Making Anti-Missile MTV Flares

[@CarbonKevin]

I feel like this channel can at times be distilled down to "Tom finds the least efficient way possible of obtaining a compound, and then discovers it can be purchased on the open market as a raw material"

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Hey hey at least I didn’t start to sand down frying pans before checking eBay, I’m proud of myself for that!

[@slothonabike]

@@ExplosionsAndFire would have been hilarious though

[@Arcolyte13]

@@ExplosionsAndFire That's progress! One step at a time is all anyone can strive for sometimes.

[@ctje1638]

Teflon bag really shouldn't be marked "non dangerous" lol that shit is toxic as hell.

[@kevinsteele2773]

@@ExplosionsAndFire🤣🤣

[@greenmind3488]

"Everything beyond 11-12 microns belongs to the engineers" Left me WHEEZING, as a current engineering student

[@Fatman311]

'Flares have a short shelf life and should not be stored. Here's one that expired 32 years ago' *works perfectly*

[@moltrescompany]

german science is the best in the world

[@zchris13]

it started falling apart, I definitely wouldn't trust it to maintain structural integrity

[@tx5brent]

the cap came apart and started spewing hot flare juice out at an angle, perfectly safe

[@wingracer1614]

I know this is just joking around but wanted to provide some real context. A flare is not something you normally need or use, so they just sit around all the time but when you need one, you REALLY need it to work properly. A 32 year expired flare may work properly but you don't want something to have a 20% failure rate if your life depends on it. Thus the expiration date so you know when to replace them.

[@andersjjensen]

But it had obviously not been stored in an emergency box on a boat that has seen fifty thousand salt water sprays. Self life in a cool and dry environment is vastly different from "the intended use case shelf life".

[@parker5855]

I love the "...which produces a weird fluorinated smoke so we wont be breathing this" which was almost immediately followed by an audible gag where Tom DEFINITELY inhaled it.

[@jannikheidemann3805]

How did it taste?

[@akosv96]

I can feel the liver cancer through my screen from that teflon smoke.

[@Mordecrox]

​@@jannikheidemann3805I like how you can guess this is so bad as to warp your senses. Once my aunt tried to unclog stuff with hot water and caustic soda, and asked for my help since her gloves were melting. Got hit with a cloud of fumes I knew to not breath but caught a whiff anyway. Felt like I got punched inside my cranium.

[@rich1051414]

@@jannikheidemann3805 Ever breathe hydrochloric acid? What about match smoke? Combine the two. Or so I have heard. I am not going to test that.

[@dennisford2000]

Had a bad experience with a viton seal and a torch, but I quickly realized it was indeed viton and stopped. We had a company meeting about this toxicity

[@josephd.5524]

I would pay good money to let Tom run an hour-long lecture at the Royal Institute, and the place has to allow him access to whatever material he wants.

[@xxdeadoutxx761]

the building would 100% be gone by the end

[@S.ASmith]

@@xxdeadoutxx761 Tom is Tom....he is not Klapokte If the two were to ever meet, then yes..the build might not survive the interaction.

[@wyattroncin941]

Ground zero of "the London event"

[@edibandulan5266]

Is he Really a PhD in Physics?

[@frenstcht]

Nope. Do it some place that allows for bigger explosions & fires.

[@waffleiron7420]

"Eat shit ITAR" made me laugh way harder than it should have, and it's a good sentiment to have on the subject

[@no-legjohnny3691]

Main takeaways from this video: 1. Making a missile seeker could land you either a job at Raytheon or a spot on the government act list. 2. *_There's a government act list._* 3. You can find a concerning number of chemical compounds on the online market. And 4. If you ever find something made in West Germany, it's gonna work startlingly well no matter how outdated it should be.

[@AllisterCaine]

Funnily enough, the "made in GDR" pincers I have bought in the flea market are fine work too. There is btw a market for vintage fireworks collectors.... He could have gotten some good money for the "w. Germany" marking. 😅

[@mariuss4766]

great I was made in west Germany. I thank my parents for their passionate work

[@Lizlodude]

Given that Raytheon is a US company, the 'or' in takeaway #1 may not be exclusive... 😅

[@StonedtotheBones13]

Yeah, when the govt gets concerned, they send a letter going "stop that you" and that's when you move to the act list

[@partlycloudy7707]

I mean...we had microscope objectives in a clinical lab that were made in West Germany. Some shit just...doesn't break

[@AlphaPhoenixChannel]

