Punked the Warped Tech of a Victorian World That Never Was

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T H E M AGA Z I N E O F T E C H N O LO GY I N S I D E R S

10.08

steam

punked

the warped tech of a victorian world that never was

www.spectrum.ieee.org

volume 45 number 10 north american

10.08

updaTe

13 Open-sOurce vOting

can open-source software save

electronic voting? By Mark Anderson

14 virtual cOlOnOscOpy 16 car talk 18 keeping mems mOving 20 hOme fuel cells tO sell in japan

opinion

9 spectral lines

  • 22
  • 48

Is the United states ready for digital television? the transition may not be

so smooth. By T e kla S. Perry

10 fOrum

Futurist ray Kurzweil gets the last word on the singularity.

21 technically speaking

New words are needed to reprocess

old electronics. By Paul McFedries

deparTmenTs

4 Back stOry

on the road to tikrit.

28

sparks fly:

engineers build community and more at Techshop [top left]; strange steam-powered critters inhabit

6 cOntriButOrs

cover story

22 hands On

48 The sTeampunk

techshop, a high-tech hands-on workshop, is expanding—perhaps to

a city near you. By David Schneider

conTrapTors

Do-it-yourself enthusiasts are drawing on the aesthetics of the 19th-century Victorian era to create fantastic brass-adorned, steam-driven machines. All hail the steampunk subculture. By Erico Guizzo

i-wei huang’s

careers

garage [top right]; and solar panels on a u.s. air Force base harvest energy from the sun [bottom].

24 sam Altman is only 23 and on leave from stanford, but his software may already be on your cellphone.

By Susan Karlin

28 a less well-oiled war machine

One of the world’s most profligate users of energy, the U.S. military, is turning to renewable sources on a grand scale. By Sandra Upson

25 Humor can hurt your career—

or help it. By Carl Selinger

BOOks

COVER:

26 A new book rescues the lost history of electrical engineering.

By Mark Anderson

JOn a t han SpRaguE/ REdux

34 Fresh phish

A flaw in the Internet’s infrastructure makes it easy for scammers to

thiS p agE, ClOCkwiSE fROm tOp lEft: timOthy aRChibald; JOn a t han SpRaguE/REdux; mma REnEwablE VEntuRES

lure people to fake Web sites. By David Schneider

26 Does nuclear disarmament

still matter? By William Sweet

40 bomb squad diary

76 the data

Little text messages are a very big

business. By Steven Cherry

Bomb disposal has gone high-tech, as our reporter saw firsthand when his convoy encountered an IED north of Tikrit, in Iraq. By Glenn Zorpette

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october 2008

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volume 45 number 10 north american

10.08

www.Ieee.org/

tHeINstItUte

available 6 ocTober on The insTiTuTe online

conFerence looks aT paTTern recogniTion

read up on the latest advances in the fields of computer vision, pattern recognition, speech and signal analysis, and biometrics. these topics and more will be discussed at the 2008 International conference on pattern recognition, scheduled from 8 to 11 December in tampa, Fla.

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commiTTee Takes on clean drinking waTer

besT oF lucky

Fifteen years ago, a book compendium of Robert W. Lucky’s column, Reflections, was published as Lucky Strikes...Again. Today, through the miracle of the Web, we can publish a compendium whenever we want. So we asked Bob [above] to pick his 10 favorites from his column since then. “Does the list have the one with Brutus, the telephone-answering computer that accidentally discloses the owner’s extramarital affair?” asked staffer Nancy Hantman (who arrived at IEEE Spectrum in 1981, just months before the column’s debut). Sorry, Nancy, that one didn’t make the list—but just imagine what did. Let us know if Bob left out your favorite as well. Thanks to the Web, we can do this again, whenever the mood strikes...again.

