Chlorine Trifluoride

[bsalis]

Entertaining blog entry here from a while back on an exciting chemical that was once investigated for use as a rocket fuel (well, technically an oxidiser i would think). They didn't use it... I think Kerbals would have though.

Sand won't save you this time

[Tommygun]

Wow, I thought pure hydrogen peroxide was bad.

[Johno]

That website is brilliant!

As a Chemistry teacher I use it occasionally when my class needs a laugh.

My favourite entry is on hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (and yes, I CAN say that out loud and type it from memory . . )!

[rdfox]

I love that site. FOOF is one of my personal favorites.

Though I also wonder why no truly suicidally depressed chemist hasn't tried to synthesize a compound that uses an N18 ring as a base, with each of the ring nitrogens having a nitro- or aza- radical hanging off of it...

[Matokage]

I think Kerbals are made out of it!

[zapy97]

if the Al Queda got there hands on this it would be 9/11 al over again only all around the world

[LaydeeDem]

if the Al Queda got there hands on this it would be 9/11 al over again only all around the world

Looks like someone likes sharing their political views. Please don't derail threads with politics.

[Tauge]

*pulls out my Don't **** With list*

*adds Chlorine Trifluoride to it*

Thanks to the update. The list gets longer every day.

[vexx32]

Might want to add hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane to that list, buddy

You'll find that on the very same site as the ClF₃ article.

[Tommygun]

Anything with that many letters in it must be dangerous.

[phoenix_ca]

Anything with that many letters in it must be dangerous.

Nah. Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase is important. Couldn't live without it. Well...you might be able to live without it. Just need to replace it with something else that's just as awesome. *ahem*

As to the OP...that's scary. Yeah. Never, ever touching that stuff.

Though I've already learned that any chemical that doesn't follow the basic rules of high-school chemistry bonding probably has wacky, possibly very scary properties.

[Johno]

Every time I read about one of these explosive compounds to my class, I always get at least one student saying "Could you make a bomb out of it?"

The answer, quite simply, is NO.

To make a substance into an explosive, you need to make sure that it detonates when you want it to, not a moment before! Ironically, to be useful a bomb must actually be safe (a bomb the blows up in your pocket on the way to the target is no good).

The explosive chemicals on the "Things I won't work with" list are all too ticklish to be used for military or terrorist purposes. . . .

[phoenix_ca]

Indeed. *nods in agreement* Just look at C4, arguably one of the most successful explosives ever devised. That stuff is incredibly stable, but incredibly powerful when detonated in a very specific way. You can stomp on it, you can set it on fire and cook with it, and it won't blow-up in your face. It's about as harmful as play-dough, until you stick a detonator in it.

[LaydeeDem]

Anything with that many letters in it must be dangerous.

Deoxyribonucleic acid.

[Tommygun]

I have a personal theory that anything with more than 20 letters in it should carry a possible cancer warning label.

[Moach]

according to the OP, whether or not this thing may give you cancer is the least of concerns for anyone brave/stupid enough to have anything to do with it

what awesome substance! - it makes wet sand and test engineers catch on fire! -

i feel my sense of humor just took another turn for the morbidly hilarious

[zapy97]

according to the OP, whether or not this thing may give you cancer is the least of concerns for anyone brave/stupid enough to have anything to do with it

what awesome substance! - it makes wet sand and test engineers catch on fire! -

i feel my sense of humor just took another turn for the morbidly hilarious

right after i saw your "brave or stupid enough" i turned around and saw jebediah kerman failing to get the bottle open

[Galane]

Dioxygen Difluoride O2F2 or FOOF seems like it would be more powerful as a fuel http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/57303-A-FOOF-fueled-engine

Storing it would be a mite more difficult than CF3 since it's possible to lightly coat the inside of a metal container with CF3 to oxidize the surface then fill it up with more CF3. Just *don't* poke anything in there to stir it around which might scratch through the oxide coating and allow the stuff to have at the bare metal. Flaming hole in the fuel tank, right away.

FOOF, yes a storage problem since it reacts and explodes with just about everything even at temperatures as low as -300F or -180C. Just think of it, a fuel that has to be stored at near absolute zero and can be lit off simply by "warming" it up to 300 below zero then mixing it with a bit of Hydrogen Sulfide. (Should be Hydrogen Disulfide since it's H2S.)

Chemistry was the domain of some very brave people before computers were able to simulate the dangerous stuff. Brave or just didn't give a bleep about their own safety.

[Dr. Ivo Robotnik]

Indeed. *nods in agreement* Just look at C4, arguably one of the most successful explosives ever devised. That stuff is incredibly stable, but incredibly powerful when detonated in a very specific way. You can stomp on it, you can set it on fire and cook with it, and it won't blow-up in your face. It's about as harmful as play-dough, until you stick a detonator in it.

What about Semtex? it was made in my country and i think its pretty stable and candetonate underwater.. Not sure if C4 can do that too. Also its plastic. Also not sure if it is so safe. And for that Chlorine trifluoride Wow just wow ._. its.. just UNBELIAVEBLE how something like this could exist?!

[Pyre]

This thread is over a year old guys, let the dead rest in peace.

[lajoswinkler]

It's better to use it than to open a new one with the same title. You don't go necromancer on threads if you want to say "wow" or "that's great". If the guy wants to know something about it, let him ask...

[architeuthis]

But necromancy is of the devil....

Anyway, here is a long joke about chlorine trifluoride as an oxidizer for rocket engines. Please someone read it.

[rdfox]

For those who like the idea of insane rocket fuels, I highly recommend the book Ignition!: An Informal History of Rocket Propellants by John D. Clark. It's hard to find and a bit outdated (1972), but it's both a highly informative and, often, screamingly funny look at the history of all forms of rocket propellants, and the process of learning this information. It's also the source that refers to ClF3 as "highly hypergolic with every known oxidizer, with no detectible ignition delay [and] also hypergolic with wood, paper, and lab techs"...

[bsalis]

Ignition!: An Informal History of Rocket Propellants by John D. Clark.

It is actually easy to find online from many sources, and free. I believe the copyright has expired or somesuch.

One source: http://www.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf

It is a fascinating and entertaining read, even if your knowledge of chemistry is basic. The book was originally brought to my attention from this blog article I posted about. I finally got around to reading it recently, only days before this thread was mega-bumped. One of those that's-just-weird moments.

[vexx32]

Oh, it's so nice to see this thread back (although, necromancy, grr!). My favourite chemical. Mmmm.

*starts pondering how difficult it is to safely synthesize*