The Anarchist Cookbook (70 page)

MAGICUBE ($2.40 for 12) type flashbulbs. Simply crack the plastic cover off, remove the

reflector, and you will see 4 bulbs, each of which has a small metal rod holding it in place.

CAREFULLY grasp this rod with a pair of needle-nose pliers, and pry gently upwards,

making sure that NO FORCE IS APPLIED TO THE GLASS BULB.

Each bulb is coated with plastic, which must be removed for them to be effective in our

application. This coating can be removed by soaking the bulbs in a small glass of acetone

for 30-45 minutes, at which point the plastic can be easily peeled away.

The best method to use these is to dissolve some nitrocellulose based smokeless powder in

acetone and/or ether, forming a thick glue-like paste. Coat the end of the fuse with this

paste, then stick the bulb (with the metal rod facing out) into the paste. About half the

bulb should be completely covered, and if a VERY THIN layer of nitrocellulose is coated

over the remainder then ignition should be very reliable.

To insure that the device lands with the bulb down, a small streamer can be attached to

the opposite side, so when it is tossed high into the air the appropriate end will hit the

ground first.

---ELECTRICAL IGNITION---

Electrical ignition systems for detonation are usually the safest and most reliable form of

ignition. Electrical systems are ideal for demolition work, if one doesn't have to worry so

much about being caught. With two spools of 500 ft of wire and a car battery, one can

detonate explosives from a "safe", comfortable distance, and be sure that there is nobody

around that could get hurt. With an electrical system, one can control exactly what time a

device will explode, within fractions of a second. Detonation can be aborted in less than a

second's warning, if a person suddenly walks by the detonation sight, or if a police car

chooses to roll by at the time. The two best electrical igniters are military squibs and

model rocketry igniters. Blasting caps for construction also work well. Model rocketry

igniters are sold in packages of six, and cost about $1.00 per pack. All that need be done

to use them is connect it to two wires and run a current through them. Military squibs are

difficult to get, but they are a little bit better, since they explode when a current is run

through them, whereas rocketry igniters only burst into flame. Most squibs will NOT

detonate KClO3/petroleum jelly or RDX. This requires a blasting cap type detonation in

most cases. There are, however, military explosive squibs which will do the job.

Igniters can be used to set off black powder, mercury fulminate, or guncotton, which in

turn, can set of a high order explosive.

---HOW TO MAKE AN ELECTRIC FUZE---

By Capt. Hack & GW

Take a flashlight bulb and place it glass tip down on a file. Grind it down on the file until

there is a hole in the end. Solder one wire to the case of the bulb and another to the

center conductor at the end. Fill the bulb with black powder or powdered match head. One

or two flashlight batteries will heat the filament in the bulb causing the powder to ignite.

---ANOTHER ELECTRIC FUZE---

Take a medium grade of steel wool and pull a strand out of it. Attach it to the ends of two

pieces of copper wire by wrapping it around a few turns and then pinch on a small piece of

solder to bind the strand to the wire. You want about « inch of steel strand between the

wires. Number 18 or 20 is a good size wire to use.

Cut a « by 1 inch piece of cardboard of the type used in match covers. Place a small pile of

powdered match head in the center and press it flat. Place the wires so the steel strand is

on top of and in contact with the powder. Sprinkle on more powder to cover the strand.

The strand should be surrounded with powder and not touching anything else except the

wires at its ends. Place a piece of blackmatch in contact with the powder. Now put a piece

of masking tape on top of the lot, and fold it under on the two ends. Press it down so it

sticks all around the powder. The wires are sticking out on one side and the blackmatch on

the other.

A single flashlight battery will set this off.

---ELECTRO-MECHANICAL IGNITION---

Electro-mechanical ignition systems are systems that use some type of mechanical switch

to set off an explosive charge electrically. This type of switch is typically used in booby

traps or other devices in which the person who places the bomb does not wish to be

anywhere near the device when it explodes. Several types of electro-mechanical

detonators will be discussed

---Mercury Switches---

Mercury switches are a switch that uses the fact that mercury metal conducts electricity,

as do all metals, but mercury metal is a liquid at room temperatures. A typical mercury

switch is a sealed glass tube with two electrodes and a bead of mercury metal. It is sealed

because of mercury's nasty habit of giving off brain-damaging vapors. The diagram below

may help to explain a mercury switch.

______________

A / \ B

_____wire +______/_________ \

\ ( Hg )| /

\ _(_Hg___)|___/

|

|

wire - |

|

|

When the drop of mercury ("Hg" is mercury's atomic symbol) touches both contacts,

current flows through the switch. If this particular switch was in its present position,

A---B, current would be flowing, since the mercury can touch both contacts in the

horizontal position.

If, however, it was in the | position, the drop of mercury would only touch the + contact on

the A side. Current, then couldn't flow, since mercury does not reach both contacts when

the switch is in the vertical position. This type of switch is ideal to place by a door. If it

were placed in the path of a swinging door in the vertical position, the motion of the door

would knock the switch down, if it was held to the ground by a piece if tape. This would tilt

the switch into the vertical position, causing the mercury to touch both contacts, allowing

current to flow through the mercury, and to the igniter or squib in an explosive device.

