Re: Remember "Bit-Slice" Chips ?

On Wed, 11 Dec 2024 17:20:37 +0100, D wrote:

What I did not test was to buy some alcohol to purify the gun powder. I
also had bad quality coal as well, so that's something I would change
til next time.

Sourcing the potassium nitrate and sulfur was no problem in the '50s but
trying to grind down charcoal was a miserable task. During one of the
times in grade school chemistry class when I wasn't daydreaming I learned
the formula for sucrose was C12H22O11.  Hmmm, that looks like a lot of
carbon and stuff that should turn into water vapor. Rocket candy was born!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_candy

It was many years later I found out about it. It wasn't much of an
explosive but back then dry gas came in about a 12 ounce can with a
conical top that necked down to a screw cap. Filling one of those and
lighting it lead to a very satisfactory fountain of flame. I never thought
to try launching a rocket with it.