The Terrorist's Cookbook
Written BY: UNKNOWN AUTHOR
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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