Cyanide potassium: truth and fudge

About the substance with the name "cyanide potassium" there are many legends. One of them says that death from cyanide is painful, but instantaneous. This ridiculous statement was generated by filmmakers, often showing the terrible death of movie heroes poisoned with this poisonous substance.

Cyanide potassium is indeed a very toxic substance. Its lethal dose for humans is 1.7 mg / kg. However, there are people who are able to survive after more significant doses. In addition, a full stomach, food containing sulfur (eggs, meat, legumes) can significantly slow the absorption of poison. Just like carbohydrates. A vivid example of this is the death of Grigory Rasputin. Filled with cakes, his stomach so strongly inhibited the action of the poison, that the poisoning developed extremely slowly.

Cyanide potassium is a white crystalline powder with a strong smell of bitter almonds. It dissolves very well in water, it is bad - in ethanol and does not dissolve completely in carbohydrates. Externally, the powder is similar to granulated sugar, which was used more than once by known poisoners. Its properties as a chemical are based on the ability of the drug to have a very strong inhibitory effect and block tissue respiration. It happens this way. Getting into the body, potassium cyanide reacts with cytochrome c-oxidase (this is a cellular enzyme responsible for oxygen transfer). Completely blocking this enzyme, cyanide deprives cells of the ability to absorb oxygen, and a person dies from his deficiency (to be more precise - from interstitial hypoxia).

Andidotnye (neutralizing) properties for this strongest inorganic poison are substances containing sulfur, carbohydrates, capable of having a methhemoglobin-forming effect. These include amyl nitrite, methylene blue (popularly known as "blue"), anti-cyan.

In private conversations and on Internet forums you can often meet the question: "Where to buy cyanide potassium?". The answer will disappoint fans of suicide fans. Neither cyanide potassium nor its antidotes can be purchased. Nowhere: neither in pharmacies, nor in shops. Even in special laboratories, one hundredth of a gram of this substance is counted. Therefore, it is not necessary to demonstrate demonstrative suicide with the help of cyanide potassium: there is a possibility that you simply will not have time to take them to where there is an antidote.

Usually cyanide is produced in specialized laboratories, organizing the reaction of hydrogen cyanide with potassium hydroxide or calcination at a very high temperature of the salt of the yellow blood. The resulting compound is used for cyanidation (obtaining precious metals from ore rocks), in jewelry production, in the electroplating of certain metals (cadmium, for example, or copper).

Cyanide reserves can not be created. Corresponding cyanide ion hydrocyanic acid is so weak that it is very quickly replaced by any other acids, turning a poisonous cyanide into a harmless potash. For this, one does not even need to conduct chemical reactions: it is worthwhile to leave the cyanide potassium in the air, allowing it to be exposed to carbon dioxide and water, as it will soon become a harmless and completely non-toxic potassium carbonate.

So where do you get the cyanide? At home.

To get potassium cyanide at home, you need to take hydrocyanic acid (or cyanic acid) and combine it with potash. However, the final product is not always obtained. First, a couple of hydrocyanic acid are highly toxic (that is, extremely toxic to others). Secondly, it can explode from uncontrolled polymerization.

You can use coal tablets, but to get it reacting, it will have to be heated for a long time (about 300 years).

So it's best not to engage in amateur activities, and to throw off bad thoughts from your head.