How to Make Flash Paper - Magic Trick Fireballs (Nitrocellulose)

[rickydeeman]

And I'm also wondering if this is reactive enough to be ignited by a flint spark?

[rickydeeman]

How do you get that sulfuric acid?

[kardshark100]

where can you buy the solution you used last is it home made or did you buy it

[jtparm2]

@lyrison flash cotton burns much faster than flash paper, but they are made with a similar process

[zakshaks]

or you could just heat up the reactants potassium nitrate and the 18 molar sulfuric acid and run the vapors through a condensor that uses a fish tank pump to circulate the water to have a higher yield of nitric acid as well as a higher concentration.

[wanoman99]

I did this and burnt my house down, all that was left was a toasteR, AnSd THatds wHaat I'm tIpInG tHis c0mm3Nt 0n :(

[GNBrews]

Where is your safety gear, young man? ;)

[XbLROUGEx3]

what happened to the ballistic knife from the pez dispenser

[lyrison]

 Doesn't nitrocellulose usually burn a lot faster?

[lyrison]

I love Rooto. It's a great source of sulfuric acid, and I can buy it at Ace for $24/gallon. :)

Awesome vid! I always wanted to make nitrocellulose.

[XxONEWAYOUTxX]

Or... You can buy it... Just a thought.

[MatthewNJDavis]

@Alexrulz99,

Not 4 long so it is relatively safe

[spanglishman1234]

@Alexrulz99 yes I am

[Cheesedud6]

Do you eat food with those spoons?

[Alexrulz99]

is it hot?

[Taziod]

Hey I made this! Turns out I should have listened to you though, I skipped over the "boring" safety tips and also watched the whole video on mute listening to eye of the tiger, so i did this in my garage with the car on for the lights(turned the engin on not to waste electricity) terrible idea BUT I HAVE SOME SICK ASS PAPER! I think I left my sheets next to the klenex box, Oh! if my mom tries to blow her nose i'm going to be pissed!

[nowaycrowd]

Where the fuck do you get potassium nitrate

[gamefreak5671]

wouldnt the acid melt the bottle slowly?

[combat0703]

Thts so stupid

[LocoRoco227]

Faster way: drown cotton in gasoline, light it

[Ribstickdude]

What are the other examples of Sulfuric acid?

[nickoftricks]

it seems six people forgot to dilute the acid :)

[v7DusK]

Great work but look at your hands. You seriously need to wear gloves more often!

[michealjakson]

Is this a synthesis reaction?

[lolvuzedrago]

@purplemutantas ok mommy

[gwpc2020]

Hey where i´m can find sulfuric acid in Brazil???

[cybermasterdza]

@gwpc2020 If u find out... let me know. Se descubrir me conta!

[daspense]

i wish my chemistry teacher wasnt such a fucking wanker.

she actually told me that we werent going to be reviewing quantim mechanics in her class. i walked out and didnt come back

[TheMack360]

forgive me if this is obvious to some of u but wut would the sodiom bicarbonate solution be?

[Forumdude09]

@TheMack360 it would be baking soda+water duhh

[Nighthawkinlight]

@pyroscience42 Yes, it can be substituted. I don't know what the ratios would be. You can figure it out by finding the chemical weight of NH4 and K, and change the amount of NH4NO3 based on the ratio of the differing weights to obtain the same moles of nitrate.

[DenisAhaMan]

lasagna 

[mrchitters]

For a better result use cotton wool instead of cloth...the wool only needs to be in the solution for about 10 seconds but has an amazing result!! You can also use uera to stabilize the acids, it's actually preferred. BTW you should not use metal, rather plastic or glass rod, but hey if we worry about that kind of stuff we wouldn't be watching this video! :)

[99Chemicals]

use cotton balls = pure cotton= more suface area = faster burn !!

[lingd8]

Can i use ammonium nitrate as opposed to potassium nitrate? if so, could you tell me the stoiciometric conversions?

[mcwario13]

@lingd8 You can you anyting with m=nitrate in it except aluminum nitrate nahahydrate

[keneth166]

2:57 looks like sliced cheese

[Reaper12354]

He took hours to make it and it burned in a matter of seconds):

[mcwario13]

YOU SHOULD USE STRONTIUM NITRATE INSTEAD!!!!!!!!!!

[SuperDeckreviews]

where do you get sulfuric acid

[7TheGameHub7]

what will happen if u touch it without rinsinging

??????????????????

[cheif6699]

@7TheGameHub7 X_X

[7TheGameHub7]

@cheif6699 lol

[99Chemicals]

I love the gloves. 

