Softpedia
 

NEWS CATEGORIES:



NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>
MEET THE EDITORS >>
TRENDING TODAY
Home > News > Science > Sci Pry

February 7th, 2009, 12:41 GMT · By

5 Devastating Weapons That Are Actually Legal

SHARE:

Adjust text size:

A helicopter-mounted minigun is similar to those that can be carried legally on the street
Enlarge picture
Hollywood movies oftentimes feature action stars wielding massive fire arms, which look so capable of bringing about the destruction of enemies that no one in their right mind would expect to see them on the street, owned by people who have no business carrying devastating weapons. Here is a list containing five of these weapons, as put together by the guys at Cracked.
 

The explosive compound tannerite is sold directly by distributors, and everyone looking to blow things up can buy it for a fair price. There are currently no rules banning the use of the explosive by the civilian population, on account of the fact that a powerful reaction can only be obtained by mixing two powders together. This is perfect for storage and transport, as the whole mix bears no risk of accidental ignition. Regularly, it's used for avalanche control, and, thus far, no deaths have been recorded from it.


The violent reaction thermite causes once lit
Enlarge picture
It might come as a shock to many, but, in the US, improvised weapons are legal, mostly on account of the fact that guns can be bought from stores anyway. Legislators figured that there's no way to stop the spread of pistols and other such devices, especially in areas where people are known for their affinity of rifles and other improvised weaponry. The bad part about these items is that they carry a large level of risk, as they can explode and seriously injure the user at any time.
 

A surprise on the legal material list is Thermite, a powerful explosive compound that can easily cut through steel as if it were butter. It comes as a powder, made from aluminum and metal oxide, and burns with a heat of roughly 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,370 degrees Celsius). On the other side, it's highly stable and requires a very hot source of flame in order to ignite. This can only be achieved using magnesium, which can also be acquired from stores countrywide.
 

A tank-mounted flamethrower, used by the US in Vietnam
Enlarge picture
Most people think that a man wielding a flamethrower on the streets is suspicious at best, but apparently the law has no such concerns. In the US, it's legal to own and manage such a river-of-fire-spilling device in more than 40 states, while the rest have some regulations, in that possessing a weapon such as this can be considered a misdemeanor. Otherwise, people can buy them online for as little as $300, although their quality is relatively poor. Owners should watch how they use their flamethrowers, as when they explode they leave a pretty big crater.
 

Undoubtedly, the most surprising weapon anyone could legally see on the streets is the well-famed minigun, known from such movies as Terminator and Rambo. The cuddly, lethal machine gun can shoot up to 4,000 rounds per minute, and is perfectly able to fend off dozens of squads of soldiers, if placed correctly. However, the models produced before 1986 fall outside existing legislation, which leaves about 11 of these machines in the US. They are mostly owned by private collectors, although some emerge on the market occasionally, for prices as high as $400,000 each.




9,234 hits · 6 comments
Link to this article · Print article · Send to friend

MUST-READ RELATED ARTICLES:


Weapons-Grade Plutonium Found in US Landfill

Space Weapon Ban Proposal Met with Skepticism

Fiber Optic Cables Can Detect Underground Tunnels

Spreading the Atomic Bomb

Laser Battles in the Sky

READER COMMENTS:


Comment #1 by: J Richter on 27 Apr 2009, 00:34 UTC reply to this comment

Regarding Tannerite, it is simply a high explosive consisting of enhanced ammonal. Ammonal is a regulated explosive. Tannerite is more powerful than ANFO, a common binary blasting mixture. Tannerite is cap and bullet sensitive and can be easily detonated unconfined by a #6 blasting cap or a single strand of 15 grain detonation cord. Because of the high content of
fine black aluminum in Tannerite, its detonations are extremely hot and the
temperature alone skews brisance tests into a more powerful range. Addition of other additives to Tannerite make it even more sensitive to detonation by less powerful initiators that can be commonly manufactured.
Tannerite is nothing to fool with- giving credence to the phrase "use only as directed"


Comment #2 by: Theboomguy on 29 Oct 2010, 14:15 UTC reply to this comment

Thermite is not an explosive. It is like magnesium, only stronger.

Comment #2.1 by: Mooz on 14 Apr 2011, 22:56 GMT

Really? Have you actually used either one? I have. In very simple terms, Tannerite goes boom and magnesium burns very brightly. Or are you re-defining the terms?

Comment #2.2 by: thatoneguy on 22 Apr 2011, 09:18 GMT

i am going to go with theboomguy on this one. it is LIKE it. he did not say it was the same thing. and i can say so, because i have used both. * , i got to play with both of these in my high school chemistry class (may show how old i am, if there are any regulations now, or any difficulty in obtaining these items now). and when the teacher wasn't looking, we pocketed large amounts of these items and had a lot of fun once we got home!


Comment #3 by: John Smith on 17 Sep 2012, 13:14 UTC reply to this comment

Fact checking? What facts? Thermite isn't an explosive - it's more like a welding cutting torch in powdered form. And it only goes down. Good for welding railroad rails. Getting Title III weapons requires federal background checks, pre 1984 manufacture, and lots of money. Even for an alarmist rant it's pretty poor.


Comment #4 by: JohnKSa on 26 Apr 2013, 03:11 UTC reply to this comment

Thermite is not an explosive. It burns very hot and cannot be extinguished, and it can be used to create explosions in conjunction with other materials via the application of the extreme heat it generates, but it is not an explosive by itself.

Copyright © 2001-2013 Softpedia. Contact/Tip us at

WindowsGamesDriversMacLinuxScriptsMobileHandheldNews

SUBMIT PROGRAM   |   ADVERTISE   |   GET HELP   |   SEND US FEEDBACK   |   RSS FEEDS   |   UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE   |   ROMANIAN FORUM