First posted on FB 14/03/2020
Here is Jim demonstrating the explosive power of an intimate mixture of potassium chlorate and phosphorous (the heap of white powder). Shaw devised a method to mix these two compounds safely and always cautioned that it is NOT an experiment to try at home, saying “You may start such an operation but it is unlikely you will finish it! The likelihood is, it will finish you!
The force of the explosion creates an impression in the aluminium plate of a coin placed underneath. Shaw would use US or Canadian cents so as not to be accused of attempting to counterfeit a coin of the realm.
Video courtesy of the University of Nottingham School of Chemistry.
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