DS>LK>"Besides increasing the report, it gives a startlingly bright flash to 
th
DS>LK>explosion. Being unaffected by water, it is much safer than magnesium, 
bu
DS>LK>care must be used in handling it because, as previously mentioned, all 
fi
DS>LK>divided metals are liable to explode when in contact with oxygen 
producin
DS>LK>chemicals."
DS>LK> It flashes.
DS>"...contact with oxygen producing chemicals."  Or in other words, mixed
DS>with something else.  I've seen Al dust used in explosive mixtures
DS>before.  I'm just saying, I don't think a solid peice of Al (in the form
DS>of a projectile) would do too much in the way of an
DS>ignition/flash/explosion.  It may - I'm not sure.  I haven't tryed it
DS>and/or seen it done before.
It won't -- years ago, there was a controversy over the Bradley Infantry
Fighting Vehicle, claiming there was a "behind the armor effect" when a
shaped charge warhead hit a vehicle with aluminium armor.  The wild-eyed
radicals claimed that the shaped charge would vaporize aluminium and the
vaporized aluminium would detonate on the inside of the vehicle.
Having had the unusual experience of SEEING an RPG-7 jet come through an
M113 (which also has aluminimum armor), and haveing written several
articles on infantry fighting vehicles before I retired, I was asked to
do a study.  The aluminium does nothing -- although some people claim
that if the armor is VASTLY over-matched, it might add to the effect.
--- PCBoard (R) v15.21/M 2
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