Congrats on the PhD! as someone who relatively recently graduated studying PbSe, this video had me rolling all the way through. To anybody who thinks this "finance" vs "the war" thing is a joke, I know multiple people from undergrad (physicists) in fintech, a materials science professor told me he almost went to go work for a bank (and maybe regretted not?), and the guy that ran my lab in gradschool previously grew HgCdTe for missile brains - like literally this video xD. Attended a talk from one of his former coworkers where they had pictures of shoveling kilograms of mercury cadmium amalgam sludge from cryo traps - when you started talking about toxic IR optoelectronics I was laughing so hard. Awesome results too - that last one looked like a proper flare! If I was on a plane getting shot at by missiles, I'd totally want...actually on second thought if you were on the plane with me, maybe that's why the plane was being shot at xD

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Glad you like it mate! A lot of my PhD was doing sensing with InGaAs, interesting it was kinda similar to you! Although maybe probably not similar at all now I think about it, you were probably making PbSe stuff, I was just using IR sensors already helpfully made and sold to me… But yes you certainly feel that “if the universe wanted me to do this, it would be easier” very hard in IR technologies, but that only makes the victories even sweeter when you get good data!

[@AlphaPhoenixChannel]

@@ExplosionsAndFire 90% of what I did was crystal growth, but every once in a while we’d get some data back from a collaborator with an FTIR who said “hey you know that really crappy material you sent us that was full of defects? Whadya know it luminesces!” And we would all get excited Are you planing to post your defense? (Do you guys have formal defense presentations over there?)

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Oh MBE? You had your high vac setup in one of your videos, I seem to remember? Cool shot. Yeah I’m on the collaboration side of things, I loved measuring the luminescence of random things people made. If you uhh ever want to send samples through for academic reasons… let me know. I love a side project. Currently in my department there’s no defence! So it’s 100% thesis based. And the thesis is under embargo… so that won’t even be online either

[@AlphaPhoenixChannel]

yeah! fun that you've seen it. I had two videos about the MBE with a plan for like 20 more that never happened lol. still want to talk about pumping someday. It's fascinating how many different ways there are to wrap a thesis. We do have embargo over here too for companies that funded and provided samples, or presumably, "the war", although I don't think I've heard of anybody getting an embargo because of the DoD... Regardless, I hope you're happy to be done and academia treats you well!@@ExplosionsAndFire

[@adamsnook9542]

Good to see you've chosen to test your flares in a nice safe shed with flammable wood chips and leaf litter all over the floor, in an area that's notorious for bush fires.

[@Girvo747]

She'll be right mate!

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Was so worried about the flares launching off I had to do it somewhere with a roof…. And the wood chips were less flammable than the lounge room carpet

[@comicconcarne]

​@@ExplosionsAndFireyour carpet isn't imbued with Teflon(R) Advanced Carpet Protector from DuPont: Better Living Through Chemistry(TM)? or did you spill too much magnesium oxide on it, so now it's combustible again?

[@robinderoos1166]

​@@comicconcarneah, the dupont cancer carpet, shortening lifespans for quite some time

[@MrOlivm]

It’s just the kind of forward thinking needed in a job in the defense industry. I think he’s ready

[@LennyHirsch]

"Human beings were never meant to see into the IR" As a researcher in optics working with IR lasers, I take this statement very seriously. I couldn't agree more

[@Flesh_Wizard]

Do you know Styropyro? He made an IR laser turret

[@pirobot668beta]

@@Flesh_Wizard "With your remaining eye, do not look into the aperture again."

[@imtiazkhan0]

Note: hexamine in the pyrotechnic industry is sometimes used to make strobe fireworks, hence the strobeing effect of the first formulas

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

im an inventor yay

[@MRblazedBEANS]

Do they still make hexamine tablets? I used to use those for cooking food when backpacking or doing a camp when I packed out everything in a backpack. They worked so much better then isopropyl tabs those suck compared to hexamine

[@milesmccollough5507]

@@MRblazedBEANS esbit brand dry fuel is still a nice brick of hexamine and paraffin. easily the best solid cooking fuel.

[@TomKappeln]

Note : and for making the GOOD stuff ... (HMTD) lol

[@BirnieMac1]

Weirdly we also use it (as a hippurate salt) medically for UTIs Iirc it’s metabolised into Hexamic acid selectively by the pathogenic bacteria (i.e. not our cells) which messes with their capacity to adhere to the urothelium (lining of bladder/urethra)

[@SpecialEDy]

I just realized that you recently went from looking like a teenager to looking like a doctor.

[@MareSerenitis]

"Eat shit ITAR" is just about the most understandable reaction to having any contact with what amounts to a legally backed tantrum.

