How do you make nitroglycerin?

Is it illegal to make nitroglycerin?

The Central Pacific’s best hope was a dangerous gamble: liquid nitroglycerin. Nitro was the most powerful explosive ever made, and the least stable. Transportation of liquid nitro was made illegal in California in 1867, but a British chemist came and mixed the compound on site.

Is nitroglycerin a high explosive?

Nitroglycerin is an oily, colourless liquid, but also a high explosive that is so unstable that the slightest jolt, impact or friction can cause it to spontaneously detonate. … It is the speed of the decomposition reaction which makes nitroglycerin such a violent explosive.

Can you turn glycerin into nitroglycerin?

Nitroglycerin can be produced by acid-catalyzed nitration of glycerol (glycerin).

Does glycerin and nitric acid make nitroglycerin?

You can mix the glycerin with nitric acid to make nitroglycerin. You can mix nitroglycerin with sodium nitrate and sawdust to make dynamite.”

What is C4 made of?

C4 was used during the Vietnam War as part of demolition blocks; today, it is commonly used in both military and civilian settings for demolition and flares. C4 is composed of RDX (91%), dioctyl sebacate (5.3%), polyisobutylene (2.1%), and mineral/motor oil (1.6%) [1].

What does TNT stand for?

Trinitrotoluene
TNT / Full name

trinitrotoluene (TNT), a pale yellow, solid organic nitrogen compound used chiefly as an explosive, prepared by stepwise nitration of toluene.

Why is nitro so unstable?

The reason nitrogen triiodide is so unstable is down to its molecular structure – one nitrogen atom and three iodine molecules all on one side due to how the nitrogen’s electrons are arranged. … And all that repelling causes something called bond strain, which makes the entire molecule extremely unstable.

What is in Semtex?

Semtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications.

What is TNT made of?

What is TNT? ❖ TNT is a yellow, odorless solid that does not occur naturally in the environment. It is made by combining toluene with a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids (ATSDR 1995). ❖ It is a highly explosive, single-ring nitroaromatic compound that is a crystalline solid at room temperature (CRREL 2006).

What is dynamite made of?

Straight dynamite consists of nitroglycerine, sodium nitrate, and a combustible absorbent (such as wood pulp) wrapped in strong paper to make a cylindrical cartridge. Gelatin dynamite consists of a nitrocellulose-nitroglycerine gel.

What is the most powerful chemical explosive?

Azidoazide azide
Azidoazide azide is the most explosive chemical compound ever created. It is part of a class of chemicals known as high-nitrogen energetic materials, and it gets its “bang” from the 14 nitrogen atoms that compose it in a loosely bound state.