NEWS: Acid Bombs Found in South Florida

In the past week, eight acid bombs have been found in a one square mile area of Coral Springs, Florida. The bombs are made from two-liter plastic soda bottles that have been filled with a few ounces of basic pool acid and a piece of tin foil. Two of the eight bombs detonated, one in the trunk of a car and the other in a mailbox. The others did not detonate. There were no injuries associated with these bombs. Coral Springs Police have not commented as whom may be behind the bombs or whom the targets were.


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[Edited on 6-1-2004 by worldwatcher]

they news is kind of blowing this one out of proportion... it's probably just some kids who learned about chemical reactions in a science class and wanted to be asshats.

any sort of cleaner like that when mixed with aluminium wil creat hydrogen. when the cap is on the bottle the pressure inside just gets higher and higher until the bottle bursts. it's not really that dangerous, just loud... but if in something (ie a mailbox) it could probably damage it a little.

what's really neat to do is to do this at night, but put a balloon on top. the hydrogen (since it's lighter than air) will go into the baloon. when the balloon gets pretty inflated, tie it off, tape a foot or so of toilet paper to it, light said toilet paper on fire, and release balloon. it's sort of like a cheap, homemade firework!

anyway, i'm just guessing that this is some punk kids, as that these "chemical bombs" really cannot do much damage.

yeah i figured a kid or some lonely person with a grudge...especiallys since it is all in a 1 square mile area... i figured someone either walking or riding a bike.....but you never really know and the police ain't talking much.

You definately don't want to be next to it when the plastic bottle breaks, but this is definately not a terrorist weapon.

Maybe they are juvinile wanabe terrorists? Gotta start somewhere!

hmm the terrorists must be low on funds if they are using coke bottles

I was unfortunate enough to be the victim of one of these bombs several years ago. It exploded at "point blank" range. While it scared the bejeezus out of me (probably not quite as loud as a gunshot), I don't think the effects could be called life-threatening. If any of the chemicals got into your eyes, I'm sure it could blind you. If the hydrogen gas released from it somehow ignited, I imagine it could be nasty. I also remember a HS science teacher mixing some acid and aluminum together, capping it with a balloon to collect the gases (hydrogen), and then igniting the balloon inside the classroom of a public school. It was all approved and legal, so don't think it was some crackpot teacher, and no one ever got hurt in all of his years of teaching. This was a controlled environment, of course, but I don't think it was too dangerous.

Oh yeah, the final affect of the "acid bomb" that hit me? I got a mild rash.

--J1M

Thanks for the info on the cheap balloon fireworks........I am a poor single mother and have not had a dime to waste on fireworks for 3 years.....and here comes July next month.......This year Mommas gunna ROCK!

I mean really, THANKS...this will be fun!

If you REALLY wanna have some fun w/the balloon firework thing that was posted earlier, get a CB radio and report a UFO sighting after sending one of those up next to an interstate highway. . .

The truck drivers will do the rest. . .

--J1M

(I do not condone the making of this device, and especially not the misleading of sleep deprived truck drivers. ;-)

Originally posted by theRiverGoddess
Thanks for the info on the cheap balloon fireworks........I am a poor single mother and have not had a dime to waste on fireworks for 3 years.....and here comes July next month.......This year Mommas gunna ROCK!

I mean really, THANKS...this will be fun!

You want BIG bang at low prices?
Dry ice + water + tightly capped plastic soda bottle = BIG boom.


*****DISCLAIMER ******

Dry ice bombs are normally safe DO NOT hold bottle after inserting ice and closing lid. Size of bottle and tightness of lid determine how fast bottle will explode --Amount of dry ice, amount of water, size of bottle and tightness of lid determine how big boom will be --

*****DISCLAIMER ******

We now return to our regulary scheduled program.......

[Edited on 2-6-2004 by NetStorm]

Originally posted by Just1Man
If the hydrogen gas released from it somehow ignited, I imagine it could be nasty.

actually, the hydrogen burns too fast to cause much more than singed off hair. but since everyone else is doing it:

another fun thing is a balloon filled with propane. just get it from a propane tank from a grill. the balloon will not rise though, so tape a couple feet of toilet paper to it and run away. and i mean RUN. a balloon less than a foot in diameter can produce a ball of flame up to six feet in diameter.

Originally posted by cmdrkeenkid
another fun thing is a balloon filled with propane. just get it from a propane tank from a grill. the balloon will not rise though, so tape a couple feet of toilet paper to it and run away. and i mean RUN. a balloon less than a foot in diameter can produce a ball of flame up to six feet in diameter.

Shouldn't you wear gloves when attempting this material transfer from tank to balloon? Propane is under pressure in the tank and thus extremely cold. Still an interesting project though.

Originally posted by titian
Shouldn't you wear gloves when attempting this material transfer from tank to balloon? Propane is under pressure in the tank and thus extremely cold.

the propane tanks for my grill arn't too cold to handle. they're about the same temperature on the outside and a tank of CO2. yay for insulation!

No, I mean the gas that exits the tank when the valve is open. That's why tank refillers wear heavy gloves when purging your tank, isn't it?

Originally posted by titian
No, I mean the gas that exits the tank when the valve is open. That's why tank refillers wear heavy gloves when purging your tank, isn't it?

oh, i gotcha. no, i've never gotten burned by the cold or anything yet. i just pull the balloon's neck as far over the valve as i can. the balloon does shrivle up at first from the cold, but the gas expands rapidly enough. it's best to blow a little air into it first.

Sorry to laugh but I just let my husband read this thread and he began telling me of all his exploits as a hoodlum teenager in the 60's. LOL. Sounds like end of school "fun" to me.
joey