[@Tigershark_3082]

This was me when I found out the Continuous Wave Illuminator system on the F-20 Tigershark was actually classified/ITAR restricted back in the 80s. Even funnier that said part was the only foreign-made component of the Tigershark (built by Sweden, originally made for their Viggens in the 70s) Edit: to explain a bit, the Tigershark was meant purely as an export aircraft, so majority of its components can't even be ITAR restricted (or else maintainers, technicians, and even pilots from other countries couldn't even get near the aircraft they're supposed to work with/on/around)

[@dark2023-1lovesoni]

There's so many things that are ITAR regulated but commonly sold/traded, especially in the military surplus world. Some make sense, like military uniforms, ammunition, and laser aiming devices. Other's make significantly less sense, such as optics/scopes that are only popular with civilian hunters/sport-shooters (because the manufacturer has a military contract on a different optic/product and I guess it's feared that they might be potentially similar enough between models). Lastly there are certain items that seem senselessly restricted for US export due to ITAR, including the Sony Playstation 2, random bits of clothing like various belts or socks, and even certain life preservers (yes, the anti-drowning vest type).

[@punishedfoxo]

@@dark2023-1lovesoni SV reviews are fun when you buy military surplus electronics and extract raw hex programs from MCs for fun.

[@notamouse5630]

@@dark2023-1lovesoni I recall the iphone EULA mentioning ITAR and laughing about it because i-TAR.

[@petergerdes1094]

@@dark2023-1lovesoniI'm thinking the PS2 was sold during the period in which encryption products were under itar and it was some aspect of the DRM.

[@Luup850]

"Everything beyond this range, belongs to the engineers" that sentence fucking killed me 😂

[@redacted_to_surpass_metal_gear]

Tom really getting back to his defense industry roots here

[@Virginiafox21]

You wanna know something about Teflon? You can buy food grade stuff and use it as bulk. It’s inert like you said and will just pass through your digestive system. Someone in my food science program was using it to try and make a weight loss protein bar thing that makes you feel full, ya know, because of all the Teflon. It never went anywhere. Mostly because their prototype tasted awful. I felt bad because I was testing out what was basically chocolate cake at the same time, lol.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Wtf??? This is big news to me

[@ShrirajHegde]

Ultra cursed protein bar

[@DjDolHaus86]

I can only imagine the clang as that thing hits the pan

[@Hansengineering]

Donnnnt fucking eat Teflon, holy shit.

[@enzochoi923]

it's fine in its normal form, but high heat can cause it to become more biologically harmful (it breaks down into more offensive components) so no baked bars, alright?

[@solidacid1337]

Neat! my F-15E Strike Eagle ran out of flares just a few days ago!

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

I’ll send some to you, I got you fam

[@avroarchitect1793]

@@ExplosionsAndFire can I get some for my CF-18 Hornet too?

[@scottm2553]

@@ExplosionsAndFire My grandma needs some for her Prius.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Ok yeah get your orders in, I’ll sell to everyone, you can only get arrested once

[@yolobathsalts]

These compatible with Eastern Bloc tech? I run a MIG-29 and I need countermeasures bad

[@coolkid2104]

"Don't eat a thermal camera", goddammit there goes my Saturday plans

[@richardwebb5317]

And I would lay off the Old Master's painting for dessert too

[@torbjrntveito2152]

As a physicist who works with radar: Your spectrum quip at 1030 harmed me greatly.

[@ergaus]

That was indeed hilarious

[@tommihommi1]

to be fair, 25 THz is still way in the optical range

[@mastershooter64]

@@tommihommi1 How so? What constitutes "optical range"? Whenever I hear the word "optical" all I can think of is 100 nm - 1000 nm range

[@margodphd]

​@@mastershooter64 That's so human centric of you. Maybe they spoke about pigeon range. Or something.

[@jameshealy4594]

'I'm never going to get a job am I' Don't worry mate, the fast food industry is always hiring.

[@EthanolTailor]

I chose "The War" personally, I like to say I have access to classified material, even if the material is so boring to regular people it essentially classifies itself.

[@inserttext2412]

Cognito hazard material. Special Powers: extreme disinterest.

[@belacickekl7579]

It's funny how that works, the unclassified stuff being a lot more palpable than the details.

[@guytech7310]

Reminds me of Ghostbusters from 1984 Quote: "You've never been out of college! You don't know what it's like out there! I've WORKED in the private sector. They expect *results*."

[@PrebleStreetRecords]

Plus, The War pays really really well. Particularly if you work on the Geneva suggestions side of things.

[@Fredaffinity]

If you live in USA you will never need to move out to "better country". So it's a good choice.

[@andreferreira1758]

Congratulations on your PhD degree. Don't worry about a job but ask yourself what you really enjoy in life. Thank you so much for your show!

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Thanks mate!!

