Extravaganza/How to blow stuff up so it looks pretty
A joint effort by the Malton's Angels and the surviors of malton, we humbly present
HOW TO BLOW THINGS UP SO IT LOOKS PRETTY!
Contributors: Nathan Wild, Padre Romero
Nate:As the coming extravaganza draws ever closer, we believe it is imperitive that the survivors of Malton understand how to blow things up in true celebratory fashon. We would apprecaite all pyrotechnicians to come forward and assist us.
Padre: Normally, I would preface this introduction by saying something to the nature of "Don't Try this at home" and "We're Professionals", however, the truth is that your home is probably overrun with zombies and we aren't professionals. Nathan is a gangster from london who went to the chemisty acadamy of Hard Knocks (Industrial waste disposal facility near the Thames) and I am a Jesuit who reads too much. If anyone has tips on how to do this more "professionally", please write them down.
How To Colorize Flares
By Nate
The remaining supplies of colored flares are dwindling rapidly. While many stashes remain in our city, we believe that all citizens must understand how to make flares in all colors of the rainbow, should they need them.
White: Your standard magnesium flare is white, this will be the tool you start with, should you wish to add pretty colors. To add other colors, metals must be added in different amounts, this process is called "infusing"
To infuse a flare, follow our simple procedure: 1) Sever the tip with a knife or wirecutter, very carefully, spilling any of the powdered metals within will ruin the flare. 2)Empty the powder within into a nonporous container such as a glass, vase, or burnished zombie skull. 3) Apply a binder, this can be made with the spoiled organic products from around the city, old sugar water works well. 4) Apply your infusion, described below. 5) allow them to mix freely, and dry in sunlight DO NOT heat above 121 degrees farenhiet 6)pour the gummy mixture back into the flare. 7) Experiment: the exact proportions of binder-base-and infusion vary based on many factors, and unless they are exactly right, you will get considerably more smoke than fire. As always, be cautious and as sober as possible.
Gold: Gold is my personal favorite, and also the easiest to make. Everyday iron will "burn" reddish-gold if infused with magnesium. You can't just toss iorn filings into your magnesium glue, however, they must be ground into a powder with the consistancy of chalk dust. Activated charcol must be added in very small amounts to the finished concotion. Factories and Warehouses are highly likely to contain both materials, and angel Bossa Nova will be conducting an expedition to the factories of Rolt Heights in early June.
Blue: Blue is very easy to make, but slightly dangerous. It involves copper cloride, which can be manufactured quite simply with copper, chlorine and heat. Take care not to inhale, as both chlorine and the gas produced in this reaction are highly toxic. Your finished product should be a blueish-green powder that mixes quite well with your magnesium. Differing the proportion of Copper chloride will yield different colors, from volt-blue to green.
Green : Yeah, the vibrant green your really looking for. Barium Chlorate (which can be found in any of West Graysides many Auto Repair Shops) produces a truly stunning Green. It needs to be mixed with a colorless fuel source as colors in this spectrum are easily washed-out or overpowered by yellows and reds.
Yellow : Yellow is a bugger to make, if anyone has any spare sodium lying around, we could probably do it. Sources of sodium most likely include: Drugstores, School Chemistry labs, and perhaps Necro-tech buildings.
Red: Possibly the hardest. For a true bright red, you need strontium oxides or Lithium Carbonates, both of which are hard to put togather. Lithium can be found in anti-psychotics and other "Crazy pills" like the ones Mira takes :-). How to extract them is up to a chemist with more "street Cred" than me.
Warseer Engineers Suggest: Extracting Lithium from Litium Ion Batteries. prepare the Litium as a solution and then bubble hydrogen gas through the solution, resulting in a oure litium precipitate, which can then be reacted with carbon.
Actual Fireworks
The problem with fireworks is twofold, firstly, we need to get them "up there" so they don't kill us, secondly they need to go off just right for the same reason. Firework manufacturing involves a good deal of trial and error, and concentration, so I'll have to turn you over to the Padre for this one:
By Padre Romero:
A firework needs a steady propulsive force for about 3 seconds, I highly suggest Black powder, packed loosely. Other methods include using model rocket engines (I highly suggest the nearly untouched hobby shop at Ackland Mall which makes the Battle of the Bear Pit all the more vital to our operations). A simple surgical removal of a flare's base works, but I do not reccomend it, as flares are ment to burn continously, and their lifting mechanism is not built with the timing system of a firework involved.
To manufacture an engine of your own, experiment with plastic tubes packed with black powder or tightly packed magnesium with binder, the latter WILL burn on the way up, and will basically be a flare.
The fireworks I will be manufacturing for the event use Estes B6-4 model rocket engines, and can be launched with an electric current rather than a incendiary fuse (which are difficult to manufacture). This is why the car battery generator system is imperitive. This also lets us launch over 20 fireworks at each launch site simulaniously.
Simple carboard "blast templates" can be created to the size and shape of the blast desired, Your typical firework involves a "Core", a pod of cardboard encased in black powder around which small "Stars" are placed. These stars are smaller cardboard spheres containing magnesium and one of the infusions listed above.
Please note, for simplicities sake, I have vastly simplified the process. To do this, you will need massive amounts of patience and effort, as well as safety gear, preform at your own risk.
Big Bertha
"Big Bertha" is the grand finale, the closing report of the Extravaganza. It will be launched from Silley Park half an hour after the celebration starts. "Big Bertha" is a contrivance of my own design, 25 rocket propelled pellets of strontium-infused thermite. I am well aware that thermite is rarely used for fireworks displays, however, zombies rarely host mall-to-mall tours, and jewish spiritual leaders rarely wield pistols [[1]]...we live in a strange city. So I have opted to use one of the most dangerous chemical reactions known to man.
Themite is highly combustable, capible of producing heat in excess of 2,000 degrees C. I have no intention of revealing the complete formula, as PKers, Griefers, and Morons could do untold damage with this knowladge, it is also difficult and dangerous to manufacture.
The process requires aluminum and Iron Oxide (rust) which must both be liquified. As well as some other ingredients which are rather difficult to come by. The reaction requires immense heat to start, but since we have magnesium in such great quantities (flares), we can activate it.
Thermite is incredibly hot, able to burn through metal and concrete. Because it has its own oxygen (through the iron oxide) It will burn underwater, and if smothered. "Big Bertha" will fire 25 incredibly bright puple bolts, which promises to be absolutely phenominal.
