Thread: Nitroglycerine

In the last few weeks i was working on the preparation of nitroglycerine...

I took H2SO4 (20 mL) and HNO3 (20 mL) in a conical flask which was kept in a water bath to keep it cool...
I used a burette to slowly drop glycerine (50 mL) so that a stable form of nitroglycerine is produced...
So my questions are-

1. Was the product of this reaction NITROGLYCERINE?
2. How to use it?

Plz help...

most likely yes it is nitro, howevere it sounds like you know only enough to be dangerious. some one will soon be peeling your remains off the wall. suggest you quit while still alive.

I ('accidentally') produced small amounts of nitroglycerine as part of a coursework project while I was at school. I believe the ceiling is still scorched - I suggest following fizz's advice.

Well thank you for your concern and advice. But I have made a commitment and i can't quit. The amount of the product is very less and so i want to test it but i don't know how. Please tell me a way so that I can test it. It is just a school project in which I have to calculate the calorific value of Nitroglycerine.

Well, if you're dead you know it was too much energy. Be sure to arrange for someone to write up the results...

This kid will do much less damage than Union Carbide, sahib. I wish him well and say Godspeed.

Thanks for your support. But I really want to know how to test the sample that I have made. Please help.

Originally Posted by Robinol

1. Was the product of this reaction NITROGLYCERINE?

Did you have a heavy oily liquid at the bottom of the flask? If so, add lots of water and flush the lot down the sink. (In other words: maybe).

It is extremely unstable; don't even think about trying to do anything with it.

Originally Posted by Robinol

It is just a school project in which I have to calculate the calorific value of Nitroglycerine.

In that case, wouldn't you have been told how to do it?

Also, you say "calculate", so shouldn't you be working this out (based on the enthalpy of the reaction - or whatever it is; it is several decades since I had to do this).

If you want to do this experimentally you will need to burn a small amount in a calorimeter. But I really wouldn't recommend it. You will probably just turn the calorimeter into a bomb.

Originally Posted by Robinol

Thanks for your support. But I really want to know how to test the sample that I have made. Please help.

Strange has made excellent points above. According to my understanding there are several different ways to detonate nitroglycerine, but why you must do so to calculate the calorific value of your sample remains obscure to me. Are you alone in having to perform such an assignment? What sort of equipment is available to you?

http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cch...lorimetry.html

I regret not being able to provide much in the way of technical advice, trust that you will proceed with due caution and regard for safety, and welcome you to post often regarding this and other subjects.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/entities...n%3F/ye/3g/df/

Originally Posted by Strange

Originally Posted by Robinol

1. Was the product of this reaction NITROGLYCERINE?

Did you have a heavy oily liquid at the bottom of the flask? If so, add lots of water and flush the lot down the sink. (In other words: maybe).

It is extremely unstable; don't even think about trying to do anything with it.

Originally Posted by Robinol

It is just a school project in which I have to calculate the calorific value of Nitroglycerine.

In that case, wouldn't you have been told how to do it?

Also, you say "calculate", so shouldn't you be working this out (based on the enthalpy of the reaction - or whatever it is; it is several decades since I had to do this).

If you want to do this experimentally you will need to burn a small amount in a calorimeter. But I really wouldn't recommend it. You will probably just turn the calorimeter into a bomb.

Evidently, certain types of calorimeter are exactly that- "bombs". Using the correct equipment and procedures it should be safe enough, just as a motor vehicle or firearm is.

This thread has most certainly attracted the attention of our good buddies at the NSA- hi, guys! Thanks for protecting our freedom by destroying our privacy!

Well I can't tell my teacher about this because it's a sort of surprise for her. And the method I am using is-
- The heat omitted from the explosion is used to heat water which increases it's temperature.
- Calorific value is calculated by the formula Q = ms∆T.
Any suggestions?

Originally Posted by Robinol

Well I can't tell my teacher about this because it's a sort of surprise for her.

It will be a nice surprise for her to find she has one less idiot in her class.

Any suggestions?

Yes. Don't do it.

Strange, you big meanie!

My friend Robinol, please consult the links provided and know I can do no more. Best of luck in all your endeavors, temper boldness with caution, and never give up.

Thanks Arthur and other people for your time.

If you have anything of value please will it to me.

You might want to look at some of the pyrotechnic sites, particually the acident and near miss logs. There are near professional level amatures who routinely mess with this kind of stuff. Learn from them. Mostly you will learn that people who are really knowledgable still make mistakes and blow the walls out of their houses.

For some hair-raising stories of dangerous stuff (in a professional environment) you might want to read In the Pipeline: Things I Won't Work With

Not that I'm trying to play the admin. I'm new, and I just read:

This forum will not tolerate any discussion of activities that are potentially harmful to oneself or anyone else. Therefore, any threads started in this forum that request information on how to obtain or create chemicals that are possibly explosive, toxic, etc., will be locked and deleted without warning. Also, no one is to make any replies to such threads. Anyone who does so may face consequences. Thank you for your cooperation.

Originally Posted by pyoko

Not that I'm trying to play the admin. I'm new, and I just read:

This forum will not tolerate any discussion of activities that are potentially harmful to oneself or anyone else. Therefore, any threads started in this forum that request information on how to obtain or create chemicals that are possibly explosive, toxic, etc., will be locked and deleted without warning. Also, no one is to make any replies to such threads. Anyone who does so may face consequences. Thank you for your cooperation.

The product formed is of no harm until you know how to make it explode. So it is of no harm.

Originally Posted by Robinol

The product formed is of no harm until you know how to make it explode. So it is of no harm.

The tricky bit is knowing how to stop it exploding.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

In its pure form, nitroglycerin is a primary contact explosive, with physical shock causing it to explode, and it degrades over time to even more unstable forms.

Tell ya what, here is a test -, skim off the oily liquid obtained, place a container full on a hard surface and smack it with a hammer- if you are still alive -IT WASN"T NITRO

How does this work? I mean is it because of the heat released from the impact of the hammer or is it because of the vibrations produced from the impact?

Originally Posted by Robinol

How does this work? I mean is it because of the heat released from the impact of the hammer or is it because of the vibrations produced from the impact?

Interesting question, physical impact will cause detonation of a number of substances. I suspect the active process is similar for all of them but I don't actually know what that active process is. I suspect it is some varient of frictional heat but I don't actually know that.