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PAINFUL DECEPTIONS -- AN ANALYSIS OF THE SEPTEMBER 11TH ATTACK -- PART 4: TECHNICAL INFORMATION |
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RDX detonates so quickly that it explodes even without being confined to a container. The military takes advantage of this by mixing powdered RDX with about 10% of a rubbery material to create a plastic explosive known as C4. The rubber allows RDX to be molded easily and it makes it safer to handle because RDX is poisonous. However, the rubber reduces the explosive power. In a candle flame, the hydrocarbons must get oxygen from the air, and that process takes time. But adding oxygen to the hydrocarbons allows the material to burn at a rapid rate. It is this addition of oxygen to the hydrocarbons, that transforms hydrocarbons into an explosive. The most important characteristic of explosives, is that they create an incredibly high pressure gas. Calculations show the pressures are as high as millions of pounds per square inch. This pressure causes the gas to expand outward at supersonic speed.
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