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explosive fertilizer

Place (till) explosive mini-spheres that are also full of fertilizer to aerate soil while also fertilizing
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I read about a thing called a camouflet, which is where an explosive is used to create a void in dirt.

I think this could be miniaturized then mixed with fertilizer to make a one application soil treatment that optimizes soil texture while adding fertilizer to improve plant productivity.

The explosives could be set off with a very specific frequency acoustic transducer.

beanangel, Dec 02 2018

Ranken Dart https://www.iwm.org...tem/object/30023708
Not entirely suitable for use inside a pub. [8th of 7, Dec 03 2018]

WW1 Flechette https://av8rblog.wo...-from-an-aeroplane/
Described as "un-British" ... they really were invented by the french. [8th of 7, Dec 03 2018]

Flower Shell https://www.boredpa...mwell-studio-total/
You could put one of these in the other barrel. (I'm sure we had a thread on this, but I can't find it.) [Wrongfellow, Dec 05 2018]

[link]






       Apart from // set off with a very specific frequency acoustic transducer //, there is absolutely no way whatsoever that this idea can be improved, and it must be implemented IMMEDIATELY.   

       [+]
8th of 7, Dec 02 2018
  

       If you were to swallow some of it, that would improve everyone's enjoyment of the product. Raking the resulting mess into the soil would be my pleasure.
xenzag, Dec 02 2018
  

       Isn't this anhydrous ammonia?
RayfordSteele, Dec 02 2018
  

       No, but there is a range of ammonia-derived nitrogen compounds that could be used. Nitrogen trichloride; silver nitride; ammonium perchlorate; hydrazine derivatives. Most of them are highly sensetive to shock, heat or friction, falling into the 1.1A class (primary explosives) and very suitable* for intitating supersonic detonation in low-sensetivity secondary compositions.   

       *Providing that you're not overly fussy about when and where the detonation occurs.
8th of 7, Dec 02 2018
  

       Outstanding. Maybe a refinement of the idea would be to incorporate the explosive of choice into granules. If they were stabilized by a water-soluble coating, they could be ploughed in when dry and then activated with a quick watering*.   

       *or left, and used as a rain-alarm.
bs0u0155, Dec 03 2018
  

       Granule size will be a critical factor in the design. Activation by environmental factors such as moisture will be better than shock or friction, but getting the material into the soil will still be problematic.   

       Rather than ploughing or a seed-drill, we suggest dispensing long, thin aerodynamically-shaped units with fin stabilization, manufactured with biodegradeable materials, from high altitude.   

       <later>   

       Starting point for design <link>.
8th of 7, Dec 03 2018
  

       I remember reading, somewhere on the internet, that as the American plain was being fenced off and farmed, explosives were advertised as suitable for preparing the ground.
Not just clearing tree-stumps, either - loosening the ground for tilling.
IIRC it was claimed that it also increased yield.
Loris, Dec 04 2018
  

       // explosives were advertised as suitable for preparing the ground. //   

       Presumably that's a euphemism for "resettling" the Native American population who were already living there. Huge, lethal explosions can definitely be used to encourage migration, although sometimes said migration is in the form of disarticulated body parts.   

       // loosening the ground for tilling //   

       Black powder will do that, particularly black powder made with Chile Saltpetre (Sodium nitrate) instead of regular Saltpetre (potassium nitrate).   

       However, sodium nitrate is highly hygroscopic, so very careful packaging and storage is needed to prevent rapid deterioration and indeed deactivation.   

       Black powder residue after firing is about 70% solids, most of which are nitrite salts, with some ash. It would indeed be a good fertilizer, and as a method of breaking up hard ground would probably be acceptably effective. Numerous shotholes would be needed as the low brisance of BP limits the extent of the disruption.
8th of 7, Dec 04 2018
  
      
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