[@FriendlyChemist907]

"And this bag of Potassium Perchlorate because why not" Is a big reason why this channel is both a fun experience and a learning one

[@PockyBum522]

Fun fact, back when Wii's were a thing, I had friends that just moved and had misplaced their sensor bar in the move and we needed to get a wiimote to work long enough to basically select something on the menu and not much else. I asked if they had two lighters, and stood by the TV with them lit up for the ten seconds it took to select something. Worked a treat.

[@pirig-gal]

I wonder if lit candles would work as a replacement

[@PockyBum522]

@@pirig-gal they absolutely would.

[@lasagnahog7695]

Finally he's done with this fleeting phd stuff. Now he can focus on the real important job of providing me with chemistry content on youtube.

[@2Fluoro]

Really loving all the subtle hints about the reality of your chemistry expertise reaching the point of usefulness only to the military industrial complex (or finance)

[@nobodythisisstupid4888]

His phd was in laser physics too so contributes to it too. I guess that’s what happens when you are most well versed in energetics chemistry lol

[@canadian_grim_reaper]

Everyone talking about the government watch list, but I'm pretty sure fucking with a Wiimote (and not wearing a wrist strap!) have put you on the Nintendo watch list. That one is much, much worse.

[@f3rny_66]

True, most people can make explosives without consequences, pirating Nintendo games? straight to guantanamo bay

[@SpAm-AcCoUnT]

Tom seems happier and healthier these days. I bet finishing that doctorate was a tonic for the soul. ‘I’m free, time to fuck around with missile tech’

[@killazaawl]

i think it was the ice cream

[@bradleymorgan8223]

Did your thermal camera's sensor ever recover that doodly line from being pointed at the sun?

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

errr somewhat, oops

[@hammerth1421]

@@ExplosionsAndFire THE SUN IS A DEADLY LASER

[@tmzilla]

@@hammerth1421 BRÖTHER, I CRAVE THE FORBIDDEN SIGNATURE

[@ianmcarthur3555]

Never point that thing at the Moon or it will know your name O.o

[@Girvo747]

@@hammerth1421 its okay theres a blanket

[@justinbanks2380]

"that is the edge of science. Everything beyond this range belongs to the engineers" 😂 Reminds me of The Things We Make by Bill Hammack (highly recommend to anyone watching this channel and Tom I think you'd live it) His premise being Engineering is not just applied science. It is using science to inform it's best guesses and rules of thumb to get practical problems solved. All while adding any new findings from science along the way to constantly tune the solutions and rules of thumb.

[@Kubose]

The missile knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance subsystem uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the missile from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn't. In the event that the position that it is in is not the position that it wasn't, the system has acquired a variation, the variation being the difference between where the missile is, and where it wasn't. If variation is considered to be a significant factor, it too may be corrected by the GEA. However, the missile must also know where it was. The missile guidance computer scenario works as follows. Because a variation has modified some of the information the missile has obtained, it is not sure just where it is. However, it is sure where it isn't, within reason, and it knows where it was. It now subtracts where it should be from where it wasn't, or vice-versa, and by differentiating this from the algebraic sum of where it shouldn't be, and where it was, it is able to obtain the deviation and its variation, which is called error.

[@CleopatraKing]

this is just a long mathematical proof

[@Megalolio]

3

[@luigivercotti6410]

this is a copypasta, innit? I've seen this before

[@epikmanthe3rd]

The most annoying part about this is that it's *technically* true when talking about inertial navigation systems.

[@Kubose]

@@epikmanthe3rd most annoying part? Thats the best part! Instant true classic

[@Nuovoswiss]

At 8:32 "returning the acetone to the environment" LOL That's also what I say when I bury plastic waste in the yard. It came from the Earth, and back into the Earth it shall go.

[@mortoopz]

Until this video; I never for a second considered that IR guided weapons might be looking at the spectrum, I assumed it was just "Hot thing going that way, please go that way" Thanks, I have learned something...... almost.

[@neomone1989]

You're not wrong, that's basically how they started out. Leading missiles into the sun was a legit tactic very early on, because the sun is the biggest hot thing around. It's just then there's been 60 odd years of building on top of that, both in terms of getting the missile to more accurately identify and follow aircraft and in terms of countermeasures manufacturers adapting to missile development.

[@SirSpence99]

Just like someone on the spectrum, the IR seekers get hyper focused, thus making the flare the equivalent to that really annoying kid who will do everything in his power to get the attention of everyone nearby.

[@PapaLurts]

@@neomone1989 ah yes the forbidden heat signature

[@vicroc4]

The early Sidewinders were so dumb they would sometimes lock on to the ground. Or the plane that launched it. So yeah, the original versions didn't have the filtering to distinguish between exhaust and other IR signatures.

