Concerning the plot from Britian. Any chemists out there?

[mmonk]

What were all the ingredients that were to be used and I also need to know how or what properties or ingredients in toothpaste and shampoo make for good bomb material? I would also like to know why this wasn't monitored before and will all this be forgotten along with the new requirements by the end of the year.

[dave123williams]

1. I think that it's that it's hard to tell the difference between shampoos

...and a fluid explosive. Similar viscosity, similar semi-colloidal state.

[mmonk]

4. I heard that someone in Congress

requested they (liquids such as shampoo) be ban right after 9/11 though I don't remember who it was. I also heard that one of the suspects has already been released. How does one make that big of a mistake (someone not involved) if this was to be such a huge plot?

[mr_hat]

2. Drop a pearl into it. That's the only real test.

[slaveplanet]

3. see this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1884749

ProfessorGAC's posts in particular

[mmonk]

5. Thanks

[dave123williams]

6. They're probably worried about Hypergolic combinations...

and probably specifically about aneline hypergolic liquids. Common fuel forms include aniline and nitric acid combinations, and hydrogen peroxide and aniline, which is more unstable but a lot easier to make in a basement in Essex. Nitroglycerin is also a liquid, but it's highly unstable, and probably not what those guys were planning to use. I'd think it'd have to be a hypergolic combination...it's two containers of stuff, that when left on their own are harmless. You combine them and light off a detonator, and 'kaboom'. These combinations are usually used practically in rocket engines, but would work just fine to blow a hole in the bulkhead of a 767.

I would think we'd be more succeptible to a placticized explosive, like c-4 or semtec, a Czech variant which is more stable and powerful than c-4. Also, it's supposed to be a bitch to detect, and is a longtime favorite of Hezbollah, the Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, and of course the human filth that call themselves Al Queda.

[mmonk]

7. Thanks.

I agree on the C-4.