HissingRDX Posted December 21, 2013 Posted December 21, 2013 What is the general consensus on HE salutes? Are they generally louder by volume than regular flash powder in cardboard tube? I know they are not practical, but they are much cooler than regular firecrackers. For example, 5-10g of pressed PETN, 10g cast pellets of TNT, etc. Which HE makes the loudest noise by mass/volume?
somecommiebastard Posted December 21, 2013 Posted December 21, 2013 All aboard the drama train woot woot!
somecommiebastard Posted December 21, 2013 Posted December 21, 2013 TBH its pretty stupid to be using HE for salutes in the first place
psyco_1322 Posted December 21, 2013 Posted December 21, 2013 I think the command for popcorn is !popcorn... could be wrong though. The true question is...... does RDX really hiss? It seems like a legit question, but then you get to this part: "..but they are much cooler than regular firecrackers." How does one compare a firecracker to 10g of HE? That's like comparing a beaver dam, to the Hoover dam... I mean really?
HissingRDX Posted December 22, 2013 Author Posted December 22, 2013 RDX hiss? Ya a little bit. In nitrolysis of hexamine there is a distinct hissing noise. In terms of noise, how do they compare I have never seen a flash salute more than 50mg of flash powder. But I have experience 5-20g HE charges. You can describe it as a very sharp clap, I would think FP salutes would be more of a FWOMP.
FlaMtnBkr Posted December 22, 2013 Posted December 22, 2013 This probably belongs in the HE section but other than that, seems like a somewhat legit question. Though 'firecrackers' aren't a very popular subject, I think everyone likes the occassional salute and they can have their place in pyro. AN based exploding targets are by far the most experience I have with HE. I'm not a big fan of sensitive primaries which are a necessary evil of HE, but I do like to shoot. A 100g exploding target is pretty impressive, though so is a 100g salute. I haven't shot them side by side with equal amounts but I'm fairly positive the exploding target can be heard at much further distances. But my homemade targets seem to be a lot more loud/powrrful than commercial targets. There is a pretty important step that I don't think commercial targets usually receive. So my results may not be the same as others' experiences. I haven't shot many commercial targets but my 100g targets seem about on par with 1 lb Tannerite targets from my seat of the pants evaluation of power and sound. It also probably depends on what you are looking for. Loudness, tone, power etc. The HE you mentioned, I believe, have a much higher VOD than AN/AL. So they may have less boom and more of a crack. Also, I would evaluate them based on weight or mass rather than volume. Do you have experience with HE? If so, what is your take? Also, be aware that HE are not allowed at PGI and most pyro events and aren't considered a part of pyrotechnics. Like I said, this probably would get better answers in the HE section. It doesn't look like you have access so perhaps contact Mumbles about getting access to that part of the forum
HissingRDX Posted December 22, 2013 Author Posted December 22, 2013 (edited) I definitely know what you mean, exploding targets are a very nice way to skip the primaries that you must have for HE. I got interested in HE back in March. It's pretty cool how much more respect/interest I have for chemistry now and how much more I know about it. As for my experience in HE, I live in a city so there's not a whole lot I can do. I've mostly stuck with small amounts of high RE explosives rather than larger amounts of AN based (Ammonal). I've done a good amount with ETN, a little bit with RDX. I've tested 20g of ETN w/ binder as well as 20g of RDX w/ binder and the RDX sounds like a low pitched FOOMP, very different from the ETN. On the 4th of July I made ETN firecrackers w/out primary (30-200mg ETN). ETN can be heatshock detonated, although not reliably, it works 4/5 times. No primary needed. I'm not sure what you're doing to your "exploding targets" to make them seemingly louder, (adding more than the stoichiometric amount of Al maybe?) Edited December 22, 2013 by HissingRDX
TheSidewinder Posted December 22, 2013 Posted December 22, 2013 Discussion of HE is to be done only in the HE Section. HE also has zero use in pyrotechnics, so this thread is indeed way off-topic, and will be closed. 3
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