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In an exclusive video, two lucky kids get a sneak peek at Kota, a plush triceratops big enough to ride.
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nasa spent us $650 milliOn and

four decades developing Gravity Probe B

to test einstein’s equations, but the data came back noisy. cosmologist paul s. wesson explains what went wrong and how to save the experiment.
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ieee spectrum (IssN 0018-9235) is published monthly by the Institute of electrical and electronics engineers, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2008 by the Institute of electrical and electronics engineers, Inc., 3 park Avenue, New york, Ny 10016-5997, U.s.A. the editorial content of Ieee spectrum magazine does not represent official positions of the Ieee or its organizational units. canadian post International publications mail (canadian Distribution) sales Agreement No. 40013087. return undeliverable canadian addresses to: circulation Department, Ieee spectrum, box 1051, Fort erie, oN L2A 6c7. cable address: ItrIpLee. Fax: +1 212 419 7570. INterNet: s[email protected]g. ANNUAL sUbscrIptIoNs: Ieee members: $21.40 included in dues. Libraries/institutions: $205. postmAster: please send address changes to Ieee spectrum, c/o coding Department, Ieee service center, 445 Hoes Lane, box 1331, piscataway, NJ 08855. periodicals postage paid at New york, Ny, and additional mailing offices. canadian gst #125634188. printed at w224-N3322 Duplainville rd., pewaukee, wI 53072-4195, U.s.A. Ieee spectrum circulation is audited by bpA worldwide. Ieee spectrum is a member of American business media, the magazine publishers of America, and the society of National Association publications.

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back story

EditOriAl

Editor in chiEf Susan hassler, [email protected] ExEcutivE Editor Glenn Zorpette, [email protected] ManaGinG Editor Elizabeth a. Bretz, [email protected] SEnior EditorS harry Goldstein (online), [email protected];

Jean Kumagai, [email protected]; Samuel K. Moore (news),

[email protected]; tekla S. Perry, [email protected]; Philip E. ross, [email protected]; david Schneider, [email protected]; William Sweet, [email protected]

SEnior aSSociatE Editor Steven cherry (resources),

[email protected] aSSociatE EditorS Sally adee, [email protected]; Erico Guizzo, [email protected]; Joshua J. romero (online), [email protected]; Sandra upson, [email protected] aSSiStant Editor Willie d. Jones, [email protected] SEnior coPy Editor Joseph n. Levine, [email protected] coPy Editor Michele Kogon, [email protected] EditoriaL rESEarchEr alan Gardner, [email protected]

ExEcutivE ProducEr, SPEctruM radio Sharon Basco aSSiStant ProducEr, SPEctruM radio francesco ferorelli,

[email protected] adMiniStrativE aSSiStantS ramona Gordon, [email protected]; nancy t. hantman, [email protected] intErn Monica heger, [email protected]

contriButinG EditorS John Blau, robert n. charette,

Peter fairley, alexander hellemans, david Kushner, robert W. Lucky, Paul Mcfedries, Kieron B. Murphy, carl Selinger, Seema Singh, John voelcker

Beer, Not Bombs

Art & prOductiON

xecutive Editor Glenn

Zorpette traveled to Iraq this past January with a secret not only among the best-trained

SEnior art dirEctor Mark Montgomery aSSiStant art dirEctor Brandon Palacio Photo Editor randi Silberman

military units I’ve encountered, they’re also the funniest and most irreverent,” Zorpette says.

E

wish: that he would at some point get close enough to a roadside bomb to see it with his own eyes.
Little could he know that

dirEctor, PEriodicaLS Production SErvicES Peter tuohy EditoriaL & WEB Production ManaGEr roy carubia SEnior ELEctronic Layout SPEciaLiSt Bonnie nani WEB Production coordinator Jacqueline L. Parker WEB Production SPEciaLiSt Michael Spector

Arriving at the tactical operations center of one EOD team he had been assigned to, he noticed a whiteboard in the room and, in one corner of it, a terse message heralding his arrival: “Today’s forecast: sucking up to a reporter. Talking s—t when people are not around.”
The humor and bravado are a mechanism for coping with some of the most stressful duties in the war zone, Zorpette says. They’re not only was he going to see a bomb, he was also going to help two U.S. Navy bomb-disposal specialists blow it up. One of them snapped a picture [above] just as Zorpette [at right] pulled the pin on an igniter that blew up a charge placed on the bomb by a robot.
Zorpette admits that his

