Talk:Pencil bomb attacks

Conflicting/wrong info
Does this thing detonate, or does it just start a fire? The article says one, then says the other.

Is sulphuric acid even "inflammable"? Would another liquid that was merely inflammable be able to eat through the copper disk? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.85.209.143 (talk) 14:46, 30 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Picric acid, the other component, is described as a high explosive; its salts even more so. Sulphuric acid is not.  I am not a chemist, but my best guess is that the sulfuric acid was used for two reasons: 1) its reaction with picric acid is exothermic but not sufficient to cause the picric acid to explode, thus causing a hotter and longer lasting fire, and 2) it, too, ate at the copper plug, allowing for finer timing of the bomb. So... my guess is that 'detonate' is close to hyperbole.  --2601:1C0:5802:C256:DC21:1920:8E25:D9E0 (talk) 23:21, 5 January 2016 (UTC)