Marissa Masek

Nitrogen Triiodide Explosion, 2014

High-speed photograph
Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera equipped with a Canon 24-70mm f/4L EF lens; tripod; short duration electronic flash; Arduino circuit with trigger

TissueVision
Boston, Massachusetts, United States

This image shows an explosion of nitrogen triiodide. To make this compound, solid iodide and ammonia are combined to create a slurry of nitrogen triiodide ammoniate. This slurry is stable due to the excess ammonia. As the slurry dries, the compound becomes very unstable. Any small disturbance or vibration will detonate it, turning it into the red gas seen in the image. The compound was touched with a peacock feather to trigger the explosion, and the sound of the explosion, which is quite loud, was used to trigger the flash. Special thanks to Dr. Scott Williams and Jason Faulring.