Fireballs Vs. My Hands! (Nitrocellulose, Gun Cotton)

[nickroselund]

you are awesome!!! :) i made some gun cotton today and wow just like the real thing. dont think i will be trying the sodium metal even though its really cool. i did get some lithium from a battery and pretty much the same thing when thrown into water. Anyway keep up the good work...

[Midnightsun115]

Thumbs up for gun cotton shirt!

[FFoustt]

You are F uc king Gendalf! xD

[BFC36]

That is alsome 8-O

[mutantflamerobotics]

Doesn't it hurt?

[RealChemLabs]

Check us out at RealChemLabs! Awesome experiments!

[SilvanTheuma]

If I pack the cotton in a mortar will it burn vigorously enough that it acts as black powder and makes a nice break. I need this for colored smoke daylight shells

Thanks

[Nighthawkinlight]

@SilvanTheuma That would be very expensive and quite dangerous. Only black powder should be used to lift and break shells.

[SilvanTheuma]

@Nighthawkinlight: What type of break can I use instead of black powder which does not create a cloud of white smoke. Since this will ruin the shells effect.

Thanks

[patrickgh3]

Me and 2 other friends are doing this as a demo in AP chem. So awesome!

[pyrosimple]

On your website, it sais to add 4 cotton balls (2.5 grams). Do you mean 2.5 grams each or all together?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@pyrosimple Altogether.

[breckenridge21]

its flash cotton theres flash paper and string its made with acids

[DrSuperMarioMan6464]

Mario posted a video!

[Servatis17]

this video is so fun to watch if your high! lol ...

[spotlightman1234]

what happens if i over nitrate?

[1Benzy]

@spotlightman1234 i believe you will get a slower burn if too much nitrate is added

[batcoli]

@batcoli

[batcoli]

@batcoli

[AnTHoNyB1125]

walk around and go up to people at night and be like AHHHHHH.....and light it on fire

[INSANE368]

thats light flash paper but only fluffly and higher burn rate

[pyro4869]

how shock sesitive is gun cotton

[Nighthawkinlight]

@pyro4869 That very much depends on the method of production and the materials used. I have never had any that could be set off by any less than being hammered on a steel plate, but it could be more sensitive if not properly neutralized.

[tuipale]

@Nighthawkinlight everything what not neutralized well = hard to ignite or detonate. Ph level is only thing what makes it more sensitive. So wash it in cold water for 10 mins after deacify.

[englandinacan]

@pyro4869 If you use no sulphuric acid, then very.

[7249xxl]

your u duche but a cool duche whit a fukkign sweet thing thingy ;) :P XD 5*

[raptorman120]

i have to admit. thats pretty fucking sweet.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@raptorman120 Thank you. Facebook it, share with your friends

[g3ov4n12]

@Nighthawkinlight If i use 40mL of H2SO4 95-98% , how much HNO3 65% do i have to use? Also, do you have an idea how much cotton balls can i fully nitrate (leave no residue) in this mixture?

Thanks.

[kevinmost93]

I just tried to make it according to the directions on your website and heating it in a Pyrex beaker over a flame(I know nitrocellulose has a low autoignition point). This did ignite it and it did burn quickly, so I know I have made nitrocellulose. But it left behind a black ashy residue about equal in volume to the nitrocellulose before burning. Why did it do that? I didn't have cotton balls on hand, so I used a cotton cloth. Could this have affected my results (impurities, maybe)? Thanks.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@kevinmost93 It could be a number of things. Either it needed to be nitrated longer or at a slightly higher temperature, or it could be impurities in the cotton. I'm sure there are other possible reasons, but those are most likely in my experience.

[mewrox99]

lol i fail at making NC. When I added the cotton to the KNO3/H2SO4 mix it turned black and gave off NOx gas

[Nighthawkinlight]

@mewrox99 It was not allowed to sit in the ice bath long enough.

[Serostern]

Make a powder of it and stuff it in a creamora? (Instead of creamer/charcoal)

That could be interesting?

[1Benzy]

does anybody know where to purchase this sulfuric acid?

[spotlightman1234]

@1Benzy hardware store as professional drain opener rooto brand is the best it's 96 percent

[spartan2527]

when you place the kno3 into the sulfuric acid, is the solution supposed to turn pinkish orange and gradually become a light orange color??? by the way i am using 98% conc sulfuric acid but i dont know the purity of my kno3 though

[Nighthawkinlight]

@spartan2527 No, I'm not sure what could have caused that. Likely an impurity in the nitrate.