EditOriAl AdviSOry bOArd

Susan hassler, Chair; Marc t. apter, francine d. Berman, Jan Brown, raffaello d’andrea, Stephen L. diamond, hiromichi fujisawa, Kenneth y. Goldberg, Susan hackwood, Erik heijne, charles h. house, david h. Jacobson, christopher J. James, ronald G. Jensen, Mary y. Lanzerotti, ruby B. Lee, tak Ming Mak, david a. Mindell, c. Mohan, fritz Morgan, andrew M. odlyzko, Leslie d. owens, Barry L. Shoop, Larry L. Smarr, harry L. “nick” tredennick iii, William Weihl, Ba¸sak yüksel

EditOriAl cOrrESpONdENcE

iEEE Spectrum, 3 Park ave., 17th floor, new york, ny 10016-5997 attn: Editorial dept. tel: +1 212 419 7555 fax: +1 212 419 7570 Bureau: Palo alto, calif.; tekla S. Perry +1 650 328 7570 responsibility for the substance of articles rests upon the authors, not the iEEE or its members. articles published do

not represent official positions of the iEEE. Letters to the editor may be excerpted for publication.

aspiration “may seem odd. But I was also a kind of social glue that helps in Iraq to report on how the military is dealing with roadside bombs, and I’ve always believed that the best draw superbly capable people into trusting, close-knit teams.
The rites can even apply to journalism comes from people doing embedded journalists. “After we

  • and seeing things firsthand.”
  • blew up that IED, the EOD team

leader turned to me and said that according to Navy EOD tradition, I owed him a case of beer,” Zorpette explains. “Now if he’ll just tell me where to send it, I’ll be happy to discharge my debt.”

AdvErtiSiNg cOrrESpONdENcE

He spent much of his time in
Iraq embedded with U.S. military specialists trained in explosive ordnance disposal, or EOD. They search for, disable, and destroy roadside bombs. “EOD teams are

iEEE Spectrum, 3 Park ave., 17th floor, new york, ny 10016-5997 attn: advertising dept. +1 212 419 7760 the publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising.

rEpriNt pErmiSSiON

LiBrariES: articles may be photocopied for private use of patrons. a per-copy fee must be paid to the copyright

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for other copying or republication, contact Business Manager,

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citiNg ArticlES iN iEEE SpEctrum

coPyriGhtS and tradEMarKS: iEEE Spectrum is a registered

trademark owned by the institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers inc. careers, EEs’ tools & toys, Ev Watch, Progress, reflections, Spectral Lines, and technically Speaking are trademarks of the iEEE.
IEEEꢀSpectrum publishes two editions. in the international edition, the abbreviation int appears at the

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editorial content, but because of differences in advertising, page numbers may differ. in citations, you should include the issue designation. for example, the first update page is inꢀIEEEꢀSpectrum , vol. 45, no. 10 (int), october 2008, p. 9, or inꢀIEEEꢀSpectrum, vol. 45, no. 10 (na), october 2008, p. 13.

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iEEE mEdiA

Staff Director; PubliSher, IEEE SpEctrum

James a. Vick, [email protected]

aSSociate PubliSher, SaleS & aDVertiSing Director

Marion Delaney, [email protected]

recruitMent SaleS DeVeloPMent Manager

MARK ANDERSON does

double duty in this issue. With the U.S.

PAUL McFEDRIES

has been writing the Technically Speaking column since June 2002. He

Michael buryk, [email protected]

buSineSS Manager robert t. ross Marketing & ProMotion Manager blanche Mcgurr,

[email protected]

interactiVe Marketing Manager ruchika anand, [email protected] liSt/recruitMent Marketing Manager ilia rodriguez,

[email protected]

presidential

rePrint SaleS +1 212 221 9595, ext. 319

elections looming, he looks into the long-running battle for secure electronic voting in “Open-Source Voting” [p. 13]. He also reviews Michael Brian Schiffer’s book on the history of electrical engineering prior to Edison [p. 26]. “It’s filling in a gap that says he knew it was time for this month’s “E-cycling E-waste” [p. 21] when he saw the term

e‑waste in The New York Times.

