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Napalm Experiment

  • Writer: James Semper
    James Semper
  • Jan 9, 2017
  • 2 min read

For those who are not family with napalm, this was a chemical used extensively in war to burn enemy personnel. This version of napalm also was mixed with components that made it explosive, stick to the skin, and burn for several minutes.

I have no intention of giving information on how to make something as dangerous as this. What I will give in this instruction is how to make a makeshift version that does quite well to start fires. As a final note, I am not responsible for any damages so be smart and think of the consequences before you act.

Safety Hazards:

Flammable substances

Known carcinogens

Skin irritation

Possible explosive

To do this experiment you will need (links to MSDS):

Method:

To make a small amount, pour an inch of gasoline into a plastic water bottle. To this bottle, add Styrofoam.

Cap bottle, shake, and vent periodically.

Add as much Styrofoam as needed.

If using benzene, mix it with gasoline in a 2:3 ratio by weight. Note that benzene is carcinogenic.

This reaction can be done in various containers and with various amounts of reagent. However, the gasoline/benzene can react with various plastics. Some people prefer aluminum coffee cans to make and store their napalm.

Added thoughts:

I like the water bottle method because of the ease of mixing. I also leave a small amount of gasoline in the bottle. This allows me to make a gasoline trail so I can light the napalm from a distance.

Once I tried this reaction in a plastic cup. I quickly realized that was a bad idea after I "melted" plastic onto the bed of a truck.

There was one time when I tried using a quarter gallon of gasoline. I ran out of Styrofoam and had too much gas remaining. This proved to be too much for the small area I lit it in and it made quite a shock wave and fireball. Be smart with what you do.

References:

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