[benny9534666]

i'm surprised you still have a hand

[waylan3]

how

[lovegunz1]

he he he love the pyro hands. i have em to. burn your hands so much / use em so much it takes alot to get to the nervs cus of caleses/ no more nerves to kil he he iv burned my HANDS OVER 52 TIMES caps thats all i can remeber atleat 5 of the time my skin was blak / yelow

[crystal8323]

wow

[redbullstef]

0.26 to 0.34 is cuwl

[redbullstef]

can you ignite it with some fun like a battery or some?

[xsketcherx]

isnt that flash cotton and not gun cotton?

[Nighthawkinlight]

They are one and the same.

[anthonyhibberd]

@xsketcherx Its is flash cotton. They are different. Flash cotton you can carelessly burn in your hand.. But try burning gun cotton in your hand. (I promise you it will hurt ) :P

[cobra395]

@xsketcherx they are the same thing, just two different names

[TheTommy264]

how do you do that?

[Nighthawkinlight]

First I make the nitrocellulose, then I light it in my hand.

[22matt19]

lol

[wolboatpo]

my grandpa used this stuff in his magic tricks

[panzuman]

i followed your process verbatum but to no avail my nitr cellulose is still supper slow and burns my hand slightly what is wrong P.S. my hand is quite resistant to flames from many a burn in my life so its no my own sensitivity its the burn rate

[Nighthawkinlight]

I apologize for the delay, I must have lost your comment notification in my inbox.

To burn as quickly as the NC does in this video it must be finely pulled apart to make it fluffy again. If your NC truly is of poor quality, the concentration of your acid and the purity of your nitrate must come into question.

[panzuman]

i see but you are a busy person with all of these comments at least you responded alot dont but thank you i will try that this weekend

[Tdpwl23]

Nifty = )

[tmonk3y6]

can you please do another vid with bigger cotton balls...please..thx

[milotickz]

That looks so dangerous I always hesitate to try it.

[MrBloodyGulch]

How Do You Make Nitrocelulose

[Nighthawkinlight]

...Read the first line of the video description...It also says clearly at the end of the video where to locate my process...

[Rhinoch8]

Car batteries contain sulfuric acid, then you boil until there are some nasty fumes, and you got 80-90% concentrated sulfuric acid..... simple!

[Nighthawkinlight]

Or simply buy concentrated sulfuric acid in the form of professional drain cleaner available at most hardware stores.

[Rhinoch8]

Lol yes in deed

[Jwdrummer5]

I made some and also used sodium bicarbonate to nuteralize the acid after the reaction. I was thinking of using potassium carbonate to do it in the future. Hopefully I'll get a purple flame instead of a sodium yellow. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Yep that's quite possible. There are a variety of colors nitrocellulose is capable of producing. I have videos planned in the coming months demonstrating some of them, I would like to see your results as well.

[TheRolemodel1337]

well you might just wash is in any metalsalt soluting to get different flamecolors

but dont wash all your salt out of your nitrocellulose would be pointless to expect colors then :p

also you have to remember that carbon ions also give a specific color to the flame

so dont expect too much ^^

[Jwdrummer5]

so i tried the K2CO3 but no difference. Although i did it all in an ice bath and didn't get any nitrogen dioxide formation, (I therefore believe that i didn't get full Nitric acid synthesis) The flame was still yellow. must have been the carbon in the cellulose. i will try it once more without the ice bath, maybe that will be the difference.

[panzuman]

thats be cause you need a nitrate to make nitric acid kno3 hno3 the nitrat replaces the sulfur in sulfuric acid but only half of it in order to make a nitrating mix

[jer0jer0]

fire is cool!:p

[skateorbelame69]

i no i burned my eyebroyes one time getting too close to fire when i through the can of axe in the fire it went bam!!!!!!!!!! and their went my brows

[psts9]

ouch D=

[Pippi437]

awsum

[ENGterrorman]

isnt it nitrocellulose laquer?- completely diffferent from nitrocellulose

[Nighthawkinlight]

No. Nitrocellulose lacquer is the same nitrocellulose as seen in this video. It is made by dissolving the nitrocellulose in acetone or another solvent.

[ENGterrorman]

nitrocellulose doesnt have acetone in it tho, so thats a difference

[Nighthawkinlight]

Nitrocellulose does not change upon dissolving in acetone. The acetone will eventually evaporate leaving the same nitrocellulose you started with.

[ENGterrorman]

@Nighthawkinlight

ok so if i dissolved ping pong balls in acetone- leave the acetone to dry i will have nitrocellulose?- like yours? - but obv not cotton

[Nighthawkinlight]

Ping pong balls are nitrocellulose, but not as high quality as this. It will not burn as cleanly. It will also not burn nearly as fast because it will be in one solid mass rather than finely divided as it is in the form used in the video.