McFedries has written numerous books, including The Complete

Idiot’s Guide to Weird Word Origins,

which was published this past

DePartMent aDMiniStrator faith h. Jeanty, [email protected] aDVertiSing SaleS +1 212 419 7760 telePhone aDVertiSing/SaleS rePreSentatiVe John restchack +1 212 419 7578

aDVertiSing ProDuction Manager felicia Spagnoli Senior aDVertiSing ProDuction coorDinator nicole evans aDVertiSing ProDuction +1 732 562 6334 ieee Staff executiVe, PublicationS anthony Durniak

iEEE bOArd Of dirEctOrS

PreSiDent & ceo lewis M. terman +1 732 562 3928 fax: +1 732 465 6444 [email protected]

many people, including me, didn’t August. He also runs Wordspy,

PreSiDent-elect John r. Vig treaSurer David g. green

Secretary barry l. Shoop

PaSt PreSiDent leah h. Jamieson

  • know existed,” says Anderson.
  • a Web site that tracks emerging

words and phrases.

JOHN BLAU, who

lives in Düsseldorf, Germany, has been contributing to

IEEE Spectrum for

NATHAN PERKEL

was aiming for “a mix of old-

VicE prESidENtS

evangelia Micheli-tzanakou, Educational Activities; John baillieul, Publication Services & Products; Joseph V. lillie, Member & Geographic Activities; george W. arnold, President, Standards Association; J. roberto b. de Marca, T e chnical Activities; russell J. lefevre, President, IEEE-USA

fashioned taste with nearly 20 years. Though he’s written for us about such diverse topics as low-power processors, peer-to-peer TV, and robotics, his article, “Car Talk” [p. 16], about vehicle-to-vehicle communications schemes, is a natural fit. “I’m based in a country whose economy is highly dependent on car manufacturing,” he points out. modern technology”

diViSiON dirEctOrS

in the photo of Jake von Slatt in our cover story, “Steampunk Contraptors” [p. 48]. Enthusiasts like von Slatt (né Sean Slattery) envision a 19th-century world that might have been. To add to the historical effect, Perkel shot the portrait with a traditional large-format 4-by-5-inch film camera instead of the digital camera he used for his other photos in the article.

giovanni De Micheli (i); thomas g. habetler (ii);

curtis a. Siller Jr. (iii); edward Della torre (iV);

Deborah M. cooper (V); irving engelson (Vi);

John D. McDonald (Vii); thomas W. Williams (Viii); frederick c. Mintzer (ix); William a. gruver (x)

rEgiON dirEctOrS

howard e. Michel (1); John c. Dentler (2); William b. ratcliff (3); robert J. Dawson (4); David J. Pierce (5); loretta J. arellano (6); ferial el-hawary (7); Jean g. remy (8); enrique e. alvarez (9); Janina e. Mazierska (10)

dirEctOrS EmErituS

eric herz, theodore W. hissey

iEEE StAff

huMan reSourceS betsy Davis, SPhr

+1 732 465 6434, [email protected]

VIKTOR KOEN

portrays entrapment in his illustrations for “Fresh Phish” [p. 34],

PublicationS anthony Durniak

+1 732 562 3998, [email protected]

eDucational actiVitieS Douglas gorham

+1 732 562 5483, [email protected]

JONATHAN SPRAGUE wanted

to capture the craftsmanship of steampunk artists

StanDarDS actiVitieS Judith gorman

+1 732 562 3820, [email protected]

MeMber & geograPhic actiVitieS cecelia Jankowski

+1 732 562 5504, [email protected]

which describes a recently discovered flaw in the Internet’s Domain Name System. “The multiplicity of the hooks” in his underwater scene “gives it a dramatic effect,” he says. Born in Thessaloníki, Greece, Koen is on the faculty of the Parsons School of Design, in New York City. His

corPorate Strategy & coMMunicationS Matthew loeb, cae

+1 732 562 5320, [email protected]

buSineSS aDMiniStration richard D. Schwartz

+1 732 562 5311, [email protected]

I-Wei “Crab Fu” Huang and Richard “Datamancer” Nagy [p. 48]. Sprague says he focused on the intricacies of the gears and parts in such creations as the laptop computer disguised as a music box. A first-time

technical actiVitieS Mary Ward-callan

+1 732 562 3850, [email protected]