[@jacefairis1289]

5:24 my first thought when you brought out the teflon powder was "oh god, we're gonna get some Fluorine Fire Smoke aren't we?" so glad to see that we're on the same page lmao

[@michaelandersen7535]

This was an awesome video! I laughed out loud at the "Suck it ITAR". Definitely not coming back to the US for the next open sauce huh

[@chiaeagle6720]

"You got to feed them complicated sudokus on the flight over, or else they get bored." The missile: "Oh hey, look, a civilian airliner!"

[@JoshSteiner14]

I worked as a manufacturing engineer in the solar industry for about 3 yrs. Our semiconductor used CdTe as the bulk material. Can confirm, does absorb IR very well. Also very very not good for people.

[@CATASTEROID934]

The only place cadmium belongs is imprisoned in silica

[@JoshSteiner14]

@@CATASTEROID934 I mean the semiconductor was sandwiched between two pieces of glass, does that count? 😂

[@CATASTEROID934]

@@JoshSteiner14 That'll do just fine, just as cadmium-based photovoltaic cells are sufficient vitreous prisons

[@higueraft571]

@@JoshSteiner14>Also very very not good for people. Would you say it's better or worse than Repulsion Gel? :V

[@christopherleubner6633]

CdZnTe is an excellent solid state gamma ray detector as well as a rather efficient middle wave IR detector material. Totally different setup for each task. The gamma ray sensor uses a bulk crystal with either a light silver or thallium doping to make a proportional photoconductor, the NIR version has a PN junction. Lower layer is doped with antimony, upper layer is doped with indium. ❤

[@vermojonson8835]

5:58 i love your editing so god damned much dude

[@crackedemerald4930]

Can't wait to see him extract pure iron from guage blocks!

[@sac3528]

"i needed some carbon so i found a company that manufactures enormous sheets of graphene on a space station"

[@md4luckycharms]

Gauge blocks are steel so he's gonna have a fun time with that

[@PrebleStreetRecords]

@@md4luckycharmsHe can fractionally distill the steel to remove the carbon and vanadium impurities.

[@md4luckycharms]

@@PrebleStreetRecords 👀👀

[@teresashinkansen9402]

@@PrebleStreetRecords Hopefully he does not end up with some nasty tar and no product.

[@TheEmptyHoliness]

The one scientist who can pull off a moustache without looking creepy. Looking at you Hank Green 👀👀

[@onionrings3854]

One minute in and I'm already emotionally fulfilled with your humor

[@gjg3783]

2 seconds in and I'm already foamin at the mouth

[@muadddib]

​@@gjg3783he said _not_ to eat the ir camera mate

[@j_sum1]

One of your funniest vids yet, Tom. Nice to see the Mg go to good use.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Thanks mate, really appreciate you dredging up the Mg powder for me !

[@MattH-wg7ou]

The way the AIM-9X seeker works is really fascinating actually. And its IRCCM (Infrared Counter Counter Measures aka Flare Rejection logic) is really neat, but unfortunately a lot of it is classified.

[@jogandsp]

Just drop it on the war thunder forums

[@Fatallydisorganized]

It actually uses a thermal camera essentially and uses shape recognition to see the plane's shape which makes it impossible to confuse with flares because a flare would appear as a dot.

[@wingracer1614]

@@Fatallydisorganized Yes but if it's a big enough dot, or a whole lot of them, it can't see the plane. Flares may be less effective due to modern tech but they are not obsolete yet.

[@Marin3r101]

​@@wingracer1614 not sure how close to reality War Thunder is for IRCCM missles... but they basically have a number assigned of the brightness of flares vs. The seeker head. A FOV is the prime factor on getting hits, but they can still be tricked if you flare alot in front of them and force the seeker to turn off (the missile will track based off of the historical vector of the aircraft) so if you flare like crazy and they change vector you can evade. No amount of IR camera + software can prevent this. The only thing you can do is make it faster in velocity so it closes the distance in less time or use undetectable systems and go "stealth".

[@guytech7310]

I would guess Air to Air missiles now use DLN (Deep Learning Nets) to track targets. Probably using multiple imaging from IR,Visible, UV, & radar.

[@zeasea2519]

This is just what I needed during my ongoing existential crisis regarding which degree I want to do and whether or not said degree is feasible within a load of parameters outside my control: Tom makes flares and demonstrates the potential career paths of physicists.

[@randomviewer3494]

After being violently sick all day, this video really cheered me up. Thank you!

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Hell yeah, hope ya feel better mate!

