richard reid shit?
ok so this guy makes a bomb in his shoes out of plastic explosive.
plastic explosive reacts to an electric shock/charge as anyone whos seen a movie where shit gets blown up would know.
sooo why did he have matches?
quote from howstuffworks:
"Just as with other explosives, you need to apply some energy to C-4 to kick off the chemical reaction. Because of the stabilizer elements, it takes a considerable shock to set off this reaction; lighting the C-4 with a match will just make it burn slowly, like a piece of wood (in Vietnam, soldiers actually burned C-4 as an improvised cooking fire). Even shooting the explosive with a rifle won't trigger the reaction. Only a detonator, or blasting cap will do the job properly."
quote from cnn article:
"Officials say Richard Reid hid 10 ounces of PETN-based material, a version of the plastic explosive C4 that is very sensitive to heat and friction, in each of his shoes when he boarded Flight 63 in Paris on December 22."
"Investigators, the official noted, have also found a safety fuse -- black powder packed inside a cord that is attached to and designed to detonate the explosive."
so will black powder set off c4?
related links:
how c4 works - http://science.howstuffworks.com/c-4.htm/printable
cnn article describing his use of c4 - http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/12/26/inv.reid.mosque/
sooo why did he have matches?
quote from howstuffworks:
"Just as with other explosives, you need to apply some energy to C-4 to kick off the chemical reaction. Because of the stabilizer elements, it takes a considerable shock to set off this reaction; lighting the C-4 with a match will just make it burn slowly, like a piece of wood (in Vietnam, soldiers actually burned C-4 as an improvised cooking fire). Even shooting the explosive with a rifle won't trigger the reaction. Only a detonator, or blasting cap will do the job properly."
quote from cnn article:
"Officials say Richard Reid hid 10 ounces of PETN-based material, a version of the plastic explosive C4 that is very sensitive to heat and friction, in each of his shoes when he boarded Flight 63 in Paris on December 22."
"Investigators, the official noted, have also found a safety fuse -- black powder packed inside a cord that is attached to and designed to detonate the explosive."
so will black powder set off c4?
related links:
how c4 works - http://science.howstuffworks.com/c-4.htm/printable
cnn article describing his use of c4 - http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/12/26/inv.reid.mosque/
