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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
Yes, most obvious items would not be practical, yet the new regulations seem geared toward them.
Also, the patience and ingenuity angle would argue for the next logical extension of the total safety policy:
1) No carry-on possessions except travel papers as issued at the airport secure zone.
2) No clothing allowed aboard. Paper jumpsuits issued by the airport.
3) No leaving your seat. Adult sanitary underwear will be issued, and seatbelts will be locked by the staff upon boarding, and until it is time to deplane.
4) All luggage, paperwork, and clothing will be inspected and sealed aboard a different cargo flight.
5) A body cavity search and x-ray will be performed when you check into the sterile zone - no fuses sticking out of people's asses. This also helps fight the War on Drugs(tm).
6) Any required medication requires a doctor's written prescription, and will be filled at the airport and administered by the airline staff.
This is about the only level of security that I can think of that will eliminate all of the ways I can think of to try to smuggle explosives or chemical weapons aboard.
However, even with this, wait a few years and they will have sleeper agents infiltrated into the ground crews and airplane staff (assuming anyone still flies). Either that or they'll start blowing up ports with the under-regulated cargo containers.