[ENGterrorman]

@Nighthawkinlight

if its solid i would be able to powder it - but i still wont get it like yours

[TheRolemodel1337]

pingpongballs arent nitrated as far as his nitrocellulose.

but dissolving pingpongballs in acetone and adding some acetonperoxid

ill make a nice mix of it when acetone has evaporated

just let all acetone evaporate (you can shape it as you want when there is just a little bit acetone in it left)

then you get hard "balls" made of APNC

they are perfect initiators because they confine themselves

just search for APNC on youtube ^^

[ENGterrorman]

@TheRolemodel1337

i ent got TATP

[TheRolemodel1337]

well you just need acetone and h2o2+some acid as catalysator :p

[ENGterrorman]

@TheRolemodel1337

trust me its hard to find those acids in england + i dont like to make high explosives - not yet anyway

[TheRolemodel1337]

you can order acids in internet or buy them in hardwarestor as cleaners :p

or use acids from rechargeable lead batteries

[ENGterrorman]

ok thank you :)

[donnelrj01]

@ENGterrorman

Those acids are scarily easy to find in the UK.

If you know where to look...

[AerotechMan101]

What are you going to use it for? It obviously burns quickly. Could it be used as a lift or something? Even if it can't. That is still pretty wild.

[Nighthawkinlight]

The uses are in the video description. It may not be used for lift.

[a1rsoftp0wn3r]

so frecen cool. u should ask someone to were a shirt made out of that.

[BrightLightPyro]

Be carefull when making this!! It can be quite a nasty procedure. Always do it outside because of the Nox fumes that will nitrate your lungs!

5*

[frietjericcardo]

where did you get it??

[Mastermoviez]

Why not light up a whole bucket of this ? :p

[XxF4talSnip3rXx]

how many times have you burnt your eyebrows off

[goldcrownkingmod]

pretty cool. :]

and DYI on how to make with any common household items?

[guitar586]

Could you spin this and then make a gun cotton sweater then light that?

[Nighthawkinlight]

I've considered it. A pair of socks could make for a good laugh.

[zyxonn]

I like the idea....Ask someone to wear it.....

[xhotshot12]

THAT IS AMAZING.

[3981784]

grrrr. i never got mine to work :(

[SamuraiSmm]

i have a video where i use Nitrocellulose in a small fireball shooter

In addition i added additives from a theater effects store to make it either red or green in addition to a sparkle.

I have been wondering if it would be possible to make a small "firework" like shell on this scale... (the diameter of the tube is less than an inch)

Any ideas?

[Nighthawkinlight]

A small tube. One end clay rammed with a fuse, filled with small stars or metal shavings, black powder, then a paper disc and white glue to cap it off. Quite simple.

[Lighttheskyup]

haha. That looks like fun!

[XX13urtonloverXX]

you should do one the size of your head for shit and giggles.

[exasporatork]

Tutorial!!!!!!!!!!! Wow that's cool but need's tutorial!

[moosey333]

Nitrating cellulose is not for the inexperienced. It deals with extremely corrosive and hard to obtain acids and requires some inorganic chemistry knowledge .

[USAtrapper]

Thats really cool !! Just be careful.

[maxpower14843]

did you make or buy this if you made it how?

[leroy5500]

it doesnt hurt?:o

thats magic XD

[nills99]

When you put vaseline or cheap hairgel on your hand it's safer XD

[ichSofa]

thou canst make a tutorial about it once pls

[Kuwaiti55]

is it a mixture of Conc.(HNO3+H2SO4) with Cotton?

[Nighthawkinlight]

No. I use a salt/acid method. No nitric acid is used, but is instead formed in solution.

[thoosejakob149]

salt acid on cotton and then let it dry? huh?

[berger1980]

Very cool buddy!

[Cforchemistry]

This nitrocellulose is perfectly nitrated, but I personally prefer Acid mix than salt mix, as Acid mix is less likely to produce free nitrogen dioxide.

[Nighthawkinlight]

I also would prefer the acid mix, though it's not worth using nitric acid over when there's a way to skip the acid production steps IMO.

I have worked out a method of production which allows for excellent nitration and no likely production of NO2. The downside is that it takes a few hours, but I'm in no rush.

[Cforchemistry]

The production of NO2 is minimize when the temperature approach 0 degree celcius during salt addition.