Managing Director, ieee-uSa chris brantley

+1 202 530 8349, [email protected]

iEEE publicAtiON SErVicES & prOductS bOArd

John baillieul, Chair; tayfun akgul, Duncan c. baker, John t. barr

iV, Mohamed e. el-hawary, gerald l. englel, gerard h. gaynor,

roger a. grice, Marion o. hagler, Jens hannemann, Donald n. heirman, evelyn h. hirt, hirohisa kawamoto, Phillip a. laplante, Mary y. lanzerotti, Michael r. lightner, george f. Mcclure, adrian V. Pais, roger D. Pollard, Saifur rahman, Suzanne M. rivoire, Jon

g. rokne, W. ross Stone, James M. tien, robert J. trew, Stephen

yurkovich, amir i. Zaghloul

award-winning images have been contributor to Spectrum, Sprague exhibited worldwide in museums, has also shot for Travel & Leisure, galleries, and private collections.

Fortune, and Men’s Journal.

iEEE OpErAtiONS cENtEr

445 hoes lane, box 1331, Piscataway, nJ 08854-1331 u.S.a. tel: +1 732 981 0060 fax: +1 732 981 1721

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spectral lines

digital reception? No better.
Like most people who signal distribution between the antenna and the tuner.”
Our antenna cables were installed before we lived in this house. I try to imagine what’s going on inside the walls. A splitter probably sends a line into the bedroom—giving the

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  • INITIATION SYSTEMS for OIL and GAS PERFORATING GUNS an Investigation of the Effects of Industry-Used Cleaning Fluids on the A-140F Perforator Initiation System

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    INITIATION SYSTEMS FOR OIL AND GAS PERFORATING GUNS An investigation of the effects of industry-used cleaning fluids on the A-140F perforator initiation system. Prepared by EriKa Nieczkoski and Dr. Vilem Petr Colorado School of Mines Department of Mining Engineering Advanced Explosives Processing Research Group INTRODUCTION Fluid desensitized detonators were developed specifically for the petroleum industry, designed as an additional precaution against the occasional leakage of liquid (oil, water, and perhaps a mixture of oil and water) into the perforator carrier [1]. The alternative design1 ensures that should any liquid enter the detonator, specifically the distance between the fuse head and base charge, desensitization will occur, and thus the perforating shape charges will not detonate. However, partial order detonation2 has been observed regardless of the absence of a leakage; this an obvious safety concern for wireline operators. The industry speculates that the reason for this occurrence is the presence of residual perforator cleaning fluids within the assembly. Typically, perforating equipment is cleaned with water, and petroleum-based distillates: mineral spirits and diesel fuel. It is an easier, more cost effective method to clean the equipment and to use it again, instead of returning it directly to the manufacturer. Essentially, the assumption is that some residual cleaning fluid is left in the system, and is then sealed into the assembly. When the perforator is lowered into the production well, temperatures become significantly high – reaching 300 degrees Fahrenheit – and the residual liquids become vaporized within the system. Although the fluid desensitized detonators are designed not to detonate in the presence of a liquid obstruction, the chemical effects of small amounts of liquids and vaporized petroleum-based cleaning fluids have not been studied.
  • Index to Volume Xxi Blasting Explosives and Their

