| Subj: | One little detail... | 
| Date: | 5/22/01 6:54:33 PM Pacific Daylight Time | 
...that keeps getting overlooked in regards to the OKC bomb:
Do a search at Da' Goog on "Anhydrous Hydrazine" or 
"Nitromethane near McVeigh". You will find that those delightful 
little chemicals figured into the action there.
Now, here comes the interesting part:
Mixing Nitromethane(an oxygen-rich industrial solvent used in the 
printing industry to clean printing presses and in motorsports, 
especially drag and sprint car racing as a racing fuel) and 
Anhydrous Hydrazine(a compund used in rocket fuels) creates a 
highly explosive and *very* unstable mixture. Back in the mid to 
late '60s, there was a lot of experimentation with this mixture to 
create horsepower in drag racing engines. While the amount of 
horsepower created was not what people were hoping, there were 
many problems with unintended effects, i.e.:explosions that tore 
the front off of the Top Fuel Dragsters when they would land hard 
after launching into a wheelstand, a rather common occurance in 
the dragsters of that era. Seems that not only was the mixture that 
unstable, but the mixture created crystalline deposits that built up 
on the inside of the front-mounted fuel tanks. These crystals were 
said to be very, very unstable and explosive.
Well, the National Hot Rod Association, being very safety-minded, 
outlawed Anhydrous Hydrazine as a fuel additive after a few of 
these little accidents.
I am sure that you are wondering "So, what's the point of this 
drivel?". I assure you, there is a point. In fact, a few:
1. Anhydrous Hydrazine reacts with Nitrogen-rich compounds to 
give you "more bang for the buck". Too often, there have been 
those that have said "An ANFO bomb could never have done 
*THAT*". They are quite correct. But a nitrogen-based fertilizer and 
fuel oil bomb, spiced up with more nitrogen-rich Nitromethane and 
then finished off with Anhydrous Hydrogen and detonated with the 
help of bottled propane(as a blast direction agent, kinda like the 
world's biggest "Foo Gas" bomb), or a fuel air bomb, potentiated by 
the initial explosion being compressed by taking place in the  
aluminum-reinforced fiberglass box on a 24ft Rider Truck?
It's possible, pilgrim. Merely *possible*.
2. The addition of Nitromethane and Anhydrous Hydrazine has 
really nagged at me. Has anyone investigated the backgrounds of 
any of the peripheral players in this little clambake? Do any of 
them have any experience in Drag Racing or Sprint Car Racing, 
especially in the late '60s and early '70s? This is kinda arcane and 
specific knowledge, tied to a specific era in motorsports, and can 
certainly be used to neck down the focus of any honest inspection 
of circumstances and players. Lemme put it to you this way: I 
would eat my hat if this combination wasn't offered up as a plan by 
someone who didn't have specialized information and experience. 
Like in Drag Racing. In the '60s and '70s.
Full Stop.
So there you go, just a little off the top of my head about 
something that has been nagging me about all of this, for quite a 
while. Perhaps some of the sleuths can illuminate the above, either 
in favour or against. Makes no never mind to me.
| Subj: | Re: "Anhydrous Hydrazine" or "Nitromethane near McVeigh" | 
| Date: | 5/23/01 5:47:15 AM Pacific Daylight Time |