I sometimes use P2O5 as dehydrating agent as it produce the ultimate nitrocellulose : )

[greenfire]

tutorial?

Would be appreciated

[TzerMaan]

I would need a description for that please =)

[PyroFreakDJ]

Look at the description of the video there is a description :')

[TzerMaan]

I mean, the method of doing it, haha.

[CichyMg42]

Is more correct name of it " cellulose nitrate " ? Isn't it more correct ? I mean ( i'm not sure how it is in english but in polish nitro is not the same what nitrate). I hope you will understand what i mean :P

[Nighthawkinlight]

Nitro is the correct term, this is not a nitrate.

[CichyMg42]

Ok. Thanks for information about that ;)

[Cforchemistry]

It is actually organic nitrate, and it is appropriate if you calling it interms of chemistry. Nitrocellulose is common name of it.

[Nighthawkinlight]

I don't believe nitrate is the proper term, as the group incorporated into the cellulose is NO2, not NO3. If anything it should be nitrite.

[Cforchemistry]

H from Hydroxyl group is replaced by Nitronium, which R-ONO2 is formed, that is the nitrate.

some organic matter adopt this nitration mechanism, while some do not.

Nitrocellulose and Nitroglycerine are example of Organic Nitrate.

[skyisthelimitinc]

Very well made gun cotton, i remember back in the old days this stuff was possible to buy in special toy stores in Norway, back in the late 70´s and early 80´s, it was ment to be used in pranks with smokers, in the instruction that came along, it said to put it under the ash in ashtrays, so when the smokers was about to put out the cigarette,boff! a nice shocking effect, but it dissappeard after some years, for many good reasons ;)

[Nighthawkinlight]

Ha it's a good thing I don't have many cig smoking friends! That's a funny one.

[moosey333]

yeah that would be funny ashes everywhere. I actually laughed just picturing it.

[Pyroxylin]

lol,any nitrate stains?

[TheHabex]

cool :) tutorial? 5* ;)

[samwise101]

how to: a. read the description. b. get some gun cotton. c. put it in hand and light.

[llindenau]

fast burning ;D

[edmit2001]

tutorial, plz ... this's so cool

[QuarterSticks]

i agree, tutorial plz

[freestyle197222]

Make a how to video!

[26dragon93]

Hey, great vid, but can you also send me a message?

[halo3gamer808]

PLEASE make a how to for this video if u did sorry cause i would love to know how to make thanks you and thats really cool! 5* :D

[DerekFord95]

Can you post a tutorial on how to make this?

[medix87]

did you submerge cotton in nitric and sulfuric acid?

[Nighthawkinlight]

No. This was made via the nitrate salt/acid method.

[poprocz]

Very cool indeed.

I use flash paper in magic tricks and have to pay an arm and leg for it.

I'd give anything for a detailed tut on making my own.

[Nighthawkinlight]

I am hesitant to post a video describing the synthesis because of the safety requirements. Send me a message if you would like a description.

[spikespeigel]

hey can you send me a message too? :)

[ils360]

can you send me a message too

[thisis3d]

mythbusters showed how to make gun cotton, but most of the ingredients were blur, blur and more blur

[fuckfuckershit]

lol yeah that shit pisses me off haha

[Nighthawkinlight]

Thank you

[ventsi]

Have you given thought to sprinkling fine metals on top?

Obviously one should not hold the above mentioned ...

And how much NC did you burn trough???

[Nighthawkinlight]

I have not put metal powders on it that I can remember, though I think I can predict the effect. I doubt it would show well on camera.

I used between 6-7 grams of NC in this video. 4 cotton balls worth.

[jeffb8074]

very nice stuff :)

[cfassian319]

sweet video

you always find something creative to put on here!

[jmontello1]

nice. It takes me hours to make a few grams of NC, seeing as I vacuum distill my HNO3. Why did your NC burn yellow? Did you use sodium to neutralize?

[Nighthawkinlight]

Yes, sodium bicarb. I use the potassium nitrate method of preparation. HNO3 is more trouble than it's worth.

[MasterSwordEZ]

Yeah, I would like to see a video on how to make it as well. Awesome vids!

[SgtMik]

make a tutorial on how to make this

[jmontello1]

Did you buy it or make it?

[Nighthawkinlight]

It was made with the nitrate/acid method.

[tybo09]

We made some gun cotton in college chem lab. If you did it the same way we did (and it sounds like you did), it involved some nasty stuff.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Regardless of the process used, yes it does involve very nasty stuff.

[RippenRoblez]

u may wanna check your eye brows..lol

[xtriple5soulx]

CRAZY MAN !