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Flash Powder
by Tetranitrate on July 21, 2006

Table of Contents

Flash Powder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Flash Powder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Chemicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flash-Powder/
 Author:Tetranitrate
I'm attending Polytechnic Institute of NYU.

Intro: Flash Powder

..................................................................................................................................................................................

Flash powder is the universal composition for almost all pyrotechnic reports. Bottle rockets, thunderbombs, m-80's, shells, everything. If it is not enclosed in a container
then a bright flash along with a lot of smoke will be produced as shown in the picture. If it is enclosed in a container, even the smallest amounts will produce a loud report
and a violent explosion.
If you are going to use this to make fireworks please note that fireworks must be legal in your state, you might need some sort of license, and that you can use no more
then 50 milligrams per firecracker ANYWHERE no exceptions. Any firework that contains more then 50 milligrams is illegal in every state.
Flash powder was originally used for producing light for cameras about 100 years ago. You have probably seen something to this extent where a photographer holds a
wooden handle with a flat platform on top, says look at the birdy, and poof he ignites the flash powder.
There are many different formulas for flash powder, I will explain the simplest one with the easiest chemicals to get your hands on.

Step 1: Chemicals
The simplest formula for flash powder has only 2 components.

400-600 mesh aluminum powder. The mesh refers to the size of the particles in the powder, it may also be referred to by its actual particle size in microns. For micron
size the smaller the number the smaller the particle, for mesh size the higher the number the smaller the particle. A general rule of thumb - the smaller the particle the
better. Can be bought on e-bay.

Potassium perchlorate - it is the oxidizer in the reaction. It is getting harder and harder to come by, the CPSC is trying to outlaw many different chemicals, and potassium
perchlorate is high on their priority list. As of this writing it can still be bought on unitednuclear.com.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flash-Powder/
Step 2: Mix
Always mix chemicals by their weight. The ratio for the flash powder formula is:

Aluminum powder 30%

Potassium perchlorate 70%

Before you start measuring out the chemicals, it is good practice to neutralize your environment by spraying some anti-static spray around where you will be working. It
can be made easily by mixing 1 part fabric softener to 9 parts water and putting it in a spray bottle.

Using the ratio, measure out how much aluminum powder you will use and put it in a plastic ziplock bag (spray the bag with anti-static also) Then measure out how much
potassium perchlorate you will use and put it in the bag. Seal the bag and gently shake it around until the chemicals are evenly mixed.

Once the flash powder is mixed do not seal it in any form of container, this will lessen the risk of an accidental explosion.
Do not store the flash powder only make what you are going to use.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flash-Powder/
Step 3: Use
Place a small amount of flash powder on the ground outside. Make sure the area is clear of any thing that can catch on fire, or any loose objects.
Insert a 10 in. long fuse into the pile. (Instructions for fuse here http://www.instructables.com/id/E9ZBOE35P9EPA8KZXX/ )
Light and stand back. When the fuse ignites the flash powder a bright flash and pfft sound will be given off.
A large cloud of smoke will also be produced.

I know its hypocritical for me to say this but: Please be satisfied with that and do not make fireworks.

I have the experience to do these things safely, no matter how dangerous I make it seem in videos or photos. I know exact burning rates of all the fuse I use, proper
amount's of powder to use, and proper containers to use, etc. So please don't try to make fireworks unless you know what you are doing.

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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 641 comments

nonickname says: Aug 7, 2010. 6:21 AM REPLY

Are you sure your Al powder is 2 micron? You state 400 mesh, which is ~38 micron. If that's 2 micron, it will surely make extremely hot flash.

finniano says: Feb 15, 2011. 6:10 PM REPLY

is there a formula for conversions between mesh values and micron size of the particle?

