text: Acetone peroxide is one of the few explosives that can be quite easily made from materials that can be readily bought with no questions asked. For this reason, many young fools who know little about the chemistry of the reaction have attempted making it. With little knowledge on the topic, the chances of injury or death become much, much, higher. \nAcetone peroxide appears as a white powder to the unobservant eye. However, it is actually a crystalline compound. Acetone peroxide (or AP, as it will hereby be referred to as) can be ignited with a flame or spark, and will then deflagrate at an explosive rate. This deflagration produces hot gasses that are capable of bursting relatively strong containers, which makes it apparently a good explosive for firecrackers.AP can also be detonated with a blasting cap. If a sufficient shockwave is sent through it (the shockwave needn’t be very powerful), the AP will detonate and therefore decompose at a significantly faster rate than when deflagration occurs. What this basically means is that, when detonated by a blasting cap, AP will explode much more powerfully.\nThe one main downfall of AP is its sensitivity. It is one the most sensitive explosives commonly manufactured. This downfall is the very reason that makes AP so dangerous, and is why so many of the “fools” that attempted making it have been badly injured, or even killed. A small amount of AP will detonate if tapped with a hammer on a hard surface. If stepped on it will go off under the weight of a human. The truth of the matter is, AP is no toy. It should be taken seriously before manufacture, during manufacture, and after manufacture.\nThere are three chemicals needed to make acetone peroxide. If searched for, one can often find them at common stores, at least in the US.\nYou will also need a 600ml beaker, or similar glass container. You will also need a graduated cylinder, plastic or glass. It should go up to 50ml, unless you’re not using a beaker with measurements, in which case it should go up to about 100ml. You will definitely need an alcohol or mercury thermometer. It should have a Celsius scale that goes down to less than zero and goes up to more than 40. You will also need something to stir with. If you can get a glass stirring rod, then use that. If you cant get one, use the thermometer to stir. You definitely want something glass or wood, preferably glass. You don’t want plastic or metal, unless its plastic made for stirring chemistry mixtures. You’ll need a funnel, and some filter paper. A coffee filter works great.\nProcedure:\nPour 500ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide into the beaker \nPut the beaker in an ice bath (a larger bowl filled with ice and cold water, and often salt) until it cools to about 5 degrees Celsius. This might take awhile, but be patient. \nPour 60ml of acetone into the peroxide, and stir until thoroughly mixed. As a general rule of thumb, when using 3% hydrogen peroxide, you should use 5 times as much peroxide as acetone. Measure out 15ml of acid. This is quite a bit, considering the other amounts, but through testing it has been found that more acid will catalyze more ingredients faster, and better. You can use as little as 5 or even 3ml, but to be safe, 15ml works great. Once you’ve got it measured out in the graduated cylinder (that should have a spout), pour the acid very slowly into the mixture, a couple drops at a time, while constantly stirring. The temperature of the mixture should never go above 10 degrees Celsius. If it gets to about 8 or 9 degrees C, stop pouring the acid and keep stirring until the temperature gets back to normal. Keep doing this until all the acid is in the mixture. \nKeep stirring for about 5-10 minutes. \nThen place the beaker (with the ice bath, if possible) into a refrigerator, making sure the temperature is kept below 10 degrees C. Keep it in there for 24-48 hours, the latter preferably. Stir periodically. After about 12-24 hours, you should start to see 