture wherever you wanted and let the solvent evaporate. You would be left with the original compound that you had solvated.

**fe_man2000** · 22nd November 2003

Yeah its Iodine dissolved into amonnia and recrystallized forming nitrogen triiodide. Please note that it releases iodine gas when it goes off so no playing with it inside.

cheers
Ironman

**hoodedclaw** · 22nd November 2003

I have looked into this and here is how you could do it;

Firstly, start with potassium iodide (KI). Only use a small amount because it would be easier to build up to a nice explosion rather than make loads more than you realised and take your arm off. If you are at school or university, potassium iodide is quite easy to get hold of. You could just buy some from an online chemical suppliers or something.

Mix the KI with at least 40% sulphuric acid and heat it. A vapour bubbles out of it so if you can get hold of a fancy collecting vessel, that would be the best way. A petri dish with ice water over it would work though. The crystals that will form from when this vapour recondenses will be the iodine you are after. Remember that when you are boiling acids, it is possible that all of hte water will boil off as well and you will be left with an undiluted acid. Obviously that will give you chemical burns so be careful.

If you mix the iodine crystals with ammonia and leave for a pretty long time, you will get the NI3 you are after. I found that the iodine needs to be very fine so perhaps you could carefully use a pestle and mortar to crush them a little.

**Pyro Steve** · 22nd November 2003

Nitrogen Triiodide is pretty crazy stuff...will take ya hand off...and also gas u and turn u a browny/purple colour lol

Watch this movie...

http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/jcesoft...ES/NI3IOD.html

**tips** · 23rd November 2003

Originally Posted by Pyro Steve

Nitrogen Triiodide is pretty crazy stuff...will take ya hand off...and also gas u and turn u a browny/purple colour lol

Watch this movie...

http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/jcesoft...ES/NI3IOD.html

Furk In Hell, That is purdy nasty sh1t.
Sod that for a game of soldiers, I remember wantin to try and make some of that from the Anarchists Cookbook many years ago, Thank F^%K I did`nt.

I did have some fun (and quite alot of trouble n all.) with the copper pipe bombs made with suger and fertilizer tho.

**yankee** · 23rd November 2003

nitrogen compounds are dangerous full stop.. why do you want to make it just out of interest?

**scaira** · 24th November 2003

lol.....that is ****ing crazy! Thanks lads, I dont think ill bother tbh!!!

I saw it on TV and thought it might be a crack but Ill probably just blow my arm off!! (or someone else's)

**mij** · 24th November 2003

This has given me a great idea for the mother in law's xmas cracker, I just need to find someone to pull the other end now.

mij

ABCMan · 24th November 2003

yeah its 880 amonia and iodine crystals

add the amonia untill it forms a paste a little like blu-tac or plastercene then store in an airtight container.

to use pack onto a surface and allow plenty of time to dry out

works well on the legs of teachers chairs and on school bells etc

(ALLEGEDLY, in case anyone from my old school is reading this).

its the same stuff you get inside those snapper things you throw at taxis

but without the sawdust to limit the quantity.

as with all things like this take care when making it and be ULTRA carefull when storing it that you dont accidently allow some to dry on the lid of the container.