how hard do you need to hit nitroglycerin to ignite it

[hellohey]

how hard do you need to hit nitroglycerin to ignite it

[exchemist]

1 minute ago, hellohey said:

how hard do you need to hit nitroglycerin to ignite it

About 4.

 

[hellohey]

ok 

[hellohey]

i thought it would be way more then 4 

[studiot]

3 hours ago, exchemist said:

About 4.

 

I'm suprised that you would actually reach 4.  +1

I always thought 3.7 was the maximum.

 

3 hours ago, hellohey said:

how hard do you need to hit nitroglycerin to ignite it

By the way picric acid is far less dangerous and much more fun.

Edited September 16, 2022 by studiot

[exchemist]

15 minutes ago, studiot said:

I'm suprised that you would actually reach 4.  +1

I always thought 3.7 was the maximum.

 

By the way picric acid is far less dangerous and much more fun.

Yes, you're right about 3.7. I was quoting only an approximate figure.   

I used to make "nitrogen tri-iodide" * at school, which we painted on the stone steps to the lab. When the teacher arrived his heels crackled and emitted little puffs of purple smoke, which was most gratifying and psychedelic (this was 1971).

* More properly an adduct: NI3.NH3, apparently.

My tutorial partner at university had made picric acid at school, which was the basis for a rather a good end of term prank. The school song would be sung, to piano accompaniment, and there was a bridging passage between the verses, employing one note that was not otherwise in the piece.  So they painted that piano hammer with picric acid and when the moment came there was a satisfying BANG, accompanied by a cloud of dust, dead ladybirds etc., from the interior of the piano, followed by an eerie pause, before the pianist hesitantly took up the tune again. 

Edited September 16, 2022 by exchemist