Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!kitty!larry From: larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: 9-volt / rocket launcher? Summary: "How to Make a Bomb", courtesy of Portal Communications Message-ID: <2867@kitty.UUCP> Date: 28 Dec 88 05:48:47 GMT References: <2557@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <2862@kitty.UUCP> <12974@cup.portal.com> Organization: Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, NY Lines: 60 In article <12974@cup.portal.com>, mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes: > For reliable electric fuses, nothing beats photographic flashbulbs. Be sure > to remove the "protective" plastic coating for best results. > > Many gun shops sell black powder (gunpowder for people who roll their own > ammo). Even with the plastic coating on, a flash bulb sets this stuff off > pretty well. > > Always remember the safety rule for gunpowder: If it doesn't have a casing, > it doesn't go BOOM !!! > > Come to think of it, that's not the safety rule. I think the safety rule was: > Don't mix carpet tacks with the powder, put them around the sides. Congratulations, I knew SOMEONE would do it, and it was you! You give the Net explicit instructions on how to build an explosive device capable of no purpose other than to destroy life and property. Excuse my prejudice, but is it just coincidence that you happen to be an account holder on Portal? The original poster was obviously no bona fide model rocket hobbyist; if he were, he would not have posed a naive question about 9-volt batteries and diodes (as fuses). Can you think of any lawful purpose other than model rocketry to pose such a question? Might he have something _other_ than model rockets in mind? Do you feel a sense of satisfaction that you have furnished explicit instructions to an obviously naive poster (and to God knows who else) on how to build a gen-u-wine explosive device capable of serious personal injury and destruction of property? You seem to find amusement in the effects of an explosive advice. I can assure you that few, if any, people who have ever served in the military or worked as a fireman or police officer would share your amusement. I have done forensic science consulting to certain law enforcement agencies for the past 17 or so years; I am not the greatest expert in any one area, but I come cheap because I enjoy the analytical challenge. I have seen firsthand the effects of explosive devices, and do not find it a joking matter. Some years ago in the days before ICP, when my organization had a JACO 3.4 meter Ebert spectrograph (once THE state of the art emission spectrograph), I did some analysis for a law enforcement agency on the residue of a fatal pipe bomb explosion. I signed for a large plastic evidence bag containing about 1 kg of material, and put in in my lab. It sat for two days in a locked cabinet before I could get to it. I then dumped the contents on a large tray to sort out under a stereomicroscope and find specimens to prepare as samples for analysis. In the roughly 1 kg of material, I found close to 100 g of bone and assorted human remains. Perhaps you will now understand why I find no amusement in explosive devices. I would also like to point out that while I have done a number of dumb things in my youth involving chemicals and pyrotechnics, I never, ever, constructed any device which could even be loosely construed as a bomb. <> Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York <> UUCP: {allegra|ames|boulder|decvax|rutgers|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry <> VOICE: 716/688-1231 {att|hplabs|mtune|utzoo|uunet}!/ <> FAX: 716/741-9635 {G1,G2,G3 modes} "Have you hugged your cat today?"