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Great work Mig. What I'd like to know is where the UK government got its ideas about liquid explosives from ? what liquid explosives ? I know next to nothing about chemistry and less about explosive technology, but I'm sure I read a lot of informed comment that suggested that binary liquid explosives are the stuff of Hollywood fantasy. So the whole liquid thing is entirely bogus.

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 01:54:35 PM EST
The article claims
Someone proposes to follow what Americans have already tried: 100 ml containers up to a maximum of 500 ml in little transparent bags.
I take that as a suggestion that the nonsense originated in the US.

As for the feasibility of using liquid explosives...

The Register: Mass murder in the skies: was the plot feasible?

Binary liquid explosives are a sexy staple of Hollywood thrillers. It would be tedious to enumerate the movie terrorists who've employed relatively harmless liquids that, when mixed, immediately rain destruction upon an innocent populace, like the seven angels of God's wrath pouring out their bowls full of pestilence and pain.

...

Now we have news of the recent, supposedly real-world, terrorist plot to destroy commercial airplanes by smuggling onboard the benign precursors to a deadly explosive, and mixing up a batch of liquid death in the lavatories. So, The Register has got to ask, were these guys for real, or have they, and the counterterrorist officials supposedly protecting us, been watching too many action movies?

...

So the fabled binary liquid explosive - that is, the sudden mixing of hydrogen peroxide and acetone with sulfuric acid to create a plane-killing explosion, is out of the question. Meanwhile, making TATP ahead of time carries a risk that the mission will fail due to premature detonation, although it is the only plausible approach.



Oye, vatos, dees English sink todos mi ships, chinga sus madres, so escuche: el fleet es ahora refloated, OK? — The War Nerd
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 02:07:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Beat me to it.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 02:16:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm not sure.  The US didn't ban liquids on planes until after the UK did.
by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 02:16:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm too lazy to dig up links but the American MSM even pointed out the ridiculousness of this threat when the ban was first enacted.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 05:28:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, if you guys can establish that it means that either the account of the secret committee meeting that enacted the ban is flawed, or whoever proposed the liquids ban was either lying or an idiot.

Oye, vatos, dees English sink todos mi ships, chinga sus madres, so escuche: el fleet es ahora refloated, OK? — The War Nerd
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 05:37:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I have always thought it was a move by the airlines and soda vendors to sell more drinks on planes, by preventing people from bringing a bottle of juice or water with them.

tip:  if you must fly -- which I wish everyone would stop doing except for emergencies -- then bring celery and carrots.  they haven't banned vegetables on planes yet.

The difference between theory and practise in practise ...

by DeAnander (de_at_daclarke_dot_org) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 06:09:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
they're properly trained against that



Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 06:31:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I have always thought it was a move by the airlines and soda vendors to sell more drinks on planes, by preventing people from bringing a bottle of juice or water with them.

You can bring as much water as you like on a plane, as long as you buy it in the secure area after the security check. (And it doesn't take up your neighbour's seat in the air.)

So yes - very possibly. But I'd wonder if there was a trade-off between extra soda sales and lower flight numbers. Some people still aren't happy about the ban, and it's a huge inconvenience for anyone travelling with a baby.

they haven't banned vegetables on planes yet.

Especially not on Air Force One.

(Or in the Oval Office.)

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Sun Sep 9th, 2007 at 07:03:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Not always . . . some airports, like Bangkok's new international, have no shopping within the secure area.  Some small airlines (Air Asia, for example) expressly prohibit all outside food or drink - they don't offer any drink or meal service, but do have a trolley from which you can buy snacks and drinks.
by Zwackus on Sun Sep 9th, 2007 at 07:31:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"...You can bring as much water as you like on a plane, as long as you buy it in the secure area after the security check."

Not in Hong Kong 2 weeks ago. I had water confiscated going into the (so-called) secure area. I bought more. This was then confiscated in the jetway, near the door of the aircraft.

Next up: stomach pumps.

Words and ideas I offer here may be used freely and without attribution.

by technopolitical on Thu Sep 20th, 2007 at 07:53:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Here's an article about the reality of the liquid explosive claim.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 02:15:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The whole thing is a Hollywood fantasy!  

To make real explosives is slightly difficult.  

The Fates are kind.

by Gaianne on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 at 07:23:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The police are idiots. Bureaucrats are idiots.

I doubt anyone involved in this had any background at all in chemistry.

Although I'll add a small nitpick about the Reg article - it's very easy to get 9% peroxide (at least it is where I live), which would make the concentration stage simpler.

That doesn't, however, make the rest of the 'plot' any more believable.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Sun Sep 9th, 2007 at 07:10:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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