• stoy@lemmy.zip
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    3 days ago

    I am a bit confused as to why we don’t have landmines that has a chemical self disarming mechanism, I mean a compound explosive charge that would was armed by combining two liquids that reacted to form the explosive, but then slowly kept reacting to go inert after 10 years or so.

    • DeLacue@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Sadly that not going to work; liquid explosives are a lot less reliable and far more unstable than the stuff they use now. All it takes is a little leak or some crack to set those off. This means manufacturing the mines is significantly more hazardous and transporting them is riskier. You wouldn’tbeable to stockpile them because the explosives would be losing potency from the moment the chemicals were made. Worst of all since they can’t be used to make shaped charges most of the explosive force would go into the ground instead of being directed up and anti tank mines would be impossible.

      This isn’t to say self deactivating mines are impossible but every solution I’ve heard is either impractical or could easily be exploited by the enemy.