M.M.A.N. (Monomethylamine nitrate)
DETONATION VELOCITY 6100 M/sec. 1.2 G/cc 6600 M/sec. 1.4 G / cc
FRICTION SENSITIVITY Very insensitive. Similar to T.N.T..
M.M.A.N. is a powerful explosive with 112-120% the power of T.N.T. with a greater detonation rate. This explosive is not as sensitive as ot hers in this publication to primary explosive requiring 2 G. mercury fulminate or 1.25 grams of H.M.T.D. Methylamine is a basic building block of modern chemistry. It is an intermediary for hundreds of more common chemicals. It is easily obtained or purch a sed cheaply. Nitric acid does not require highly concentrations with as low as 20% acid strength working perfectly. This is a good feature as requirements for explosives made with concentrated acids take time to produce and cannot be produced as fast or c h eaply. This explosive is simple enough that it would require little experience and few setups in a lab. This explosive is very hygroscopic. It will absorb its weight in water at a relative humidity of 50% in 21 days. The other drawback of this explosive i s the fact that it requires larger quantities of primary explosive as other base explosives. Both are acceptable and the hygroscopic nature of the salt can be controlled by loading caps on "dry days" of low humidity. These caps should also be dipped into m o lten wax to ensure their "waterproofness". This explosive is best used in a cap made with 3/8" tubing because 5 grams of this explosive are required. This will give a detonator 3/8" x 2-3/4". This cap should have the primary loaded first as the base explo s ive does not need the high density that the primary needs for maximum performance. Load this base charge explosive to a density of 1.2 G/cc. Higher densities will cause the explosive to become insensitive to the primary explosive. This cap should detonate most explosives and will be a great deal more powerful than a #10 blasting cap. Place 250 ml of 33% methylamine aqueous solution in a stainless bowl or beaker. Add in four portions either 832 G. 70% nitric acid, 971 G. 60% nitric acid or 583 G.100% nitric acid + 25 ml water. A good deal of heat will be generated by this neutralization. The solution will boil due to the heat. Allow the heat from the previous additions to subside before the next addition is made. After the additions have been made check the s olution with pH paper (e. mark brand) from your lab supply store. If the PH is above 7 add acid 1/4 teaspoon at a time until the PH is between 6 and 7. If when checked the PH is 6 or below then add methylamine solution until the PH rises to between 6 and 7 . This liquid is then put in a vacuum flask with a stopper. This will be placed in a hot oil bath (frying pan filled with good cooking oil). The oil bath should be 75 degrees C. (167 degrees F.). The flask is hooked up to a vacuum source and the vacuum ap p lied. The vacuum will allow the waters removal in a much quicker amount of time. The vacuum source can be an aspirator type (cost around $5.00). This is the ideal source of vacuum. A gauge is placed in the line and the vacuum drawn at first recorded. This vacuum will remain the same until the water is all evaporated. At this point the vacuum suddenly will increase greatly. This signifies the end point. The crystals in the flask are scraped out in a dry (atmospheric humidity) room. This is placed in a seale d container to keep moisture our of the solutions. This is the explosive. It could be toxic if eaten in large quantities but at worst, prolonged handling of this explosive will give only a rash. The only thing to remember is to keep away from moisture and k eep in a sealed container. Load large 3/8" diameter caps with 4-6 grams of M.M.A.N. as a base charge with large charges of primary explosives. Seal the caps immediately by dipping in hot molten wax. These caps are powerful and will take most of a forearm off a foolish person.