paver2009 says: Aug 7, 2010. 11:50 AM REPLY

my al powder says 30y 500 mesh and all it does is sparks a little bit and nothing only a little bit of the powder burns up i dont get it what could i be doing
wrong this stuff is suppost to go boom and it does nothing just a little sparks

nonickname says: Aug 8, 2010. 3:52 AM REPLY

You have mixed in the oxidizer, right? Your oxidizer also needs to be fine, but as it's decomposition energy is lower than the Al's melting energy it's
less important. Where did you get the aluminum powder? It could be coated with an oil or something which can hamper the process.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flash-Powder/
 dynamite boy says: Dec 9, 2007. 4:21 PM REPLY
what i use for my flash powder is i go to a hobby store and buy about 10 of the biggest model rocket engines they have and then i put about 3 at a time into a
trash bag [if you do this make sure there the black industrial bags they usually say "CONTRACTOR BAGS" buy at home depot or menards ] and take a
hammer and hit them as hard as i can and do this to all of the engines and then i take all of the powder and put it into a plastic bag and then wrap alot of duct
tape around it and put some fuse [about one foot of it because these things r HUGE] and then i lite it and run like hell.

finniano says: Feb 15, 2011. 6:09 PM REPLY

im pretty sure if a rocket engine was made out of flash powder it would just explode if you tried to ignite it.

finniano says: Feb 15, 2011. 6:08 PM REPLY

thats black powder, right? if you using estes engines its black powder, or aerotech is composite. If its composite then alot of it is ammonium percholate.

Toastalicious says: Sep 29, 2010. 4:24 PM REPLY

uh.. rocket engines are not flash powder..

skelly7447 says: Jul 9, 2010. 1:14 PM REPLY

don't crush the nozzle.

Don,t try this at home says: Jun 23, 2010. 12:03 PM REPLY
can i use german dark aluminum powder???

finniano says: Feb 15, 2011. 5:57 PM REPLY

yes

chemical_art says: Jun 23, 2010. 7:36 PM REPLY

To reiterate what every sane person has said: Safety, safety, safety. Seriously, you can never really be safe with this stuff, but with the right steps the risk
can be mitigated. What kept me safe through my brief time with this stuff is four things.

1. Size. Always mix very small batches right before use especially if you are new to the stuff. There is a very, very fine line between too little and too much
and it is much smaller than what an inexperienced person would think. If you want a louder bang: a thick paper cylinder with ends open is better than more
powder. If you want more illumination, use a different powder.

2. Handling. Treat this stuff as if it could ignite from the smallest bump, heat, or (electric) shock. Always keep the mixture at full arms length. While the
mixture discovered is relatively stable (as far as flash goes) you should still treat it with the utmost respect. Be slow and methodical with it; have a plan with
the stuff from preparation to ignition before mixing it to begin with.

3. Gear. In the absolute worse case the stuff may ignite due to some unforeseen circumstance. You may want to wear protective gear to mitigate damage.
Some may think more gear makes you more likely to screw up or will not protect you from damage. But I feel that the right gear and following rule 1. and 2.
will let you certainly live and maybe keep your hands and fingers. The goal is to protect your hands from heat, your eyes from flash, and your whole body
from shrapnel. I used two separate gloves together for my hands; heat protective and leather gloves to absorb heat and kinetic energy. For my body I used a
*thick* jumpsuit. Head was paintball mask and my sunglasses were tinted and break resistant. My example is certainly extreme, but no matter what amount
of gear you use you want to be fully competent in dexterity before handling flash powder.

4. Methodology: You want to know everything you can about flash powder before you mess with it. You want to know how to make it, handle it, ignite it. Read
from multiple sources. Just as importantly you need the right mindset: You need to plan what you are going to do with it during each step. This sounds a lot
like the steps above but it is important enough to be worth repeating.

If the above helps you all in your hobbying. Feel free to copy it if you want to post it elsewhere, I just want to make a dangerous but rewarding hobby just a
little safer.

iav82 says: Nov 15, 2010. 2:24 PM REPLY

You say use a thicker paper cylinder with open ends. What should you use for plugging the cylinder ends or the lowder salute??

matt_and_nick says: Feb 6, 2011. 2:51 PM REPLY

on most small fireworks, they use clay. not the kind that doesn't dry out, the real stuff.

iav82 says: Feb 6, 2011. 3:46 PM REPLY

benzonite? I used plastic plugs and glue them with carpenter's glue. works pretty good so far.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flash-Powder/
 nutsandbolts_64 says: Jan 22, 2011. 5:38 AM REPLY
I just remembered, New Year, 2010, we were setting off fireworks and firing rockets. One of the rockets were evidently defective and flew off into my face
and literally exploded in my face. Why am I not blind? Because I had protective headgear on that's why.

bloodlust1 says: Dec 8, 2006. 9:54 PM REPLY

i want that cool powder from batman begins where he throws a pinch on the ground and makes a little boom and smoke comes up . i think that stuff is really
cool. any way if you kow the chemicals that make it ad how much please email it to me at midnightsky91@hotmail.com

Hitman227 says: Nov 27, 2010. 3:21 PM REPLY

Maybe you could use a sprite bomb and some KN03/caramalised shugar mix.

