I know this is a rather tame question for this forum, but does anyone know what the composition of the 'banger' in christmas crackers is?

I'd like to make a big one. :D

* And sadly Tuatara was never heard from again *

<small>[ March 05, 2003, 05:48 PM: Message edited by: Tuatara ]</small>

Do you mean those things in the colored tubes where you pull the things and they make a bang? As far as I know, they are a small amount of armstongs similar (identical?) to the stuff in caps for toy guns. There might be some useful stuff here in the rec.pyrotecnics archives, seaching for "pull string" gave me some results that looked relevant, check it out.

<a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=pull+string&btnG=Google+Search&meta=group%3Drec.pyrotechnics" target="_blank">http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1& q=pull+string&btnG=Google+Search&meta=group%3Drec.pyrotechnics</a>

edit: if you do make something like this, hopefully you know the dangers of armstongs as a "big one" made with it is likely to kil you...

<small>[ March 05, 2003, 04:04 PM: Message edited by: EP ]</small>

In the ones that I've dismantled, the composition is a small white blob of some primary explosive located between the two cardboard strips, with two black blobs of sand and glue for friction.
The explosive is probably silver fulminate I think, maybe double salts. It is obviously very friction sensitive and detonates instantly from flame.

Exotic is right! Had a look through EP's link (Thanks EP, I'd never have thought to search for 'pull string' :confused: , A lot of the comps seem to involve red P and SbS3. Where the hell does one obtain Antimony? All I can recall is it being alloyed with lead, for use in lead pipes and boat keels (25 tonnes of lead , anyone?)

I´ve heared they use the high sensitive silverfulminate (very small mg amounts)in fireworks for kids. It is combined with another stuff so that it produces crackling or plopp sounds when thrown on the ground.

I do know that the stuff in Christmas crackers is not a pyro comp like Armstrong's (which is used in toy caps, party-poppers etc), unless "Christmas crackers" refers to different thing in NZ.
I'm fairly certain it's silver fulminate, which is also used in those little paper bags of gravel that you chuck at the ground.
It can be dissolved with NH₃ and ppted by neutralising the ammonia with dil. HCl.

Antimony Sulphide (Sb2S3) can be found for sale at united nuclear.