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Napalm

By Jacob Silverman

Silverman, Jacob. "How Napalm Works." 15 December 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/napalm.htm> 26 February 2010.

According to security info Web site GlobalSecurity.org, napalm is "a tactical weapon used to remove vegetative cover and instill fear." Napalm, also known as a firebomb fuel gel mixture, has a gel-like consistency that allows it to adhere to targets. It's often used in combination with gasoline or jet fuel to form a bomb with a thin outer shell that easily explodes and ignites upon impact with a target. Once it catches fire, napalm can burn at more than 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Military experts view napalm as extremely effective against fortified positions such as bunkers, caves and tunnels, as well as vehicles, convoys, small bases and structures. It sticks to whatever it touches, creating a large, hot-burning area around the target.

U.S. and German forces used a precursor to napalm in flamethrowers during WWI. These weapons weren't viewed as effective, because flamethrower gasoline stayed liquid and dripped off targets. Military leaders wanted something that would make fuels thicker.

The solution to this problem was developed by a team of scientists led by Dr. Louis F. Fieser. They created an aluminum soap mix with naphthenic acid (from crude oil) and palmitic acid (from coconut oil). The word "napalm" takes "na" from naphthenic acid and "palm" from palmitic acid. This new formula, when combined with gasoline, made a cheap, brutally effective weapon that could be shot long distances, making it safer for the soldiers using it.

Napalm causes death by burns or asphyxiation. Napalm bombs generate carbon monoxide, and simultaneously removing oxygen from the air. Hence, the air in the bombing area can consist of 20% carbon monoxide . This is because napalm partially combusts the oxygen in the air, turning carbon dioxide carbon monoxide. In some cases, people have perished in rivers heated to the boiling point by napalm bombs.

The 1980 U.N. Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, Protocol III, banned the use of napalm and other incendiary weapons on civilians. The U.S. ratified the convention, but not Protocol III, and napalm has been used in many conflicts since its invention.