The Terrorist's Cookbook Written BY: UNKNOWN AUTHOR (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) 7.0 PYROTECHNICA ERRATA there are many other types of pyrotechnics that a perpetrator of violence might employ. smoke bombs can be purchased in magic stores, and large military smoke bombs can be bought through adds in gun and military magazines. finally, fireworks can also be used as weapons of terror. a large aerial display rocket would cause many injuries if it were to be fired so that it landed on the ground near a crowd of people. even the "harmless" pull-string fireworks, which consists of a sort of firecracker that explodes when the strings running through it are pulled, could be placed inside a large charge of a sensitive high explosive. tear gas is another material that might well be useful to the sociopath, and such a material could be instantly disseminated over a large crowd by means of a rocket-bomb, with nasty effects. 7.1 smoke bombs one type of pyrotechnic device that might be employed by a terrorist in many way would be a smoke bomb. such a device could conceal the getaway route, or cause a diversion, or simply provide cover. such a device, were it to produce enough smoke that smelled bad enough, could force the evacuation of a building, for example. smoke bombs are not difficult to make. although the military smoke bombs employ powdered white phosphorus or titanium compounds, such materials are usually unavailable to even the most well-equipped terrorist. instead, he/she would have to make the smoke bomb for themselves. most homemade smoke bombs usually employ some type of base powder, such as black powder or pyrodex, to support combustion. the base material will burn well, and provide heat to cause the other materials in the device to burn, but not completely or cleanly. table sugar, mixed with sulfur and a base material, produces large amounts of smoke. sawdust, especially if it has a small amount of oil in it, and a base powder works well also. other excellent smoke ingredients are small pieces of rubber, finely ground plastics, and many chemical mixtures. the material in road flares can be mixed with sugar and sulfur and a base powder produces much smoke. most of the fuel-oxodizer mixtures, if the ratio is not correct, produce much smoke when added to a base powder. the list of possibilities goes on and on. the trick to a successful smoke bomb also lies in the container used. a plastic cylinder works well, and contributes to the smoke produced. the hole in the smoke bomb where the fuse enters must be large enough to allow the material to burn without causing an explosion. this is another plus for plastic containers, since they will melt and burn when the smoke material ignites, producing an opening large enough to prevent an explosion. 7.2 colored flames colored flames can often be used as a signaling device for terrorists. by putting a ball of colored flame material in a rocket; the rocket, when the ejection charge fires, will send out a burning colored ball. the materials that produce the different colors of flames appear below. color material used in _____ ________ _______ _______________________________________________________________________________ red strontium road flares, salts red sparklers (strontium nitrate) _______________________________________________________________________________ green barium salts green sparklers (barium nitrate) _______________________________________________________________________________ yellow sodium salts gold sparklers (sodium nitrate) _______________________________________________________________________________ blue powdered copper blue sparklers, old pennies _______________________________________________________________________________ white powdered magnesium firestarters, or aluminum aluminum foil _______________________________________________________________________________ purple potassium permanganate purple fountains, treating sewage _______________________________________________________________________________ 7.3 tear gas a terrorist who could make tear gas or some similar compound could use it with ease against a large number of people. tear gas is fairly complicated to make, however, and this prevents such individuals from being able to utilize its great potential for harm. one method for its preparation is shown below. equipment _________ 1. ring stands (2) 2. alcohol burner 3. erlenmeyer flask, 300 ml 4. clamps (2) 5. rubber stopper 6. glass tubing 7. clamp holder 8. condenser 9. rubber tubing 10. collecting flask 11. air trap 12. beaker, 300 ml materials _________ 10 gms glycerine 2 gms sodium bisulfate distilled water 1.) in an open area, wearing a gas mask, mix 10 gms of glycerine with 2 gms of sodium bisulfate in the 300 ml erlenmeyer flask. 2.) light the alcohol burner, and gently heat the flask. 3.) the mixture will begin to bubble and froth; these bubbles are tear gas. 4.) when the mixture being heated ceases to froth and generate gas, or a brown residue becomes visible in the tube, the reaction is complete. remove the heat source, and dispose of the heated mixture, as it is corrosive. 5.) the material that condenses in the condenser and drips into the collecting flask is tear gas. it must be capped tightly, and stored in a safe place. 