How to Make Flash Powder

Carge

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posted on 17 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Nothing says "celebration!" like the pyrotechnic displays brought to you courtesy of flash powder—the stuff that makes flares flare, fireworks explode, and other fun things that go BOOM. Flash powder is a rapidly-burning mixture of an oxidizer and a fuel—commonly potassium perchlorate and aluminum powder—and is guaranteed to light things up. Flash powder is seriously, rip-your-face-off hazardous, but it's fun to make... just be careful not to light yourself up in the process!

Steps

Get a license. Contact the ATF online, and download their application to be a licensed fireworks maker. This will make sourcing and purchasing the ingredients much easier, as most U.S. businesses will not risk selling the ingredients, especially if they think you are using it to make a bomb. The liability for them is too great to risk it.Watermark wikiHow to Make Flash Powder

Acquire aluminum powder and potassium perchlorate. There are U.S. federal restrictions on these items. For example, aluminum powder is limited to two pounds a year without a ATF High Explosives Manufacturing license, and a potassium perchlorate could get you investigated by the Fed and/or the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They mean business. Search for fireworks supply houses or hobby chemical retailers for sourcesWatermark wikiHow to Make Flash Powder It may be necessary to grind the aluminum powder in a strainer in order to work out the lumps.Watermark wikiHow to Make Flash Powder The powder must be 400-600 mesh (measure of how fine the powder is).Watermark wikiHow to Make Flash Powder

Treat your work area with an anti-static spray. You can purchase commercial anti-static sprays, or make your own from a 9:1 mixture of water and fabric softener. Do not omit this step. A static discharge can ignite the powder, resulting in an explosion that could ruin your whole day, or your whole house, or send bits of you flying into the neighbor's yard.Watermark wikiHow to Make Flash Powder The correct ratio of potassium perchlorate to aluminum for any quantity of flash powder is 7:3.To make a 5g mix (perfectly suitable for a small bang), weigh out 3.5 grams (0.1 oz) of the potassium and 1.5 gram (0.05 oz) of the aluminum.ie a 7:3 mix

Mix your ingredients. Do not stir, crush, press, or stand upon the mix. Though most flash powders are not impact sensitive, it is very easy to make a very, very unstable mixture. The best way to mix the powders together is to pour all of the chemicals into a ziploc bag, spray it with anti-static spray, and slowly mix the chemicals by shaking the bag. However, there is some debate as to the safety of this method, so if you do use it be sure to spray the bag with anti-static spray in order to reduce the chance injury.Watermark wikiHow to Make Flash Powder A common method for commercially prepared flash powders is to combine the two powders in a capped plastic bottle and roll it gently between your hands to mix the powders.Watermark wikiHow to Make Flash Powder