[@CanDellJack]

The most relatable phrase in this video is the final one. _"I'm never gonna get a job, am I?"_

[@Imdv]

Step 4 (2:52) means that you should rotate the flare leewards and then ignite it with the striker in a motion that goes away from your body.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

I said to myself while reading it “the fucks a Lee”

[@Imdv]

@@ExplosionsAndFire In germany its called "Luv" (towards the wind direction) and "Lee" (away from the wind/ exactly opposite of luv)

[@SocialDownclimber]

I thought it meant "Ask Lee to do it if you can't figure it out"

[@alyero6341]

@@ExplosionsAndFire im german and i had no idea what that was supposed to be lol so dont feel too bad

[@hedgeearthridge6807]

Aussies are incredible at making military stuff, especially janky stuff that works incredibly well. Like the flatpack cardboard drones, or a 30mm autocannon from an Apache stuck on the back of a pickup truck to shoot down drones. Or the most famous, the Owen Gun: a submachinegun with the magazine sticking out the top

[@wallystearns]

I would pay an inordinate amount of money (and pay for international shipping and customs) for a t-shirt that says "eat shit ITAR"

[@LongPeter]

Setting off flares in a wood shed, in the fire season, worked out surprisingly uneventfully 🎉

[@Summer512]

It was a thing with some of the early heatseeking missiles that they would occasionally become heliocidal.

[@higueraft571]

he craves the forbidden heat signature

[@revenevan11]

Wouldn't pilots try to turn towards the sun on their evasion maneuvers to increase the chance that the missile went full Icarus?

[@jasontexter1721]

Glad you're back. Keep the videos coming. No 4 months between them 😢😢😢

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Haha will do my best mate! Have not started the next one yet though so… hopefully only 3 months maybe? A slight improvement??? I gotta blow some stuff up

[@DerDrako]

As a german chemist. I feel honored.

[@masterlotiondmt]

"Beloved", tuned thermal targeter for undo two hundo and missle protection for whatever bulk rates are; "ACT ACCORDINGLY"

[@thedownwardmachine]

Would have been good to do the road flare with your improvised missile seeker setup just to see whether or not it (the seeker) actually works properly for viewing IR in the desired wavelengths.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Yeah, thinking about that now makes a lot of sense

[@Hansengineering]

I queued up this video at 9:29 and sent a link to my tech lead. You embody the energy we need and use every day.

[@hikingpete]

I think you have a real future in presentations. Top notch.

[@eggsbox]

2:46 really channels the linus boman video on why pictogram design is so important but especially in situations where safety is paramount

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

Tom and Styropyro really are putting the Mad back in Mad Scientist, and *_I couldn't be prouder!_* 🤘❤

[@sirfer6969]

Dude, as a Physics undergrad, well done on your PhD, seriously, thats a major accomplishment...I thought you were gonna announce your chemistry PhD so your respect level went through the roof for me when you said "Physics". Nice work and loving your channel from across the ditch in NZ. Well done, digger =)

[@gg2324]

"Today kids we'll be learning how to circumvent weapons export laws" my man is singlehandedly creating job opportunities in the feds

[@justinbanks2380]

6:50 "I gotta stop flash banging myself" 😂 And then proceeds to do more tests 😅

[@redhairshanks9491]

Having the slipperiest of goddamn insides was not something I expected to hear today, but here we are

[@Alloran]

The slideshow of mortal sin with regards to spectroscopy might be one of the greatest things I've seen this month. Just knowing that I can blaspheme against the creator by wrapping my thought slug around a facsimile of sight in the IR brings me joy.

[@jordoncailifours4488]

hello. this one is great, hope you do more stuff like this.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Thanks mate!

[@Science-Vlog]

his nitroglycerin video was first i saw his channel, back then he had a girlfriend too

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Still have the same girlfriend!! She just doesn’t appear in videos because people seemed to comment about her a lot and she wasn’t a fan of that, which I understand!

[@nicfit23]

What even. This is why we can't have nice things: the youtube comment section

[@cameronlegree]

@@ExplosionsAndFireoh gross why can’t people behave

[@moos5221]

2:55 This step means that you should hold it to the Lee side (the side where the wind is blowing to in contrast to the Luv side, which is the side where the wind is coming from), this way the flares combustable content isn't blown into your face but away from you. Those words are mostly used by seamen, which makes sense, since these flares were made for boats to signal in case of emergency.

[@tissuepaper9962]

English also has this word, although it's almost exclusively used in the form "leeward", which is the opposite of "windward".

[@hk74654]

If I've learned anything from a certain Navy CIS episode, it's that if you want a pyrotechnic mix to burn for longer, mix it fire retardant (ratios most likely subject to testing with specific compounds).

[@anticlaassic]

1:15 *talks about IR missiles* Also: *shows picture of a Radar guided Fox 3 (ARH)*

[@fabe61]

This really is one of the best channels on KZbin and epitomises all the good things about this platform

[@svenjanner5224]

Appreciate you properly using the wrist strap of the wii controller. You're a real role model when it comes to working safely!

