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Comment by daturkel | Hacker News Reader

These are always a delight to read. Check out the whole series here:

http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/category/thing...

Sand Won't Save You This Time (the prequel to Chlorine Trifluoride: Some Empirical Findings) is also worth the read. Quoting John Drury Clark:

It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that’s the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water-with which it reacts explosively.

http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/san...

That's nothing. Resublimated Thiotimoline dissolves before it hits the water. Look here:

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

How about azidoazide azide or 1-diazidocarbamoyl-5-azidotetrazole (C2N14)?

It will "literally explode if you move it, touch it, disperse it in solution, expose it to x-rays, expose it to light, and even if you did absolutely nothing to it." [1]

[1] http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2013/01/09/things_i_won...

His follow-up from 2013 includes video of what actually happens when you pour this substance on various types of protective gear. It really drives his point home (and is full of entertaining explosions).

http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2013/04/05/chl...

Worth the read for me.

I Googled the ISBN of the quoted book by Clark "Ignition" and found a PDF copy online.

http://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf

There was some discussion when that PDF was posted here 3 weeks ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10683778

Reply on news.ycombinator.com