Wasteland Survivalist: A Scientific Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Survival

(Please note: This chapter is for general knowledge purposes only, and all content is from publicly available online sources. Many practical details have been omitted, and the results are extremely difficult to reproduce. Please do not attempt to imitate this; I am not responsible for any consequences arising from such omissions.)

The next morning, Gu Lang adjusted the position of the yacht.

Taking advantage of the ebb and flow of the tide, the boat was once again washed ashore and ran aground.

Today is August 15th, the 8rd day of the sixth lunar month, the time of year when the tides are at their lowest.

Next, he will be conducting dangerous chemical synthesis work, which requires maintaining a stable experimental environment.

Gulang used agricultural plastic film to set up a tent on the stern platform.

They took out a camouflage net from the forest cabin, coated it with mud, and covered it on top of the yacht as camouflage.

Then, using the complete set of equipment from the spinning mill's laboratory, they built their own chemical laboratory on the stern platform.

The first step was to produce nitric acid. After putting on protective clothing, he took potassium nitrate powder and concentrated sulfuric acid.

The concentration of concentrated sulfuric acid is 98%, and calculations show that it needs to be mixed together at a mass ratio of 1:1.5.

Gu Lang added the weighed potassium nitrate crystals into the round-bottom flask, and then slowly added concentrated sulfuric acid along the flask wall.

Add only a little at a time, and gently shake to mix thoroughly to avoid splashing caused by excessive heat.

After the reaction was complete, nitric acid and potassium hydrogen sulfate were produced in the glass.

Because nitric acid has a boiling point of only 83 degrees Celsius, which is much lower than that of sulfuric acid at 330 degrees Celsius.

Nitric acid vapor can be separated by distillation, then collected after condensation.

Gu Lang used a propane torch to heat the beaker over a low flame, controlling the temperature between 80 and 90 degrees Celsius.

White mist was quickly produced in the reactants, and nitric acid vapor entered the condenser through the conduit.

It condenses into a brownish-red liquid and drips into a receiving bottle.

This is because the nitrogen dioxide produced in the reaction dissolves in the crude concentrated nitric acid.

So Gu Lang continued to use a dropper to introduce air into the liquid.

After expelling the dissolved nitrogen dioxide, a colorless concentrated nitric acid solution is obtained.

Once enough nitric acid is obtained, the next step is to begin manufacturing mercuric fulminate.

Mercuric fulminate is a typical primary explosive and was also the most common detonator in the past.

Its most famous characteristic is its high sensitivity to external stimuli; impacts, friction, sparks, and electrical discharges can instantly ignite mercury fulminate.

Therefore, it is mainly used as a percussion charge or detonator to ignite gunpowder or detonate other more stable secondary explosives.

It is also the technological basis for explosive detonators and bullet primers.

It was only due to its toxicity, corrosiveness, and instability that it was replaced by the safer and more reliable lead azide.

As for lead azide, its synthesis requires crystal form control technology.

The process was too complicated, so Gulang abandoned it from the beginning.

Gu Lang pulled out an old-fashioned mercury sphygmomanometer that he had previously obtained from an abandoned clinic.

Turn on the switch on the blood pressure monitor and slowly pour the mercury from the monitor into the glass bottle.

Next, metallic mercury is dissolved in concentrated nitric acid to produce mercuric nitrate.

The solution turns green at this point, and reddish-brown nitrogen dioxide gas is also produced.

He shook the beaker to confirm that the mercury had completely dissolved.

Next, pour the distilled and purified anhydrous alcohol into a round-bottom flask, then add mercuric nitrate and heat in a water bath.

Seeing the white, smoky nitrogen oxide gas rise, Gu Lang took a few steps back.

Despite wearing a gas mask, he would instinctively stay away from the dangerous toxic gases.

After the smoke cleared and a simple separation was performed, Gu Lang obtained some sediment from the bottom.

The yellow powder produced after drying in an electric furnace is crude mercuric fulminate.

Given the current circumstances, this is already the limit he has achieved.

If you want to obtain the pure white mercuric fulminate that Walter White made in the TV series "Breaking Bad".

That would require more specialized equipment for further extraction and refining.

Gu Lang took out some mercuric fulminate powder, poured it onto a brick, and then gently tapped it with a hammer.

With a crisp "pop!", the yellow powder exploded instantly, turning grayish-black in color.

"Not bad. Although there are a lot of impurities, it doesn't affect the effectiveness at all." Gu Lang nodded in satisfaction.

He spent two days producing a large quantity of mercuric fulminate, and preserved most of it by soaking it in water.

Mercuric fulminate in a moist state is very safe and will not explode upon impact.

Dry it into powder before use to restore its properties.

As for the parts that were not soaked in water, Gu Lang packaged them all into small portions and made them into detonators and bullet primers for detonation.

After the detonator is completed, the next step is to make nitroglycerin.

Nitroglycerin is a substance produced by the esterification reaction of glycerol with a mixture of concentrated nitric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid.

Gu Lang had previously obtained 50 liters of glycerol byproduct during the production of biodiesel, which had been sitting quietly in oil drums. Now it can finally be put to use.

Because highly corrosive sulfuric acid and nitric acid are used, the reactor must still be made of glass beakers.

Gu Lang slowly added nitric acid to sulfuric acid. As the two liquids mixed, a large amount of heat began to be released.

Noticing the temperature reading was rising, he immediately placed the beaker in cooling water.

They then took out the prepared ice cubes from the yacht's refrigerator and added them to the cooling water.

The temperature of the mixed acid must never exceed 20 degrees Celsius, otherwise the subsequent operations will become extremely dangerous.

Gu Lang added glycerin drop by drop into the constantly stirred mixed acid using a dropping funnel.

The addition of glycerol must be slow enough to ensure that the heat generated by the reaction can be removed in time.

Whenever the temperature gets too high, he needs to stop stirring to ensure that the solution temperature is controlled between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius.

After the reaction ended, Gu Lang placed the glass on the table to allow the layers to separate.

Soon, the less dense nitroglycerin floated to the top of the mixed acid.

He carefully used a pipette to separate the crude nitroglycerin.

These crude products contain residual acid and are extremely unstable.

It needs to be washed with plenty of ice water; hot water must never be used.

A slight increase in temperature will immediately ignite the nitroglycerin.

After several washes, Gu Lang finally saw a neutral color on the pH test strip.

He immediately mixed nitroglycerin into diatomaceous earth, a porous, inert material that can absorb about three times its own weight in nitroglycerin like a sponge.

Once nitroglycerin is adsorbed into the countless micropores of diatomaceous earth, its fluidity is greatly reduced, and its sensitivity to mechanical shock and friction is also significantly decreased.

This greatly increases its stability, making it relatively safe to transport.

After Gu Lang packed the mixture into paper tubes and compacted it, the final product was the Dana dynamite invented by Nobel.

When in use, the detonation wave of a detonator is required to trigger the complete explosion of nitroglycerin in the diatomaceous earth.

Once this step is completed, the unstable substance nitroglycerin has been practically modified.