The Big Book of Mischief

:About the BookPlease send me any submissions/comments/insane ideas/suggestions. This bookis still undergoing work (and seeking a hardcopy publisher) and currentlyneeds:1. Illustrations (I have a few in B&W, but need assistance)2. An 'introduction to basic chemistry concepts' section3. A couple case studies- please make suggestions!World Trade Center BombingThe Unabomb case(s)Major professional pyrotechnical mishaps.I will pay a share of any profits for professional-quality illustrations!:Read me firstAUTHOR: David Richards (dr@ripco.com)TITLE: The Big Book Of MischiefEDITION:Interim release (1.5) from DTP fileRESTRICTIONS: This file may be freely redistributed in electronic formwith these conditions:It may not be excerpted or modified in ANY WAY other thancharacter conversion for different computer systems.NO FEE MAY BE CHARGED FOR DOWNLOADING THIS FILE.THIS FILE MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED IN PRINTED FORM. Users arepermitted to make 1-3 copies for personal use.THE AUTHOR RESERVES ALL RIGHTS TO THIS PUBLICATION, INCLUDINGTHE RIGHT TO PRINTED PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO THISAND ALL FUTURE EDITIONS, AND ALL OTHER RIGHTS AS DETAILED BYINTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.If you encounter this book being distributed in printed orelectronic form, in whole or in part, in violation of the copyright, pleasesend electronic mail to the address given below.:TECHNICAL NOTESThis is an interim release, it is NOT anywhere near complete. Thisfile was generated from a desktop publishing program on an MS-DOSmachine and therefor may include some special characters which willnot be reproduced accurately on other machines, and which may becorrupted in transmission. This also means that the text is alow-quality ASCII representation of the original text.HOW TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR, AND/OR GET THE BOOK VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL:Suggestions are welcome, as are submissions, complaints, and just aboutanything other than lawsuits and other non-productive mail.Internet mail can be sent to dr@ripco.comA copy of this file (in four parts of around 50K each) will be sent onrequest. A print version may be available in the future.----------------------------------------------------------------------------:Credits and Disclaimers

This book is dedicated to Ben, who made it possible, to Arthur, who helpedkeep it going, and to all the amateur pyrotechnicians who have lost theirlives, senses, and limbs in the search for knowledge.The processes and techniques herein shouldnot be carried out under any circumstances!!On the advice of my lawyer,I hereby state that I assume no responsibilitiesfor any use of the information presented in this book. The intention ofthis book is to demonstrate the many techniques and methods used by personsin this and other countries to produce a number of conceivably hazardousdevices. None of the statements herein should be taken to indicate theopinions or actions of the author. The techniques described here may befound in public libraries and all the information given is available frompublic sources. Any loss of life, property, or other perceived loss, injuryor harm is the sole responsibility of the purchaser.Any instructions, formulas, and other statements herein are forinformational purposes only.Although most of the procedures can beaccomplished with minimal preparation and from easily available supplies,this is a work of fiction and no assumption should be made about theaccuracy or safety of any of the procedures. This book is void whereprohibited, and shall not be sold to any person who is ineligible toreceive it. If you are under the age of 18, a convicted felon, mentallyretarded, or a member of an organization that has as its stated or unstatedgoals the overthrow of the legitimate government of the United States ofAmerica, you are required to turn yourself in to the nearest officer of thelaw without delay.RELEASE 1.5COPYRIGHT 1993ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

:Table of ContentsTable of ContentsSAFETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Basic Safety Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2How To Mix Dry Ingredients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3BUYING EXPLOSIVES AND PROPELLANTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Propellants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Explosives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6PREPARATION OF CHEMICALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8EXPLOSIVE FORMULAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Explosive Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Impact Explosives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Low Order Explosives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17High Order Explosives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Other Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30COMPRESSED GAS BOMBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Bottled Gas Explosives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Dry Ice Bombs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35USING EXPLOSIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Ignition Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Impact Ignition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Electrical Ignition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Electro-mechanical Ignition . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Delays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46EXPLOSIVE CASINGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Paper Containers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Metal Containers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Primed Explosive Casings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Glass Containers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Plastic Containers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53ADVANCED USES FOR EXPLOSIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Tube Explosives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Atomized Particle Explosions. . . . . . . . . . . . 57SPECIAL AMMUNITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Primitive Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Compressed Air/Gas Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . 63ROCKETS AND CANNONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Rockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Cannon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67VISUAL PYROTECHNICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Smoke Bombs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Colored Flames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71MORE INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74