The team studied Amatols, explosive combinations of TNT and ammonium nitrate, extracted from historical ordnance in Norway.
For several decadesthrough the Second World WarAmatols were used as a convenient substitute for pure TNT in explosives.
All the ordnance studied by the team was produced before May 1945 and German-made.
A 2-ton bomb excavated from Aalen, Germany, in 2022.Photo: Stefan Puchner/picture alliance (Getty Images)
To test the sensitivity of the bombs, the team used a equipment called a fallhammer apparatus.
The team couldnt determine what made the munitions more sensitive some 80 years after they were dropped.
It may simple be the bombs losing structural integrity as theyve sat in the ground over the decades.
German 88-mm HE projectiles containing Amatol and studied by the recent team.Photo:Novik et al., Royal Society Open Science 2024
In Italy, about 60,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance are found each year,according to Atlas Obscura.
And in Belgium, excavating explosive relics of the First World Warremains a daily struggle.
Overall, there are millions of tons of long-forgotten explosive ordnance, the team estimated.
After all, no one wants to be on the receiving end of a particularly sensitive bombshell.
More:Who Planted a Bomb That Killed Two People at the 1940 New York Worlds Fair?
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