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From: srp@ethz.UUCP (Scott Presnell)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
Subject: Re: Low yeild explosives and "snappers"
Message-ID: <128@bernina.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 7-Jul-87 06:02:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: bernina.128
Posted: Tue Jul  7 06:02:24 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Jul-87 01:30:46 EDT
References: <209@picuxa.UUCP> <2631@weitek.UUCP> <265@uvicctr.UUCP>
Reply-To: srp@bernina.UUCP (Scott Presnell)
Organization: Chem. Dept., Swiss Federal Inst. of Tech. (ETH-Zurich)
Lines: 19
Summary: Don't try this at home...

In article <265@uvicctr.UUCP> you write:

>I just looked up lead azide:  bubble N2O through a solution of Na metal
>in liquid NH3 to get sodium azide, react this with a lead salt to get
>lead azide.  This is trivial?

Not too bad (for a chemist). Sodium azide is pretty common, I use it all the
time to keep those pesky bugs (bacteria) from growing in my buffers. But
let's not post rough experimental descriptions on a "public" system.
Someone may actually try this without the proper materials or supervision.
(i.e. throwing the Na metal into NH4OH house cleaner, which happens to say
"ammonia" on it, instead of real liquid NH3).

Regards,

Scott Presnell 						Organic Chemistry
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology  (ETH-Zentrum)
CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
uucp:seismo!mcvax!cernvax!ethz!srp (srp@ethz.uucp); bitnet:Benner@CZHETH5A