    Index to Volume Xxi Blasting Explosives and Their

    PROCEEDINGS Lake Superior Iron Ore Shipments (1855 to 1916, inclusive). .........................................................................61 OF THE Lake Superior Mining Institute TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING BLASTING EXPLOSIVES AND THEIR TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING ACCESSORIES (Menominee Range) BY CHARLES S. HURTER, WILMINGTON, Held at DELAWARE.* BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA In compiling this paper the writer has endeavored to give a clear understanding of the nature of blasting MARCH 13, 14, 15, 1917 explosives and their accessories. While technicalities VOL. XXI have been avoided, as far as possible, it is only intended for those who have the knowledge of chemistry that 1916-1917 goes with an engineer’s education and for those who ISHPEMING, MICH. have had practical experience in the use of explosives. PUBLISHED BY THE INSTITUTE. It is based on a study of the principal technical works AT THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, and treatises on explosives including Berthelot, 1917 Guttrnan, de Kalb, Walke, the reports of His Majesty’s Inspectors of Explosives (English), the publications of PRESSES OF IRON ORE, ISHPEMING, MICH. the United States Bureau of Mines and on the writer’s own investigations and practical experience. An attempt has been made to select from all these sources all that is INDEX TO VOLUME XXI pertinent to our subject in its applicability to the explosives in general use. It has not been found PAPERS. practical to give each authority full credit for the material taken from his works, but the writer gladly acknowledges Blasting Explosives and their Accessories—By Charles his deep indebtedness to all of them. However, he in S. Hurster .......................................................................... 1 particular wishes to express his appreciation of the Record Sinking at the Homansville Shaft of the Chief kindness of Mr.
  • Studies on Some of the Improvised Energetic Materials (Iems): Detonation, Blast Impulse and TNT Equivalence Parameters

    Studies on Some of the Improvised Energetic Materials (Iems): Detonation, Blast Impulse and TNT Equivalence Parameters

    ORIENTAL JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY ISSN: 0970-020 X CODEN: OJCHEG An International Open Access, Peer Reviewed Research Journal 2019, Vol. 35, No.(6): Pg. 1813-1823 www.orientjchem.org Studies on some of the Improvised Energetic Materials (IEMs): Detonation, Blast Impulse and TNT Equivalence Parameters KANNAN GAJENDRAN BALACHANDAR1 and ARUMUGAM THANGAMANI1* 1Department of Chemistry, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore-641 021, Tamil Nadu, India. *Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/ojc/350626 (Received: October 18, 2019; Accepted: November 20, 2019) ABSTRACT This work reports the computational analysis of the physicochemical, detonation, blast peak over pressure, blast impulse and TNT equivalence parameters of some of the Improvised Energetic Materials (IEMs) such as ammonium nitrate, urea nitrate, C4, hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD) and triacetone triperoxide (TATP), which are used in bombing incidents all over the world in the form of Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs) or Person-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (PBIEDs). The blast impulse, peak over pressure, TNT equivalence and detonation parameters reported in this manuscript will be useful to assess the threat quotient caused by these IEMs, of great help for the energetic materials researchers, technologists and scientists to undertake further research work in the field and for the security agencies to understand the severity of the damage during explosion. This paper also accounts for the available detection technologies to fabricate an explosive detection device for its effective identification and detection. Keywords: Ammonium nitrate, Urea nitrate, C4, Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), Triacetone triperoxide (TATP). INTRODUCTION of inflicting terror is by carrying out bomb blasts causing death and destruction.
  • Analysis of Explosives Reference List

    Analysis of Explosives Reference List

    Analysis of Explosives Reference List Fire Debris and Explosives Subcommittee Table of Contents 1 – Books ........................................................................................................................................ 1 2- Reviews/Guides/Studies/On-line Resources .............................................................................. 9 3 - Devices .................................................................................................................................... 16 4 - Health & Safety ....................................................................................................................... 18 5 - Low Explosives ....................................................................................................................... 18 6 - Canine Detection ..................................................................................................................... 24 7 – Laboratory Sampling and Sample Prep .................................................................................. 25 8 – Intact Explosives Analysis ...................................................................................................... 29 9 – Homemade/Improvised Explosives/Peroxides ....................................................................... 55 10 –Trace and Post Blast Residues Analysis ................................................................................ 67 11 – Markers and Taggants ..........................................................................................................
  • Gas and Dust Gallery No. 1, Pittsburg Testing Station. Department of the Interior United States Geological Survey George Otis Smith, Director

    Gas and Dust Gallery No. 1, Pittsburg Testing Station. Department of the Interior United States Geological Survey George Otis Smith, Director