92033 says: Jun 10, 2010. 7:29 PM REPLY

Have you ever heard of 'DIGITAL EFFECTS"? If not, ask Bruce Wayne. :-)

MasterMind555 says: Sep 24, 2010. 8:40 AM REPLY

Wouldn't be simpler just to use KNO3 as oxydizer? It's perfectly legal and easy to find, but I'm not an expert.....just a guy who make dangerous projects...

Hades di Angelo says: Jul 15, 2010. 7:39 PM REPLY

you can get the percholate from the thing you strike matches on the box

bremac says: Aug 26, 2010. 4:15 PM REPLY

actually its chlorate and its in the match heads not the striker, the striker is redphosphorous and antimony trisulfide i think with some silica. you can get
the chlorate by dissolving the match heads in hot water then boiling down the water by about a half then cooling, it will crystallize out.

paver2009 says: Aug 22, 2010. 11:39 AM REPLY

can any one tell me how to make flash powder stronger

bremac says: Aug 26, 2010. 4:12 PM REPLY

contain it in a stronger vessel. a stronger cardboard vessel, never put flash in metal unless you don't appreciate having your testicles. the strongest
paper tube i've ever found is dollar store shrink wrap rolls. The flash has to overcome the back pressure produced by the vessel which gives higher
pressure upon rupture. you need nothing more powerful than perchlorate flash powder. don'[t screw with nitrate or permanganate flashes, they'll kill you,
a really good flash powder with high yeild is cooked golden powder. ammonium nitrate and magnesium might be an acception to the danger rule, at least
not as dangerous but i would stay away. to determine how much power you'll get you need to know how to write out a balanced chemical reaction
equation, from that you can determine the number of moles of gas that are produced and the temperature of that gas. YOu want the reactants that will
produce the most gas in the most exothermic reaction. Its been a while but i think magnesium and potassium nitrate, or permanganate gives the highest
yeild, someone please correct me if you are more current with your calculations, its been years for me.

eshimo says: Aug 3, 2007. 7:29 PM REPLY

would ammonium perchlorate work?

Tetranitrate says: Aug 3, 2007. 7:38 PM REPLY

Yes but you may need to change the fuel.

Ironious says: Nov 22, 2007. 7:15 PM REPLY

Does nt aluminum powder need to be back? also could you provide a recipe ofr this using teaspoons instead of a percentage ratio? I dont have any
way to weigh this stuff and I dont know how to figure out the percentage ratio anyway. Thank you

skelly7447 says: Jul 9, 2010. 1:15 PM REPLY

it does need to be dark

jester_rob says: Mar 23, 2008. 1:04 PM REPLY

the problem with using a volume measure such as teaspoons etc. with chemical reactions is that the reactions are based on number of atoms.
with a smaller aluminum particle size more particles would be able to fit, the powder would be more dense, thus more atoms, and the amount
would vary depending on particle size, how tightly you packed the substance etc. If you need a small scale try your local smoke shop, and by that
I mean head shop.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flash-Powder/
 Ironious says: Mar 23, 2008. 1:19 PM REPLY
Thank you, I have since purchased a scale.

-Aj- says: Apr 21, 2008. 11:13 PM REPLY

if its a ratio. say like 3:1 just use 3 teaspoons of the first and mix with 1 teaspoon of the second. will be closish

maruawe says: Oct 29, 2007. 12:07 PM REPLY

what can be substituted for potassium perchlorate

eshimo says: Aug 3, 2007. 11:09 PM REPLY

you dont think aluminum would work?