7.4 fireworks while fireworks cannot really be used as an effective means of terror, they do have some value as distractions or incendiaries. there are several basic types of fireworks that can be made in the home, whether for fun, profit, or nasty uses. 7.41 firecrackers a simple firecracker can be made from cardboard tubing and epoxy. the instructions are below: 1) cut a small piece of cardboard tubing from the tube you are using. "small" means anything less than 4 times the diameter of the tube. 2) set the section of tubing down on a piece of wax paper, and fill it with epoxy and the drying agent to a height of 3/4 the diameter of the tubing. allow the epoxy to dry to maximum hardness, as specified on the package. 3) when it is dry, put a small hole in the middle of the tube, and insert a desired length of fuse. 4) fill the tube with any type of flame-sensitive explosive. flash powder, pyrodex, black powder, potassium picrate, lead azide, nitrocellulose, or any of the fast burning fuel-oxodizer mixtures will do nicely. fill the tube almost to the top. 5) pack the explosive tightly in the tube with a wad of tissue paper and a pencil or other suitable ramrod. be sure to leave enough space for more epoxy. 6) fill the remainder of the tube with the epoxy and hardener, and allow it to dry. 7) for those who wish to make spectacular firecrackers, always use flash powder, mixed with a small amount of other material for colors. by crushing the material on a sparkler, and adding it to the flash powder, the explosion will be the same color as the sparkler. by adding small chunks of sparkler material, the device will throw out colored burning sparks, of the same color as the sparkler. by adding powdered iron, orange sparks will be produced. white sparks can be produced from magnesium shavings, or from small, lightly crumpled balls of aluminum foil. example: suppose i wish to make a firecracker that will explode with a red flash, and throw out white sparks. first, i would take a road flare, and finely powder the material inside it. or, i could take a red sparkler, and finely powder it. then, i would mix a small amount of this material with the flash powder. (note: flash powder may react with some materials that it is mixed with, and explode spontaneously!) i would mix it in a ratio of 9 parts flash powder to 1 part of flare or sparkler material, and add about 15 small balls of aluminum foil i would store the material in a plastic bag overnight outside of the house, to make sure that the stuff doesn't react. then, in the morning, i would test a small amount of it, and if it was satisfactory, i would put it in the firecracker. 8) if this type of firecracker is mounted on a rocket engine, professional to semi-professional displays can be produced. 7.42 skyrockets an impressive home made skyrocket can easily be made in the home from model rocket engines. estes engines are recommended. 1) buy an estes model rocket engine of the desired size, remembering that the power doubles with each letter. (see sect. 6.1 for details) 2) either buy a section of body tube for model rockets that exactly fits the engine, or make a tube from several thicknesses of paper and glue. 3) scrape out the clay backing on the back of the engine, so that the powder is exposed. glue the tube to the engine, so that the tube covers at least half the engine. pour a small charge of flash powder in the tube, about 1/2 an inch. 4) by adding materials as detailed in the section on firecrackers, various types of effects can be produced. 5) by putting jumping jacks or bottle rockets without the stick in the tube, spectacular displays with moving fireballs or m.r.v.'s can be produced. 6) finally, by mounting many home made firecrackers on the tube with the fuses in the tube, multiple colored bursts can be made. 7.43 roman candles roman candles are impressive to watch. they are relatively difficult to make, compared to the other types of home-made fireworks, but they are well worth the trouble. 1) buy a 1/2 inch thick model rocket body tube, and reinforce it with several layers of paper and/or masking tape. this must be done to prevent the tube from exploding. cut the tube into about 10 inch lengths. 2) put the tube on a sheet of wax paper, and seal one end with epoxy and the drying agent. about 1/2 of an inch is sufficient. 3) put a hole in the tube just above the bottom layer of epoxy, and insert a desired length of water proof fuse. make sure that the fuse fits tightly. 4) pour about 1 inch of pyrodex or gunpowder down the open end of the tube. 5) make a ball by powdering about two 6 inch sparklers of the desired color. mix this powder with a small amount of flash powder and a small amount of pyrodex, to have a final ratio (by volume) of 60% sparkler material / 20% flash powder / 20% pyrodex. after mixing the powders well, add water, one drop at a time, and mixing continuously, until a damp paste is formed. this paste should be moldable by hand, and should retain its shape when left alone. make a ball out of the paste that just fits into the tube. allow the ball to dry. 6) when it is dry, drop the ball down the tube. it should slide down fairly easily. put a small wad of tissue paper in the tube, and pack it gently against the ball with a pencil. 7) when ready to use, put the candle in a hole in the ground, pointed in a safe direction, light the fuse, and run. if the device works, a colored fireball should shoot out of the tube to a height of about 30 feet. this height can be increased by adding a slightly larger powder charge in step 4, or by using a slightly longer tube. 8) if the ball does not ignite, add slightly more pyrodex in step 5. 9) the balls made for roman candles also function very well in rockets, producing an effect of falling colored fireballs