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"Liquid Explosives"
OK, I've read some of the articles and such about liquid explosives from the BBC. They all allude to some vague, nebulous ingredients that might be able to be combined to make a liquid explosive, or combining a liquid and a solid.
They read like bullshit, as in, as credible as "red mercury" being a nuclear material.
Yes, there are liquids that can be combined to make explosives. In order to get explosives out of these, they have to be highly concentrated. Some are considered "volatile". This means they stink.
Take acetone, a well known ingredient in nail polish remover. The concentration is low, the smell is high. If someone decided to "do their nails" on an airplane flight, they'd get lynched - that shit is vicious in an enclosed environment.
Or various acidic drain cleaners: hard to handle and package without burning yourself, or sufficiently low strength to not do anything more than fizzle. These stink too.
Hydrogen peroxide: the stuff you can buy in the drugstore is low concentration. It would have to be concentrated (not a simple process), then repacked in the original bottle. It smells when you open it, too. Hair bleach developer has a slightly higher concentration, but again has the smell problem.
Gasoline/Fuel oil: first, it smells; second, its already prohibited in aircraft cabins.
So, basically, it would take a lot of effort, coordination, and ingenuity by the terrorists, plus gross apathy on the part of their fellow passengers. Ain't gonna happen. Not when passengers that look like they *might* be doing something funky get tackled promptly by fellow travellers.
They read like bullshit, as in, as credible as "red mercury" being a nuclear material.
Yes, there are liquids that can be combined to make explosives. In order to get explosives out of these, they have to be highly concentrated. Some are considered "volatile". This means they stink.
Take acetone, a well known ingredient in nail polish remover. The concentration is low, the smell is high. If someone decided to "do their nails" on an airplane flight, they'd get lynched - that shit is vicious in an enclosed environment.
Or various acidic drain cleaners: hard to handle and package without burning yourself, or sufficiently low strength to not do anything more than fizzle. These stink too.
Hydrogen peroxide: the stuff you can buy in the drugstore is low concentration. It would have to be concentrated (not a simple process), then repacked in the original bottle. It smells when you open it, too. Hair bleach developer has a slightly higher concentration, but again has the smell problem.
Gasoline/Fuel oil: first, it smells; second, its already prohibited in aircraft cabins.
So, basically, it would take a lot of effort, coordination, and ingenuity by the terrorists, plus gross apathy on the part of their fellow passengers. Ain't gonna happen. Not when passengers that look like they *might* be doing something funky get tackled promptly by fellow travellers.
no subject
Of course the next trick will be little sealed two-component bombs that do the mixing and detonation inside a checked suitcase.
Oh, and H2O2 is pretty easy to get or synthesize, though it's tricky to handle. Ask any rocket hobbyist.
And of course powdered aluminum and air will do just as well as acetone and H2O2.
no subject
Without fumbling or being noticed?
Of course the next trick will be little sealed two-component bombs that do the mixing and detonation inside a checked suitcase.
Or prescription meds capsules with anthrax in them instead.
Oh, and H2O2 is pretty easy to get or synthesize, though it's tricky to handle. Ask any rocket hobbyist.
The tricky to handle is its downfall.
And of course powdered aluminum and air will do just as well as acetone and H2O2.
Yeah, and the restriction on liquids won't effect that.
Hell, if you want to be an ass, take a small bag of flour, go into the bathroom, block the vents, then get the really well into the air, and then strike a spark. You might get a dust explosion, IIRC. If it fails, it's easy to clean up.
no subject
Easy -- do it under a blanket. Anybody who's ever taken 35mm film out of a roll in a changing bag could do it with a little practice. Or put their ponytail in a rubber band behind their back, for that matter.
H2O2 is fairly tame as long as you don't let it get in contact with somethng that will catalyze its disintegration, which is highly exothermic. They discovered during WWII that solder falls into that category. Plastic, however, is just fine.