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Household ingredients
TATP is a ring-shaped molecule consisting of an oxidiser and a fuel chemically bonded together. It is an extremely powerful and dangerous explosive – just a few hundred grams of the material will release hundreds of litres of gas in a fraction of a second. It can be made using a mixture of a high-street available solvent (acetone) and bleach (hydrogen peroxide).
“The compound has a set of relatively weak bonds that are broken easily, releasing a shock wave with a lot of energy and gas,” explains Sella, who compared the reaction to lots of soft snow held precariously on top of a hill before crashing down in a huge avalanche.