On Tue, 31 Jul 2001, James Rogers wrote:
> I believe the TNC scanners actually are looking for N-O bonds, which
> in very high densities are a pretty sure indication of explosives;
> nothing else would be sufficiently general across common explosives to
> be reliable. What they are actually looking for is a secret, but they
> probably aren't looking for chlorates as those are found in all sorts
Yes, permanganate, chlorate or perchlorate based mixes, especially with
finely dispersed metals (magnesium, aluminum), plus some red phosphorus or
organics, would do very nicely.
> of common items or organic peroxides (too unusual), both of which
Organic peroxides (acetone peroxide) can be remarkably nasty, especially
since they tend to detonate spontaneously at little or no provocation.
Also, they're frequently volatile, allowing you to identify them via GC/MS
route, if improperly packaged.
> well-known. And then there are metal catalyzed liquid explosives (add
> a specific metal to a specific organic liquid and watch the organic
I guess sodium or potassium with tetrachlorcarbon would do. Or have you
something more arcane in mind? Inquiring minds want to know...
> liquid undergo an extremely exothermic spontaneous
> decomposition/reorganization), some of which can be done with very
> ordinary non-nitrogen organics. The energy density for these is
> relatively low, but the reaction is extremely fast.
>
> Barrel of monkeys, I tell ya...
Of course, the screening is useful against your garden-variety terrorist,
which has little clue about explosive chemistry, or detection techniques.
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