Cold Smoke Reaction

[Stusi]

Well i'm new to this board and have a few projects going. I will be honest and say i have very little chemistry knowledge but hope to fix that in the future. I am currently searching for some sort of reaction that will create smoke. I do not care what color but i do want it to apply to the following rules...

 

1. non toxic, people will be breathing this stuff!

2. cold burning reaction, it can not heat up enough to light a fire in dry grass (i'm not exactly sure what kinda temps that would be but i woudl say keep it below 200 F).

3. Volume of smoke, i am looking for as much smoke by volume as possible with this, the more the better.

4. Size, i am hoping to fit this all into a container no larger than 1 liter. A coke can size would be perfect.

 

I have searched the internet for such a reaction that i could create but have not found anything. Most of the "smoke" i hear about involves burning and i cant have that because this will be used in a game on dry grass as a concealing method for movement. I have used US coast guard smokes in the past and am pleased with their performance but they are sometimes hard to come by or pricey. Anyone got any ideas?

 

Thanks so much for the help, and if anyone has any info such as "not possible" just lemme know.

[budullewraagh]

sublime carbon dioxide. that simple.

[Primarygun]

Regard to my little knowledge in chemistry area, I think of nothing.

Ya sublimation of carbon dioxide provide a lot of gas smoke, it is commonly used in drama. It is also a cheap and can be approach easily.

[YT2095]

go to a suplier of disco equipment, or a theatrical shop, they`ll have the proper stuff there used in Fog Machines, it`s non toxic and some even come in a variety of different scents

[Stusi]

Subliming carbon dioxide would be like dry ice correct? That prodecues very little smoke and in general it hangs close to the ground. YT, how would i "activate" this magical smoke machine substance? I have only seen it in a powder and don't know how it workds.

[budullewraagh]

ah, ok, if you want something better than dry ice...

 

potassium nitrate and sucrose makes a great cloud but burns at 1700 celcius and the gas would make you cough.

 

the problem is that when you have a thick smoke, it will be different from air and won't contain adequate amounts of [math]O_2[/math] which will cause people to cough. things that release smoke tend to be exothermic reactions and so temperatures will increase significantly. frankly i don't see how this could possibly work; even if you have things that sublime and give off minimal kinetic energy they will still be unpleasant to breathe.

[Stusi]

Well a bit of coughing is ok, but i just don't want anyone passing out because they have been over exposed to something. I am basically trying to make a cheap, home made US coast guard smoke. They burn orange for about 45 seconds to a minute, put out about 5,000 cubic feet of smoke, and are a "cold burning" reaction. The can heats up but i can hold one in my hand through out the whole process, and on top of that the smoke does little to nothing when inhaled (i have sat in front of them before). They make you feel a little short of breath and maybe a little cough but nothing big. Is this possible or am i better off just forgetting the whole thing?

[SurfSciGuy]

Whats the stuff they use in laserquest / megzone?

[budullewraagh]

i think i can remember a way to produce N2O that isn't terribly exothermic... would you like laughing gas?

[YT2095]

the stuff I`m talking about is a liquid (I`ve never seen the powder stuff?)

 

I`m not sure how it works, I just know that you buy a gallon at a time and pour it in the machine

 

sorry I can be of anymore help than that, but I have to be honest also.

 

although I`m sure it won`t be a complicated reaction, maybe heat perhaps?

it`s something you`de have to ask about at the shop

[Stusi]

K thanks guys, my only problem is my size constraints but i'm gonna check out this liquid smoke machine stuff and see if i cant cook something up.