Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Sticky foam doors are explosion proof.

Now sticky foam is back, defending nuclear weapon stockpiles, according to this report from Government Security.

The report explains that some facilities storing uranium and plutonium now boast steel sticky.jpgdoors with containers of hydrocarbon solution built into them. Breach the door, and the liquid comes foaming out under high pressure, expanding in bulk by a factor of forty and sealing the breach with an impassable obstacle.

The idea is that sticky foam will delay any attackers for long enough for the defenders to call in reinforcements. Experiments with explosives found it was impossible to break through the doors without the foam barrier deploying. Another test showed how a defender could release the foam by shooting it with an M-16. According to Ronald Timm, president of RETA Security:

?If you're on the high security side of a door and attackers are attempting to break through, you can use your weapon to shoot the door?The sticky foam will deploy, delay the attackers, and give you time to call for help.?

The doors are already installed at undisclosed sites. In the new role, the foam's drawbacks become advantages. Keeping attackers stuck in place for as long as possible is helpful?and there are unlikely to be protests if any of them tries to force a way through and comes to a sticky end. -- David Hambling

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