    LJ. S. QEOLOOICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 423 PLATE I GAS AND DUST GALLERY NO. 1, PITTSBURG TESTING STATION. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR ,ErrrN 423 A PRIMER ON EXPLOSIVES FOR COAL MINERS BY CHARLES E. MUNROE AND CLARENCE HALL WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1909 CONTENTS. Page. Introduction............................................................. 9 Combustion and explosion................................................ 11 Fire................................................................. 11 Combustible substances............................................... 11 Explosion ........................................................... 11 Dust explosions ....................................................^. 11 Air necessary to ordinary combustion.................................. 12 Oxygen of the air necessary for combustion............................ 12 Oxygen from saltpeter................................................ 12 Saltpeter supports combustion......................................... 12 Charcoal with saltpeter produces heat and gas.......................... 12 Sulphur is added to make the mixture ignite easily..................... 13 Chile saltpeter contains oxygen ..........................___:........... 13 Oxygen in other bodies............................................... 13 Nitric acid from saltpeter............................... .............. 13 Putting oxygen into cotton, glycerin, etc............................... 14 Sensitiveness and violence of fulminate
  • Chapter 11 SPECIALIZED BLASTING TECHNIQUES

    Chapter 11 SPECIALIZED BLASTING TECHNIQUES

    Chapter 11 SPECIALIZED BLASTING TECHNIQUES This chapter includes information about: • Avalanche Blasting • Animal Carcass Removal • 105-M 102 Howitzer • Boulder Blasting • Military Weapons • Air Gapping • Fireline Explosives • Expansion Alternatives • Burnol Backfiring Devices SECTION 11A - AVALANCHE BLASTING SECTION CONTENTS: • Initiating Devices • Explosive Assembly • Use of Hand Charge • Cornice Control • Explosive Safety • Recoilless Weapons - Military Weapons • Avalauncher AVALANCHE BLASTING Slope testing, avalanche release, and snow stabilization are the main objectives for using explosives in avalanche blasting. To achieve these objectives, a standard charge is used that is capable of developing deto- nation pressure equal to 1 kg of TNT. 167 There are several types of explosives that can develop the appropriate detonation pressure. By knowing the detonation velocity and the density of a given explosive, the detonation pressure can be calculated (Chapter 2 - Explosives). INITIATING DEVICES Avalanche blasting is based on a nonelectric detonating system or systems that are not susceptible to initiation from the high static electricity that is prevalent in snowstorms and near ridge crests. Even with non- electric blasting caps, avalanche blasting should not be conducted when there is evidence of a strong static electricity field (cumulonimbus clouds, electric buzzing). Cap-and-Fuse - A cap-and-fuse assembly can detonate explosives that are sensitive to a No. 6 cap (Figure 11- 1). However, in severe winter weather, some primers with low proportions of sensitizers may require a No. 8 cap or larger. Blasting caps are susceptible to accidental ignition from excess heat, friction, or static electricity and should be handled with great care. Where adverse conditions are expected (static electricity), other tech- niques should be used or the blasting operation should be shut down.
  • Introduction to Explosives

    Introduction to Explosives

    Introduction to Explosives FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Overview Military Explosives – C4 – HMX – PETN – RDX – Semtex Commercial Explosives – ANAL – ANFO – Black Powder – Dynamite – Nitroglycerin – Smokeless Powder – TNT – Urea Nitrate Improvised Explosives* – HMTD – TATP *While many military and commercial explosives can be improvised, HMTD and TATP do not have military or commercial purposes. Introduction to Explosives FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Military Explosives Introduction to Explosives FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY C4: Characteristics, Properties, and Overview American name for the 4th generation of Composition C Explosives, also called Harrisite – Western counterpart to Semtex plastic explosive – Requires a blasting cap for detonation Ingredients: – Approximately 90% RDX; remainder is a plasticizer Appearance: – Smells like motor oil, light brown putty-like substance Uses: – Typically for demolition and metal cutting – Can be specially formed to create targeted explosion – Can be used for underwater operations Sensitivity: – Non-toxic, insensitive to shock, will ignite and burn Introduction to Explosives FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY C4: Analysis and Trends U.S. manufactured so likely to be found in countries where the U.S. has military connections A preferred terrorist explosive Damaged hull – Used in 2000 U.S.S. Cole and 2002 Bali nightclub of U.S.S. Cole in Yemeni port bombings – Recommended in Al-Qaeda’s traditional curriculum of explosives training – Frequently used in IEDs in Iraq Can only be purchased domestically by legitimate buyers through