This is better than shooting fruitcakes with a M-60.

[gridlore]

Which we did, back at Fort Benning. Don't ask.

Comments

[netquiddler.livejournal.com]

Don't ask? Don't tell. :-P

That was one WEIRD science experiment, I'm wondering what exactly the gummy bear has in it that makes it react so violently with the potassium chlorate.

[shadowcat48li.livejournal.com]

Hero Games did an experiment with a couple of damaged copies of Fifth Edition Revised "Fred" which was refered to as bullet resistant, so they went to a local range and put this to the test. it fully stopped a 9mm among other things

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

Best thing I can think of to do with a fruitcake.

[kengr]

sugar.

One common fuel for amateur rockets in the old days was "sugar candy". A mix of potassium nitrate and sugar. You had to melt it *very* carefully. Then pour it into the tube, with an insert to leave the right shaped hole if you didn't want an "end burning" grain.

Potassium chlorate is a stronger oxidizer, and molten, I can see it self igniting.

[kengr]

I still like the "volcano" demo. Big pile of potassium permanganate crystals, and something rigged to drip glycerin into the middle of the pile.

*Big* bright purple flame.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

From Bad Astronomy (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/10/20/gummis-the-gummis-were-screaming/), where I got this:

I think the video leaves out an important part: you need a bit of sulfuric acid to make this work. Adding the acid to potassium chlorate yields chloric acid and potassium sulfate:

2 KClO3 + H2SO4 → 2 HClO3 + K2SO4

Sugar reacts, um, strongly to the chloric acid:

8 HClO3 + C12H22O11 → 11 H2O + 12 CO2 + 8 HCl

You can see the water coming out of the test tube in the form of steam — the reaction is highly exothermic — and the purple flame is from potassium being heated. At the same time, a second reaction occurs, breaking up some of the sugar molecules into carbon and water. When the flames and sturm and drang are all done, what’s left is a black residue: carbon, the burnt remains of the tasty, tasty Gummi bear.

[dalen-talas.livejournal.com]

Ah, the fun with alkaline metals.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

"highly exothermic" - yeah, I got that, thanks.

[lizzibabe.livejournal.com]

omfg.....THAT WAS AMAZING!!!