[MrCpuclocker]

Nighthawk have you ever made a girandola like on your shirt?

[TAMYCRON]

That burns very slow. It is no good. Use nitric acid next time.

[17jokerface7]

@supertrackstar22 it's basically baking soda

[Ave210Knife]

Wtf where are your gloves. You know nitrated fingers burn two. Also I would suggest getting a glass stir rod so u don't have to use metal that will dissolve in the solution.

[59Ballons]

What would happen if someone touched the sodium bicarbonate and sulfuric acid solution, before rinsing it, and neutralizing it?

[1ukjunglednbraver]

imagine doing a whole shirt and giving it to someone you dont like for christmas.... probably would take long for them to go up in smoke

[xman4298]

Cool I did this once at my house my friends love it

[LolTechTutorials]

@NightHawkInLight amzn(dot)to/m42He4 You can get cotton paper

[HaloCreed13579]

how did he get my cocaine? O_o

[scasemagic]

Do you have to use cotton or can you use tissue paper?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@scasemagic Tissue paper will work with this process and will burn quickly when it's completed, but it would be extremely hard to make it keep its shape. It will probably be a lump of mush by the time you're done nitrating it.

[Stormrunner0002]

@Nighthawkinlight If a person was knowledgable in how to make homemade paper this could be a good way to go about this. Making paper sheet out of the nitrated mush.

[demnlordd666]

@Nighthawkinlight couldn't you use vellum paper for a quicker burn? it is a high grade tracing like paper that once was made from animal skin but modern stuff is from cotton. so should nitrate very well. though it is not as mobile as tissue it is quite thin

[pyrosimple]

what concentration is your acid?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@pyrosimple ~95%

[Raydoom1]

@Nighthawkinlight holy shit , where the hell do you get that , ive made 70% by boiling battery acid , i had to stop boiling as the fumes coming of the acid where too intense

[SuperTrackstar22]

What's sodium bicarbonate? And where can I get it.

[Anthony82949]

@SuperTrackstar22 Sodium Bicarbonate is sometimes used for a washing up soap substitute. And that is really easy to get. Any supermarket.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@SuperTrackstar22 The common name is baking soda.

[stawar10021]

@Nighthawkinlight are you a sciencetist

[decoy908]

@SuperTrackstar22 lol

[mimattia]

it makes nitrous acid, not nitric

[Nighthawkinlight]

@mimattia Not so. Nitrous acid (HNO2) would be formed if using nitrites (Such as KNO2), here I use a nitrate (KNO3) which forms nitric acid (HNO3) in solution.

[donnelrj01]

Not bad. A few improvements could be to use pure cotton wool, ammonium nitrate as opposed to KNO3, much longer nitration time and stabilisation of the final product with a nitrogen scavenger such as urea.

[ytgetter8758]

What would you use this for apart from burning down the neighbours?

[ask666999]

great job man !!! a kind nitrocellulose ive produced with sulphuric acid and nitric acid + cellulose. But on my experiment, there's a great reaction when sulphuric acid neutralize the water remain by reaction with nitric and cellulose. After more and more try , the perfect product appears when the cellulose remain white o littleyellow and white (no contaminations) .-.... excuse for my worse english

[krssnoop]

Is it possible to make flash cotton/paper with Nitrocellulose "Lacquer"???

as this dries rock solid...

[squirtrocks123]

what concentration did u use here?

[MrTimthemellon]

when i subscribed you only had <3000 subs :D and i still watch your vids.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@MrTimthemellon Thank you very much for your long term support! My videos have improved just a little since then huh ;)

[HerrCaZini]

gloves! :p believe me acid burn hurt a lot!

[vietnamisalv]

can i use car

battery acid

[Nighthawkinlight]

@vietnamisalv I'm not sure if you will be able to without first concentrating it. At minimum you'll need to use more. Worth a shot.

[vietnamisalv]

@Nighthawkinlight i tryed today and it did not work

how can i concentrate the sulfuric acid ?

[bRadicalmagic1]

Seemed to work out relatively descent. Thanks for the infomachum.

[SortedPrawn8]

does it have to be potassium nitrate could i use magnesium nitrate?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@SortedPrawn8 Any nitrate will do if you adjust the ratio to compensate for the change.

