So, terrorists were just going to whip up some handy-dandy explosives?

[gridlore]

Not so fast. Instant explosives from household chemicals are found only in old tapes of MacGuvyer, as this excellent blog points out in some detail.

Thanks to the mdlbear for the link.

Comments

[mdlbear]

As capplor points out, there are some explosives you can make from common ingredients -- it's just that the one that the media has latched onto isn't one of them.

If there really is peroxide in the mix, I'd guess that the solid ingredient is a powdered fuel of some sort. Otherwise, I would have expected something like ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.

The explosive of choice, with truck bombs, I believe

[capplor.livejournal.com]

.

Re: The explosive of choice, with truck bombs, I believe

[mdlbear]

exactly. Though according to Wikipedia (not always a reliable source) the one used in Oklahoma City was ammonium nitrate and nitrobenzene, which roughly doubles the yield.