Investigators said they believe terrorists who were arrested overseas had planned to use a liquid explosive called triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, to blow up airplanes.
Many airline passengers probably have never heard of TATP until new security measures forced them to dump any liquids or gels from their carry-on luggage.
The peroxide-based explosive could easily be concealed in a bottle of water or sunscreen, and it can be made with a few basic household items.
"This is much simpler than baking a cake. I mean, a 10-year-old that could read could do this," said William Jenks, a chemistry professor at Iowa State University.
Jenks cautioned that the liquid explosive is highly sensitive and although anyone can make it, the substance is dangerous.
"Is it simple to make the material and walk away, no certainly. I wouldn't want to make 10 grams of this stuff," Jenks said.
To handle it safely would require an amount of TATP that's equal to the weight of a paper clip.
Multiply that to the amount of a soda or water bottle, and it's going to do some damage.
"The explosive force of TATP is greater than a comparable mass of TNT," Jenks said.
If someone were to carry the explosive onto a plane, it would take a basic spark or a shock to set it off. Jenks said the chemistry behind TATP is similar to one of the safety features in a car.
"It's the same principle that's used in airbags, where there's a material that's set off in such a way and that explosively opens it up," he said.
A TATP expert with the state fire marshal's office said the explosive is not as common in the U.S. as it is with terrorist groups.
He said that most cases in the U.S. are generally not related to any terrorist activity, but it is just people experimenting with the chemicals.
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