Chetak's Explosive Pages

I had warned most of you that my home pages consists of many a thing that may irk a lot of you. If so please leave before my ideas corrupt you to the core. To be serious i have included the stuff about the explosives so that even a layman could know about the same in case he comes across some stuff and thus alert the authorities. The way things are going about in today's world , anything is possible.

Bombs and Other Explosives

General

Few military bombs (other than those dropped by aircraft) are currently manufactured on the scale and with the diversity encountered in the Second World War. The exception to this generalization is the mine - both the anti-personnel and anti-tank mine. Mines can be adapted without too much difficulty with average combat-engineer experience. Some 300 different types of mines are buried under the soil, killing tens of thousands every year.

Most bombs assembled by terrorists are improvised. The raw material required for explosives is stolen or misappropriated from military or commercial blasting supplies, or made from fertilizer and other readily available household ingredients. Such assembled bombs are known as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Components

IEDs have a main charge, which is attached to a fuse. The fuse is attached to a trigger. In some types of IEDs, these three components are almost integrated into a single whole. The trigger is the part which activates the fuse. The fuse ignites the charge, causing the explosion. The explosion consists of a violent pulse of blast and shock waves. The effects of the IED are sometimes worsened by the addition of material, such as scrap iron or ball-bearings. Sometimes the trigger is not the only component that activates the fuse; there is also an anti-handling device that triggers the fuse when the IED is handled or moved. The purpose of most IEDs is to kill or maim. Some IEDs, known as incendiaries, are intended to cause damage or destruction by fire. The format of the charge in some IEDs (some of which have no casing to contain the components of the IED) can be shaped or directional, rendering a measure of control over the explosion. Anti-personnel mines and other types of mines have been adapted by terrorists to suit their purposes.

Favoured Explosive Charges

• Semtex.
• RDX (Cyclonite or Hexogen, depending on form).
• PETN (Raw form of RDX).
• C4 (Plastic Explosive).
• TNT (Tri Nitro Toluene)
• Common Fertilizer, used as a base.
• Dynamite.

Methods / Triggers used to detonate an IED

• Pressure activated (physical).
• Pressure activated (water or atmospheric).
• Electronic Signal (Remote Control).
• Electronic Signal (Radio Frequency).
• Electronic Pulse (Detonator box)
• Photo Electric Cell ("when dawn breaks").
• Motion Detector.
• Heat Detector.
• Radiation Trigger.
• Circuit Connection (Anti-handling Device).
• Time Switch (Electronic).
• Time Switch (Acid activated).
• Fuse Wire.

Examples of IEDs

• Pipe Bomb
  This is the most common type of terrorist bomb and usually consists of low-velocity explosives inside a tightly capped piece of pipe. Pipe bombs are very easily made using gunpowder, iron, steel, aluminium or copper pipes. They are sometimes wrapped with nails to cause even more harm.

• Molotov Cocktail
  This improvised weapon - first used by the Russian resistance against German tanks in the Second World War - is used by terrorists world-wide. Molotov cocktails are extremely simple to make and can cause considerable damage. They are usually made from materials like gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, ethyl or methyl alcohol, lighter fluid and turpentine, all of which are easily obtained. The explosive material is placed in a glass bottle, which breaks upon impact. A piece of cotton serves as a fuse, which is ignited before the bottle is thrown at the target.

• Fertilizer Truck Bomb
  Fertilizer truck bombs consist of ammonium nitrate. Hundreds of kilograms may be required to cause major damage. The Irish Republican Army, Tamil Tigers and some Middle Eastern groups use the ammonium nitrate bomb.

• Barometric Bomb
  One of the more advanced weapons in the terrorist's arsenal. The detonator of the bomb is linked to an altitude meter, causing the explosion to occur in mid-air.

 The Grand Dad of them all and a boon to the wretched terrorists ( RDX)

Appearance White solid Molecular weight 222.1 Melting Temperature 204° C, high but lowers when mixed with TNT Thermal ignition temp 260° C Stability High chemical stability, especially compared to TNT Solubility Difficult to dissolve in organic liquids Sensitivity Easily initiated by impact of friction, often coated with oil or wax

Structure

Synthesis

The best way to make RDX is to use the compound pictured above and react it with ammonium nitrate and concentrated nitric acid. The mixture is warmed and when cold water is added, RDX is precipitated. The mechanism for this reaction is very complicated.

RDX, like TNT, does not have enough oxygen in its molecular formula to completely oxidize everything during an explosion. It is only after contact with the atmospheric oxygen that can allow complete combustion to occur. Below is the decomposition reaction of RDX.