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Underground torpedo

Run silent, run deep
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Using the same steerable "mole" technology used to run pipes and cables without trenching, power and guide such a device through the subsoil under the desired target, then pump in an ANFO slurry explosive such as Ammoblast, add a detonator and booster, backfill and tamp the bore with fast-setting concrete, and initiate the charge electrically from a remote location.

Could also me used for de-mining or countermining; essentially a sub-surface version of "Bookrest" or "Tureen".

Gives a whole new meaning to "undrmining someone's efforts".

8th of 7, Mar 01 2011

Wikipedia: Tremors (film) http://en.wikipedia...wiki/Tremors_(film)
Vaguely relate [rcarty, Mar 02 2011]

Wikipedia: Mongolian Death Worm http://en.wikipedia...ongolian_Death_Worm
[rcarty, Mar 02 2011]

Wikipedia: The Devil in the Dark http://en.wikipedia...e_Devil_in_the_Dark
[rcarty, Mar 02 2011]

Mines used in First world war battle of Messines http://en.wikipedia.../Battle_of_Messines
These underground mines killed 10,000 germans in an instant. [xenzag, Mar 05 2011]

[link]






       One could also use it for pranks. With smaller explosive charges, of course.
bungston, Mar 02 2011
  

       So the earthworms get it in the neck again, eh?
DrBob, Mar 02 2011
  

       Maybe they're all neck?
RayfordSteele, Mar 02 2011
  

       Maybe there could be a cattle-catcher type device on these, to ease the worms out of the way.
bungston, Mar 02 2011
  

       //Gives a whole new meaning// Much better than that: it resurrects a dead metaphor.   

       (Alternate title could be: "Robotic Sapper")
mouseposture, Mar 03 2011
  

       could be, but that's a tunnel not a trench.
FlyingToaster, Mar 03 2011
  

       So you're saying the Gulf of Mexico blast was just BP doing a test run that went wrong?
not_morrison_rm, Mar 05 2011
  

       No, Texaco doing a live fire that went right ...
8th of 7, Mar 05 2011
  

       Read the description of the use of underground mines by British forces in the first world war attack on Messines. The statistics are quite shocking. 455 tonnes of ammonal explosive was used, and all of it exploded directly under the German lines. "Reports were made that the shockwave from the explosion was heard as far away as London and Dublin"   

       "In the week before the attack began, some 2,200 artillery guns bombarded the German trenches with an estimated 3–4 million shells." There is actually footage of the mines at Messines detonating. The ground heaves up like a mountain to what looks like hundreds of feet in height. Look for on youtube.   

       I often laugh when I hear the expression "shock and awe" re Iraq invasion. War is horrible, and none worse than WW1.   

       I read a lot of books on the subject of the first world war, when I was at school, loaned to me by an elderly man who was in the Battle of the Somme.
xenzag, Mar 05 2011
  

       My favourite quote of the day comes from [xenzag]'s link:   

       "The evening before the attack, General Plumer remarked to his staff, "Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography."
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 05 2011
  

       Bun for the psychological effect alone.
doctorremulac3, Mar 05 2011
  

       Plumer, along with Monash, Congreve and Currie, was one of the very best generals of WW1.   

       But what can so few do, amongst so many ...?
8th of 7, Mar 05 2011
  

       I think the few decided they could blow up the many, didn't they?
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 05 2011
  

       Yes, but they had help.
8th of 7, Mar 05 2011
  

       True. Nice for chemists to get some credit.
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 05 2011
  

       They already got *plenty* of credit when Rutherford refused to shake Haber's hand.
mouseposture, Mar 05 2011
  
      
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