[@Vivec92]

I swear... this is the only channel where the wait for every video feels like the wait for Duke Nukem Forever, except here, the wait is actually worth it. Every time!! Great video as always!! ❤

[@polarisvoid]

2:52 This step is to rotate the end in your right hand towards you. the perspective on the arrow isn't very good, but this is certainly the intention.

[@kruksog]

Reminder: there are only 17,576 three letter acronyms using the standard english alphabet. In the world of combinatorics, this is a very small number. Hence collisions, like "MTV" here, are expected.

[@guytech7310]

1980s: I want my MTV!

[@romaliop]

Doesn't help that Americans are too lazy to say the full name of their country and even with the acronym, half of the time they can't be bothered to say the third letter either. So there are lot more acronyms going around than there are things that actually need an acronym.

[@kegdoty]

I was just wondering how to make anti missile systems for home defense. What a timely video!

[@balaclavabob001]

Obligatory post : The missile knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance subsystem uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the missile from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn't. In the event that the position that it is in is not the position that it wasn't, the system has acquired a variation, the variation being the difference between where the missile is, and where it wasn't. If variation is considered to be a significant factor, it too may be corrected by the GEA. However, the missile must also know where it was. The missile guidance computer scenario works as follows. Because a variation has modified some of the information the missile has obtained, it is not sure just where it is. However, it is sure where it isn't, within reason, and it knows where it was. It now subtracts where it should be from where it wasn't, or vice-versa, and by differentiating this from the algebraic sum of where it shouldn't be, and where it was, it is able to obtain the deviation and its variation, which is called error.

[@sakurakiyori]

And the noise, yes? I was told that the noise was a critical tool.

[@balaclavabob001]

@@sakurakiyori That's true but i think the real star here is the Rockwell Retro Encabulator .

[@hackergolf6239]

I worked at Bunnings through uni, we were warned about your types wandering the pool cleaning and paint aisles.

[@hammerth1421]

Fuck, they are onto us! Quick, get your life supply of base chemicals before they stop sales!

[@SpaceStickwithSpaceTick]

Thank you so much man, your channel inspired me to get a degree in anything else but physics and chemistry. I will be graduating as an EE next semester. Stay awesome.

[@SpaceStickwithSpaceTick]

@@liam3284 nuh uh it's chess with electrons

[@geraldgepes]

Hey Tom, I just want to say that it seems like you're genuinely happy here and it is nice to see. Some of your Ex and Ire posts definitely made it seem like that paper was stressing you out a bit. I just want you to know that you're a damn inspiration, I'm going to be coming from the other side of things, a machinist gone engineer who has always just wanted an excuse to get a physics degree. I'm nearly halfway there now and my goal is to study fusion mechanics which, for much of my life made me think of big magnets. Lately though, one of my local universities unveiled a 3PW laser and they've teased that they might try to help NIF or build a fusion facility to compete with it. So, suddenly the end goal of my degree path is starting to look a lot like yours o.0 Which is also to say that if you're not fully convinced you should come over to the war side of things, I hear that UNSW is building a student led tokamak and I'm sure there will be much lasing to be had in that system as well. If you ever end up working on such a project, I'd be very curious to hear about it! Really though, awesome video, good to see you having a blast as it were.

[@EvocativeKitsune]

I think this is one of your best videos yet. The Wii was the cherry on top.

[@Sylvarus]

If nobody has mentioned it 2:54 the instruction says "Lee" which is an old german nautical term for the side of the ship protected from the wind. Essentially just hold it out of the wind.

[@BobHope.]

Wow, I never knew that the Music Television Channel had changed so much from the 60's into the 90's and now. It doesn't even seem like the same thing any more.

[@Mess-Lab-Kitchen-Show]

This is the best and funniest video you've ever made, and there is HEAVY competition~!:)

[@r.awilliams9815]

Hmm, I have a formula for an interesting IR flare, if you happen to have some rubidium nitrate laying around.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

I have rubidium chloride somewhere, so I’m interested??

[@r.awilliams9815]

@@ExplosionsAndFire Rubidium nitrate 60.8, silicon 10, hexamine 23.2, epoxy resin 4.2 (D.E.R. 321) , hardener 1.8 (D.E.H. 14) The epoxy is a very low viscosity resin, so probably not substitute-able. Source - PATR 2700, although I'm not sure of which volume and page number. I found the formula in Donald Haarman's The Wizards Pyrotechnic Formulary.

[@triplea6669]

Remember when this channel was about strapping touch powder to RC cars and driving them into a wall. Now my man has editing skills and a PhD! Mucho love from the USA, keep it up mate!!!

[@superbone8724]

As an Engineer working in sub-mm, I can't even disagree with your point.

