Hello birkett7 and thank you for your question.
Put simply M250's are not quarter sticks of dynamite. M250's were
originally developed by the military to simulate grenade explosions,
but contain no nitroglycerin (from which dynamite is made) M250's and
M80's are often refered to as "quarter sticks of dynamite" but in
reality they have very little explosive power when compared to real
dynamite. The chemical used in M250's is called flash powder and it
is made up of potassium perchlorate, aluminum powder, and/or magnesium
which, upon ignition, creates a violent explosion combined with a
flash. On the other hand, dynamite is made up of Nitroglycerin and a
type of clay called kieselguhr.
M250's are most certainly illegal, they were banned by the CPSC in
1966, and made illegal by the BATF (now ATFE) in the 1970's, ATFE
imprisons people that are caught with illegal quarter sticks, and of
course to legally possess dynamite you would need a blasting permit.
"The compositions used in M-80s and cherry bombs are completely
different than those used in dynamite, and the two can't even be
compared. M-80s cannot be compared with high explosives!"
http://www.pyrouniverse.com/m80.htm
"An M-80 is NOT as powerful as a quarter stick of dynamite. The
standard size of one is not even ? the size of a normal stick of
dynamite. Plus, there is no set standard for M-80's in terms of how
much powder and what kind is used. There is no real standard stick of
dynamite either. Strength varies from 40% nitroglycerine content to
60%, diameters are usually either 1 or 2 inch, and lengths can be from
3 inches to over a meter. One M-80 is not even as powerful as the
detonator used to set off dynamite, let alone the actual dynamite"
http://krimzonpyro.com/ep/projectsdevicesdir/realorfake.html
"Quarter Stick - The original quarter sticks were similar to M80's,
but were larger in size and contained 10 grams or more of flash
powder. Quarter sticks were silver in color, four inches long, one
inch in diameter, with a four inch green waterproof fuse sticking out
the side. These items were so powerful that they could dismember and
kill people who misused them. Quarter sticks were banned by the CPSC
in 1966, and made illegal by the BATF (now ATFE) in the 1970's. Legal
quarter sticks today contain 50 milligrams of flash powder, which is
about 1/200th of the original quarter stick. Illegal quarter sticks
can contain compositions that are extremely sensitive to shock and can
injure of kill without warning. The ATFE imprisons people that are
caught with illegal quarter sticks.
http://www.usfireworks.biz/glossary.htm
"M-80s were invented by the military long ago to simulate grenade
explosions during training missions. Soon they became extremely
popular with the public, and were sold along with fireworks
everywhere. But the Child Protection Act of 1966 made M-80s and
cherry bombs illegal in the United States."
http://www.pyrouniverse.com/m80.htm
"The average size of the M-250 is 1" in diameter by 3" in length. The
average load is a .33 explosive mixture. An explosion may cause severe
crippling, disfiguring injuries"
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/cp/Alerts/SafetyTips/SeasonalSafety/MSeries.html
"And in 1864 Nobel was able to start mass production nitroglycerin. He
found that mixing nitroglycerin with a type of clay called kieselguhr,
would turn the liquid into a paste which could be shaped into rods of
a size form suitable for insertion into drilling holes."
http://www.burlington.mec.edu/hs/enviro/chemistry2001.htm
Thank you for your question, and if you need any clarification of my
answer do not hesitate to ask.
Very best regards
THX1138
Search strategy included:
dynamite "is measured"
://www.google.com/search?q=+dynamite+%22is+measured%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&start=20&sa=N |
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