Elemental carbon vs Charcoal

[Milyan720]

I was wondering if I could use carbon anodes from "heavy duty" batteries to make black powder by crushing them and dissolving soluble matter, I don't plan on making large quantities, I have access to balsa wood but I was wondering whats the difference between Carbon and Charcoal and if I can effect the quality of black powder.

 

Should I use balsa or carbon

 

 

 

 

.... I'm kinda a noob

[kilnj69]

I'd use the balsa if you have it, but your best bet would be to find some (cheaper) more readily available timber arounnd where you live, The carbon anodes found in batterys of the 6 volt kind are a mixture of carbon (a small amount) and graphite. i'm not an expert but as other threads on here have pointed out, elemental carbon (lampblack) is not very good at making a serviceable black powder.

Find some light pine pallets or light timber for building/construction, cook it in a retort and use that for starters. that's what I started with and have had very good results. good luck

Kilnj69

[dagabu]

I was wondering if I could use carbon anodes from "heavy duty" batteries to make black powder by crushing them and dissolving soluble matter, I don't plan on making large quantities, I have access to balsa wood but I was wondering whats the difference between Carbon and Charcoal and if I can effect the quality of black powder.

 

Should I use balsa or carbon

 

 

 

 

.... I'm kinda a noob

 

PM me please, I have a book that I want to send you, it will answer a lot of your questions and help you in your journey. The questions you are asking are easily answered with a simple Google search and it does appear that you are baiting us in a way with your questions about sulfur from eggs and using the carbon from dry cell battery cores (don't do that).

 

Serviceable charcoal can be had from nearly any large store that carries lump hard wood charcoal. Is it fast and reactive? No, but it will work and is a LOT cheaper than carbon of any other kind.

[BurritoBandito]

@Milyan720: Why don't you just try crushing down some diamonds for your BP?

[Milyan720]

Good idea!

Now, where did my mums diamond ring go?

[Mumbles]

BP made with diamond dust in place of charcoal does actual work.

[BurritoBandito]

I know, I've seen a video of it somewhere, but couldn't find it when making my post. It didn't burn well though and is a pretty expensive alternative to charcoal. It was really more of a "white powder" though.

[hindsight]

Cannot imagine what BP rocket fuel made from diamond would do to my spindle and rammer.

[BurritoBandito]

It would put some hair on your spindles chest.

[Niladmirari]

@Milyan720: Why don't you just try crushing down some diamonds for your BP?

And instead of KNO3 use CsNO3

[MrB]

Diamond dust and cesium nitrate... Straight of the bat i think we need to change the formula slightly, diamond being so much purer then charcoal prolly needs to be decreased slightly. And i would suggest using a spindle design that lets you use a puller, since it should compact and grip the spindle a lot harder then charcoal. But sure, go ahead. I wanna see it on liftoff. Cesium nitrate supposedly enjoys emitting in the infrared spectrum. Low light rocket engines possible? Shouldn't be a lot of burning debris left from the diamond dust either.

Hell, i dunno, but it sounds cool. I wanna see it.

B!

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

Let's try to make the most expensive BP substitute. This sounds like fun

[Niladmirari]

Cesium nitrate supposedly enjoys emitting in the infrared spectrum.

So... we have dark prime

[Milyan720]

My dad works at a diamond tool company. They have powdered diamonds in 10gm-3kg containers. There rather expensive. Edited July 5, 2014 by Milyan720

[hindsight]

Let's try to make the most expensive BP substitute. This sounds like fun

See this thread also by Milyan720(720 million USD?): (http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/9772-sulphur-from-eggs/

 

Oсeтр caviar cost more per ounce than diamond dust. dagabu would agree that charcoal made from this caviar should be faster than willow and have more sparks than pine.

 

And why stop at cesium...how about francium nitrate?

[MrB]

Since francium is sort of hard to even store, in quantities, i sort of think francium nitrate based pyro would self ignite in short order. Not sure. Were so far out now that it's sort of guesswork. Anyone ever obtained a measurable amount of francium nitrate?

B!

[hindsight]

MrB, If you think francium is hard to store, you should try to store Caspian caviars. They are under watch by multiple international law enforcement agencies!

[Milyan720]

Id love to grow an extra limb from the francium

[Respirator]

The charcoal question has been discuswsed here several times including - http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/8263-best-black-powder-charcoal/

 

Also the chart here would help - http://www.wichitabuggywhip.com/fireworks/charcoal_tests.html

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By the way... looking up the most expensive materials quickly yielded antimatter, so anti-francium nitrate etc... makes a great alternative to standard BP - you might only need to use 1/1000000th of shell weight for lift.

 

I went off topic.