[@lp8650]

Is he making fun of engineering @10:26 ? my engineering friends don't know much of about science... just math, so I assume he's poking fun at them for being overconfident? I cant tell?

[@corb805]

went from "I'm not ready to go into war so I'm going into academia" to "let's build an anti-missile flare used in war" real fast

[@johndeaux8815]

Exploisons andFire! My favourite cooking show on the WorldWide Web!

[@PYRO-ON]

Flares do not expire I demonstrate pyrotechnics from generations ago on my channel every day, and they all work perfectly fine as long as they were stored correctly, it’s true things like whistle mixtures can have short shelf if they are not made in a shelf stable way, but in most cases pyrotechnic devices that say they’ve expired will work just fine even a generation later. BTW LOVE THIS CHANNEL!

[@bitsofgeek]

"Surely we can make a flare from just things we have lying around the house..." there goes that watch list again :D

[@Trigger0x10c]

1:20 the AIM-120 series of missiles is actually radar guided, so it wouldn't even be distracted by the flare at all, it might get fucked up by chaff though. It's designed for long range engagements, while most IR guided missiles (AIM-9 for example) are for shorter range stuff, and those have a good chance of going after the flare (or at least being somewhat distracted enough for the pilot to evade)

[@Trigger0x10c]

Also pretty cool that the photo of AIM-120D is on screen at 1:20, probably not intentional, which makes it even cooler

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Haha I tried, people do notice things like that I’ve found

[@Trigger0x10c]

@@ExplosionsAndFire aw man that's awesome! Loved the video by the way, do not let my nitpicking deceive you :D

[@CrimeMinister1]

As someone who loves fighter jets and hates the war, I now love your channel even more now somehow

[@Barrabass]

In norway the ingredients need to be listed on Pyrotechnical devices Very weird law but for flares it is Strontium nitrate sulfur and magnesium powder

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

Most North America road flares use strontium nitrate, sulfur, a bit of wax and some sawdust as filler. The ones in the video are fancy marine flares.

[@mduckernz]

@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252Yeah. Sr without the chlorine around to form SrCl radicals results in a more dull and more orangey “red” rather then the deep red seen in this video. The marine flares these days use ammonium perchlorate as an oxidizer, and strontium nitrate for the colour, along with magnesium powder for fuel and brightness, bound together with a hard synthetic rubber like HTPB acting as binder and fuel. Basically rocket propellant, but optimised for light output, rather than gas generation and heat, but the heavy gas generation from mixes like this are actually very useful in marine environment as it means they will happily burn underwater, as the gas prevents the water getting in and quenching it from heat soaking it until it goes out. Sorta like a Liedenfrost effect.

[@christopherleubner6633]

The flare mix for countermeasures flare is CsClO4, Zr, Si, PTFE as the binder and secondary oxidizer.

[@cammando5847]

Love yah vids. Theres a brilliant book called 'a preparatory manual of black powder and pyrotechnics', goes over in alarming detail the chemical compositions and mixtures for tracers, illumination flares (ir and normal, smokeless and not), flash and smoke mixtures, igniters, and a shit-load more... each with 20 odd versions. Of course just for research. It's also got the more questionable side of military pyrotechnics... Again, just research to know what not to do and how not to do it.

[@rkirke1]

I went down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about IRCM years ago and by now had collected about a matchbox full of PTFE powder/turnings (making DIY high voltage transformers). You have now answered my curiosities and saved me 10 years more collecting "weirdly specific shit" for "a project I might do one day". Cheers!

[@squillz8310]

Hell yeah time for Flares. Make some homemade Chaff pods and pair the 2 together!!

[@sergio-179]

10:29 is fucking hilarious. I rewatched it 10 times and still can't comprehend 😂

[@alexandermarsteller7848]

We welcome you to the council of Physics PhDs (assuming you pass). Good to see your job perspectives are up to spec: finance/consulting, academia, or things that you can't write/talk about.

[@alexandermarsteller7848]

And there is no shame to be found in the hot glue. A physicist's setup works only when the person who built it operates it, and even then only sometimes. Engineers are the ones that make nice looking, robust solutions.

[@andersjjensen]

@@alexandermarsteller7848 As a software engineer I'm very flattered by your words, but they are objectively wrong. The "nice looking" and "robust" parts mean: "the things the end user can see" and "the things the end users, SO FAR, have done" respectively.

[@micphoenix8200]

Lol.... there's a significant amount of chemistry that can move you to an 'Act List' from a 'Watch list'.

[@kingawsume]

I mean, there's another Aussie who bought some Shellate a while ago to run one of those 50's/60's Polish "oily rag" cars (as in it could run of the smell of an oily rag). It ran, and pretty well at that.

[@gregoryclark8217]

I was going to say, I'm pretty sure Tony Kowalski drinks it.