PETN is relatively stable and is detonated either by heat or a shockwave. A little more than 100g of PETN could destroy a car, experts say.
PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate, presents some vexing problems for security experts. A powder about the consistency of fine popcorn salt, it will not trigger an alarm on a metal detector. Because of its more stable molecules, PETN gives off less vapor, making it more difficult to detect by bomb-sniffing dogs and the trace swabs used by the Transportation Security Administration.
PETN's stability makes it easy to hide and easily transformed. When mixed with rubber cement or putty, it becomes a rudimentary plastic explosive — a baseball-sized amount can blow a hole in an airplane fuselage.
"PETN is hard to detect and lends itself to being concealed," said an intelligence official who was not authorized to speak on the record. "It packs a punch."
PETN explosives from CNN
20 Grams of PETN
The “Underwear Bomber” had 80 grams or 2.8 oz. of PETN (4 times the amount in the previous video), experts state that a person could pass through the current Full Body scanners with 3 times that amount of PETN as long as it was in a round shape with no sharp edges. The Full Body scanners will not pick-up explosives, but only mass. Just 6 grams (0.2 oz) of PETN would be enough to blow a hole in a metal plate twice the thickness of an aircraft’s skin.
NOTE: To share or email this 'Specific' article, you must click on the Title of the article.
No comments:
Post a Comment