[DarKXeroX13]

looks like wantan

[hexamine2012]

not very quick

[Nighthawkinlight]

@hexamine2012 No it isn't really. This is a quick process using sub quality cotton. If the directions are followed exactly from my website you'll see I add more sulfuric acid about mid way through the nitration. If that step is added and more nitration time allowed you'll see that this process is very capable of creating an extremely fast product. The video I have attached to this shows an example of NC that was made with the longer process. It is fast enough to rival any commercial product.

[giorulesallofu]

@nighthawkinlight Why are you using a metal spoon!

[LolTechTutorials]

Maybe you could try using paper towel or toilet paper :)

[Nighthawkinlight]

@LolTechTutorials I have. Both are too fragile and fall apart. The best thing to use would be 100% cotton paper which might be available at an art supply store.

[LolTechTutorials]

@LolTechTutorials Oh, ok

[okm112]

cold you do it with a whole t-shirt then add it to a dummy and fire it 

[Nighthawkinlight]

@okm112 Yep. I wouldn't suggest wearing it, as a small spark from walking across the carpet in your socks could set you aflame.

[flamingpyroman]

@bakeddobes ??? That's not correct at all. Making nitroglycerin has nothing to do with making nitrocellulose. Gun cotton and flash paper are both forms of nitrocellulose, one is just more fully nitrated then the other.

[bakeddobes]

@flamingpyroman i know sorry my words got mixed up i meant to say basically it would be a really powerful thing to soak cotton in nitroglycerine, i was tired

[flamingpyroman]

@bakeddobes Classically, nitro was soaked into diatomaceous earth to make dynamite. Much more powerful when soaked into ammonium nitrate or nitrocellulose, to make active dynamite or blasting gelatin, however =)

[NLhardcorebobNL]

I have KNO3, HNO3 and H2SO4. Wouldn't it be easier to just use HNO3 instead of H2SO4 + KNO3?

[flamingpyroman]

@NLhardcorebobNL Yes, but I would reserve my Nitric acid for more exciting things then nitrocellulose ;-)

[Nighthawkinlight]

@NLhardcorebobNL If you have it. It's more expensive to use nitric acid than a nitrate salt.

[ERFireworks]

Where would you get Sufuric Acid from?

[flamingpyroman]

@ERFireworks I found Rooto drain opener at Ace Hardware. Just check the plumbing section of every hardware store in the area. Sulfuric acid drain openers often come with the bottle in a plastic bag, and mention sulfuric acid somewhere on the label.

[tomson600]

How much residue was left after the shirt burned?

[Serostern]

Cotton balls make a faster product aswell =)

[jettril99]

could i use potassium chlorate as the potassium nitrate

[jakebreak789]

@jettril99 No. This would create chloric acid. It decomposes explosively on contact with organic matter.

[jettril99]

@jakebreak789 k thnx

[Nighthawkinlight]

@jettril99 No, you mush use a nitrate for this reaction.

[pyrosimple]

How concentrated is the sulfuric acid?

[jakebreak789]

@pyrosimple Rooto drain opener is usually around 92-96%.

[Reptiledictionary225]

Hehehehe

[00alexthegreat]

Great video. Very well done. Also, what is the molarity of the Sulfuric Acid that you are using? Depending how much chemistry you know, how many moles of Sulfuric Acid are in 1L of solution? Thanks.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@00alexthegreat The acid is 95%+ so somewhere around 18M.

[00alexthegreat]

Great video. Very well done.

[TheFyroPyro]

if only pottasium nitrate was used, would there be any effect?

[flamingpyroman]

@TheFyroPyro nope.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@TheFyroPyro No. It would not burn in any way similar to this.

[FabricioRWitt]

Could I do this with Sodium Nitrate instead of Potassium? You videos are great! Congratulations from Brazil!

[jakebreak789]

@FabricioRWitt Yes. Just make sure it's dry. NaNO3 easily picks up atmospheric moisture.

[jean9910]

If you ever saw ninja assasin you know that the germans use this flare that lights up the ground for a good 15 minuts and not only a little red ball that dosent realy produce light can you show us how to make these or tell us how?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@jean9910 It would likely be a composition of aluminum powder and strontium nitrate pressed into a flare tube.

[spotlightman1234]

How should I modify this procedure if i use nitric acid and sulfuric eliminating the potassium sulfate. I just distilled some nitric acid and wanted to ask someone what the exact molar ratios I should use between sulfuric acid and nitric acid to get the best product. I would really appreciate if you could help me as I need to make some for school.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@spotlightman1234 I'm sorry, I haven't worked out the exact stoichiometry. You may be able to find it elsewhere online with a search for nitrocellulose. The salt method described on my website makes an extremely high quality NC, even surpassing some commercial grades, but I have not put any effort into perfecting an acid method. It is not worth the trouble for me when nitrates are so much more inexpensive, and much less effort than distilling nitric acid.

