Question: Was it easy to do the Nitrogen Triiodide experiment?

Duncan McNicholl answered on 6 Nov 2017:

No.

The instructions that I used had big warnings all over them, and said that I mustn’t try to make it if I hadn’t already done all kinds of other dangerous experiments and explosions (which I had). The actual recipe isn’t very complicated, but it involves powerful acid and produces poisonous fumes. When you’ve finished making it, you have to let it dry out, and if there’s a fan nearby then the nitrogen triiodide can get sucked up into it or blown into a corner or something, and if that happens then it will explode there, and can cause real problems.

If you can make it safely though, it’s great! It explodes with the tiniest touch (even alpha radiation can set it off), and it’s a really loud explosion, and you get an awesome cloud of purple gas when it goes off.