---Tripwire Switches---

A tripwire is an element of the classic booby trap. By placing a nearly invisible line of

string or fishing line in the probable path of a victim, and by putting some type of trap

there also, nasty things can be caused to occur. If this mode of thought is applied to

explosives, how would one use such a tripwire to detonate a bomb. The technique is simple.

By wrapping the tips of a standard clothespin with aluminum foil, and placing something

between them, and connecting wires to each aluminum foil contact, an electric tripwire can

be made, If a piece of wood attached to the tripwire was placed between the contacts on

the clothespin, the clothespin would serve as a switch. When the tripwire was pulled, the

clothespin would snap together, allowing current to flow between the two pieces of

aluminum foil, thereby completing a circuit, which would have the igniter or squib in it.

Current would flow between the contacts to the igniter or squib, heat the igniter or squib,

causing it to explode. Make sure that the aluminum foil contacts do not touch the spring,

since the spring also conducts electricity.

---Radio Control Detonators---

In the movies, every terrorist or criminal uses a radio controlled detonator to set off

explosives. With a good radio detonator, one can be several miles away from the device,

and still control exactly when it explodes, in much the same way as an electrical switch.

The problem with radio detonators is that they are rather costly. However, there could

possibly be a reason that a terrorist would wish to spend the amounts of money involved

with a RC (radio control) system and use it as a detonator. If such an individual wanted to

devise an RC detonator, all he would need to do is visit the local hobby store or toy store,

and buy a radio controlled toy. Taking it back to his/her abode, all that he/she would have

to do is detach the solenoid/motor that controls the motion of the front wheels of a RC

car, or detach the solenoid/motor of the elevators/rudder of a RC plane, or the rudder of

a RC boat, and re-connect the squib or rocket engine igniter to the contacts for the

solenoid/motor. The device should be tested several times with squibs or igniters, and fully

charged batteries should be in both he controller and the receiver (the part that used to

move parts before the device became a detonator).

---DELAYS---

A delay is a device which causes time to pass from when a device is set up to the time that

it explodes. A regular fuse is a delay, but it would cost quite a bit to have a 24 hour delay

with a fuse. This section deals with the different types of delays that can be employed by

a terrorist who wishes to be sure that his bomb will go off, but wants to be out of the

country when it does.

---FUSE DELAYS---

It is extremely simple to delay explosive devices that employ fuses for ignition. Perhaps

the simplest way to do so is with a cigarette. An average cigarette burns for between 8-11

minutes. The higher the "tar" and nicotine rating, the slower the cigarette burns. Low

"tar" and nicotine cigarettes burn quicker than the higher "tar" and nicotine cigarettes,

but they are also less likely to go out if left unattended, i.e. not smoked. Depending on the

wind or draft in a given place, a high "tar" cigarette is better for delaying the ignition of a

fuse, but there must be enough wind or draft to give the cigarette enough oxygen to burn.

People who use cigarettes for the purpose of delaying fuses will often test the cigarettes

that they plan to use in advance to make sure they stay lit and to see how long it will burn.

Once a cigarettes burn rate is determined, it is a simple matter of carefully putting a hole

all the way through a cigarette with a toothpick at the point desired, and pushing the fuse

for a device in the hole formed.

|=|

|=| ---------- filter

|=|

| |

| |

|o| ---------- hole for fuse

cigarette ------------ | |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|_| ---------- light this end

---TIMER DELAYS---

Timer delays, or "time bombs" are usually employed by an individual who wishes to

threaten a place with a bomb and demand money to reveal its location and means to disarm

it. Such a device could be placed in any populated place if it were concealed properly.

There are several ways to build a timer delay. By simply using a screw as one contact at

the time that detonation is desired, and using the hour hand of a clock as the other

contact, a simple timer can be made. The minute hand of a clock should be removed, unless

a delay of less than an hour is desired.

The main disadvantage with this type of timer is that it can only be set for a maximum

time of 12 hours. If an electronic timer is used, such as that in an electronic clock, then

delays of up to 24 hours are possible. By removing the speaker from an electronic clock,

and attaching the wires of a squib or igniter to them, a timer with a delay of up to 24

hours can be made. All that one has to do is set the alarm time of the clock to the desired

time, connect the leads, and go away. This could also be done with an electronic watch, if a

larger battery were used, and the current to the speaker of the watch was stepped up via

a transformer. This would be good, since such a timer could be extremely small.

The timer in a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) would be ideal. VCR's can usually be set for

times of up to a week. The leads from the timer to the recording equipment would be the

ones that an igniter or squib would be connected to. Also, one can buy timers from

electronics stores that would be work well. Finally, one could employ a digital watch, and

use a relay, or electro-magnetic switch to fire the igniter, and the current of the watch

would not have to be stepped up.

---CHEMICAL DELAYS---

Chemical delays are uncommon, but they can be extremely effective in some cases. These

were often used in the bombs the Germans dropped on England. The delay would ensure

that a bomb would detonate hours or even days after the initial bombing raid, thereby

increasing the terrifying effect on the British citizenry.

If a glass container is filled with concentrated sulfuric acid, and capped with several

thicknesses of aluminum foil, or a cap that it will eat through, then it can be used as a

delay. Sulfuric acid will react with aluminum foil to produce aluminum sulfate and

hydrogen gas, and so the container must be open to the air on one end so that the pressure

of the hydrogen gas that is forming does not break the container.

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