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Comment by bognition | Hacker News Reader

Oh wow! Growing up my chemical engineer uncle would come out on the Fourth of July and dump a bucket of stuff on the road in front of his house. A while later when it was dried he'd have us roller blade and skate board down the road to setup all the little explosions. It was a total blast. He refused to tell anyone what the compound was, but assured us it could be easily made. It has to be this stuff.

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You would know if it was NI3 - it creates a deep purple cloud of sublimated iodine when it detonates and it stains everything around.

This was nearly 30 years ago, so honestly i don't remember much beyond the fun of hearing things explode under the wheels of my rollerblades

This stuff would go off immediately if you touched it.

I used to make it with my friends with household ammonia and medical iodine. We mixed them and then filtered through paper. Then this brown powder would explode after it dried if we touched it just lightly.

It's crazy that something so unstable can even exist at RTP. Like it's interesting how it threads the line between so-unstable-you-can't-make-me, and stable-enough-to-make-but-decompose-under-a-stern-glance. Universe has a sense of fun, NI3 is tuned specifically for existence as a prank substance.

> Universe has a sense of fun, NI3 is tuned specifically for existence as a prank substance.

It does feel that way! Another plus for the substance is just releases iodine, not something poisonous like lead for instance.

Yes! And looks good doing it. Essential nutrient at that, tho you probably shouldn’t just eat it.

Do you remember purple smoke?

This was nearly 30 years ago, so honestly i don't remember much beyond the fun of hearing things explode under the wheels of my rollerblades

I'm not a chemist, but the article talks about it being prepared in a solution of ammonium hydroxide which can be poured on a floor and left to dry. Surely this is what the GP is comparing their memory to, and not a bucket of pure nitrogen trioxide.

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