[TheBombBros]

I like the nitrocellulose on cotton better. Its faster and seems like it burns more cleanly. Is there any real use for this? I wouldn't see it being used for anything but magic tricks. Otherwise great video! Dig the Girandola shirt too!

[Nighthawkinlight]

@TheBombBros Magic tricks are the only common use for flash paper. Nitrocellulose is used as a non water soluble binder in fireworks, and this paper could be dissolved in acetone to be used as such. There are many effects that can only be obtained, or look the best with an NC binder, dragon eggs for example.

[TheBombBros]

@Nighthawkinlight Thanks for getting back to me.

[Chribbe0502]

very nice video, excellente t-shirt ;D

[phil1692]

Awesome!!

[shinydialga123]

i know next to nothing about this subject and all the chemicals you use, but i still like watching it :) as im a fan of fire(works) :D. Again a nice video, thanks :)

[williepie]

substitute the paper with glycerin or toluene (-;

[cheerdiver]

@williepie It would have to be done three times to toluene for the "Tri", and be sure to freeze the glycerin ver for safety reasons until U get ready to use it.

But I am sure Nhl knows this already.

[Nighthawkinlight]

@cheerdiver ...Not quite...You're chemistry is a little shotty there. Three nitro groups can be given in one acid bath, it doesn't take multiple runs.

Also, freezing NG sounds extremely dangerous. Liquids crack and shear as they freeze, and both of those things are two major initiators for sensitive compounds. This is why large crystals are avoided at all cost in solid HE. Frozen NG would be much more dangerous than liquid.

Anyway, please, no more discussion of HE on my videos.

[Hissatsu5]

Is this the same thing as gun cotton

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Hissatsu5 Yes, flash paper is made of the same chemical.

[BulgarianBoy92]

hmmmm what if you dont neutralize the paper?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@BulgarianBoy92 I have been told that the acid content makes it more sensitive, but I have never tested it myself.

[BulgarianBoy92]

@Nighthawkinlight thanx :)

[dgfia]

Good effort but it could burn even more rapidly

[mihek]

@Nighthawkinlight Hmm, point taken, that really is good quality flash cotton. Probably even better and faster burning than flash cotton i made with sulfuric and nitric acid.... but mine is a year old so that might have taken away some of it's burning speed...

[californiapyro]

love the tut!

[Dornier335A]

Is it possible to use sodium nitrate instead of potassium nitrate?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@Dornier335A It is.

[MakkeSk8]

Wow night you are brown! had a vecation or something? :D

[anaquzusu666]

kruto

[shidoink]

i think his stoichiometrics are off. i think ammonium nitrate desolves better than potassium nitrate

[nabnabking]

GLOVES!

[AxelTiger]

We cant get Kno3 or sulfuric acid (in drain cleaner form) over the counter here in in Australia as we are the special ed country thats not aloud to buy harmful chemicals

[sirbismuth]

@AxelTiger You can if you do a bit of searching.

[thedonqwet]

@AxelTiger hey mate, yeah we can. i live in Qld and its no problem. you can get kno3 from eBay and sulfuric acid from any hardware. easy as. i work on a farm so the kno3 is even easier. good luck.

[xecoq]

does flash cotton work the same way?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@xecoq Yes. I have the full process for making extremely high quality flash cotton on my website. A link is in the video description.

[xecoq]

@Nighthawkinlight ok thank you very much keep the vids up :)

[sashablfc]

since its called flash paper would this work similar with cardboard?

[Nighthawkinlight]

@sashablfc It would burn very slowly.

[bvbthebest09]

nice girandola shirt ;)

[Nighthawkinlight]

@bvbthebest09 They'll be for sale soon after I return from my trip.

[matty958]

not to be a kill joy, but just get a synthetic shirt it will burn just as good maybe not as quick but in some cases it would depending on the exact type

[pyroguy1030]

okay:)

[Nighthawkinlight]

I will be out of country for the next week. I am uploading this video just before I leave, so please don't hold it against me if I do not respond to comments until I return. In the meantime, please don't let that stop you from leaving a comment for me to read when I get back home!

[pyrosparkerII]

@Nighthawkinlight I know that nitrate salts will react with sulfuric acid to make nitric acid, but do you know if there are different measurements for different salts? (specifically ammonium nitrate)