From: jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Aug 1996 06:44:16 +0800
To: Conrad Walton <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Subject: Re: Bombs & bomb threats in LA
Message-ID: <199608021942.MAA17510@mail.pacifier.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 09:33 AM 8/2/96 -0000, Conrad Walton wrote:

>i'm not exactly sure what an acid bomb is, but according to my book, The 
>Anarchist Cookbook, that I bought in 1972 (was the internet around back 
>then?), there is a compound called "picric acid" that is "more powerful 
>than TNT, but has some disadvantages". 

Picric acid is 2,4,6 trinitrophenol, easily produced by the nitric/sulfuric 
acid nitration of phenol.

If picric acid contains about 15% of water or more, it is rather stable and 
innocuous.  If it is allowed to completely dry out, it then becomes 
sensitive to detonation with a blasting cap.

One disadvantage of picric acid is that it reads with heavy metals (copper, 
lead, etc) to form unstable picrate salts.


>There is also instructions on using an inverted vial of sulpheric acid, 
>that will then eat thu the stopper at the top (bottom) of the vial. when 
>the acid makes it thru, then is mixes with Potassium Chloride 

Potassium _Chlorate_

and causes 
>a small explosion which sets off the larger explosion in the dynomite 
>packed around it. 

It would probably require a booster...

Jim Bell
jimbell@pacifier.com