Tetranitrate says: Aug 4, 2007. 12:38 AM REPLY

I'm not sure I've never experimented with different oxidizers because potassium perchlorate seems to be the most stable, but feel free to try it and see if
it works, or track down a flash formula incorporating ammonium perchlorate.

skelly7447 says: Jul 9, 2010. 1:15 PM REPLY

STABLE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I_am_Canadian says: Mar 12, 2009. 7:02 PM REPLY

Is it possible to get aluminium powder by putting my aluminium foil through a old blender? Honestly?

skelly7447 says: Jul 9, 2010. 1:11 PM REPLY

yes. most of the vids on youtube of how to make it involve that method. i don't blend for two reasons. my mom doesn't let me wreck her brand new
blender (not really wreck though). and number two is that when making german or dark alu powder, accidental ignition can occur. also a third, ball milling
produces a higher quality product ;)

qwertyman10 says: Mar 28, 2010. 3:42 PM REPLY

nooo. Im pretty sure that aluminum foil is only like 60% aluminum, and they just call it that cause its the main chemical.

ubr.bzkr says: Apr 9, 2010. 9:11 AM REPLY

uhh no... aluminum foil is just aluminum that has been pressed in to thin sheets. It's that simple.

pyromanizak says: Mar 18, 2009. 10:59 PM REPLY

lol im not sure, but, get a piece of aluminum from a window frame (more modern ones usually) and grind it up with some sand paper.

rosstheexplodingone says: Oct 22, 2009. 4:06 AM REPLY

does anyone know if you can use kno3 instead of potassium perchlorate?
thanks!

Corkie says: May 11, 2010. 9:16 AM REPLY

I just tested the KNO3 idea, used various amounts of the chemicals, including the theoretical mass, fails a bit compared to KCL.

chemical_art says: Jun 23, 2010. 7:44 PM REPLY

KNO3 is in general makes a weaker, more stable compound which I would recommend using before moving up to flash powder. Mixing it with sugar
makes a cool smoke device, and it is used as part of gunpowder. But for pure "omph" it is no KCl, although that may desired for the safety.

dla888 says: Dec 27, 2009. 9:28 PM REPLY

I believe that KNO3 and magnesium powder can be used. (DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRY WHAT i JUST TOLD YOU ABOUT!)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flash-Powder/
 alexkittin says: Oct 23, 2006. 5:19 AM REPLY
how fine is your aluminium?

92033 says: Jun 10, 2010. 7:31 PM REPLY

Fine...how is YOUR Aluminum doing these days? :-)

justme_658 says: Nov 1, 2006. 4:28 PM REPLY

I just got some 1200 mesh off ebay and it works great, only prob was it came in a bag and really makes a mess puting it in a bottle. It just floats away!

justme_658 says: Nov 1, 2006. 4:28 PM REPLY

I just got some 1200 mesh off ebay and it works great, only prob was it came in a bag and really makes a mess puting it in a bottle. It just floats away!

that one guy says: Aug 13, 2007. 7:11 PM REPLY

Are you a professional pyrotechnician or just an explosive expert? you sure know a lot about anything dangerous/awesome.

Nikodemos says: Aug 13, 2007. 8:40 PM REPLY

"That one guy" As I mentioned before in regards to my specialty, I am a Ph.D. Synthetic Organic Chemist. As such I am what would be legally refered to
as an "expert". Specifically in my research I have gained extensive experience handling, working with and synthesizing a variety (clearly not all) of high
energy (i.e. explosive) compounds. So in regards to the specific high energy compounds that I've worked with yes I am an expert. This does not mean
that I know everything there is to know. With high energy materials you can be as safe as possible and explosions still can and do occur. You could
routinely work with with a compound for several years and never have a problem. You become comfortable and more lax with it and that my friend is
exactly when this apparently stable compound rears its ugly head and bites you in the a$$ (explosion). Believe me its true I have several friends and
colleagues who have had serious explosions in lab, amazingly the injuries were not disfiguring although the explosions totally had the potential to kill.
Oxidizers such as perchlorates or chlorates are extremely serious. Flash powder is a mixture of fuel and oxidizer like gun powder although gun powder is
a low explosive. Flash powder is a high explosive, meaning it doesnt just burn fast it detonates even when not confined. A pile of flash powder on the
ground (above a certain weight) will detonate. Add to this questionable stability and the bottom line is that its extremely dangerous. Hopefully some will
take my advice and advoid this but what ever you do be careful! Cimo7: I really dont care if you believe me or not! The foolish will never give up their
embrace of ignorance!

view all 641 comments

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