Former TSA screener says the job does little to keep fliers safe

Re:Former TSA screener says the job does little to keep flie... by codex on Sunday March 10, 2013 @04:09PM (#5353249)

An iPad 2 battery contains about 90 kilojoules of energy. This is equivalent to about 20g of TNT, which is only 1/3 of the TNT used in a WWII-era "pineapple" hand grenade.

However, the real reason one can bring a laptop battery on a plane is because no terrorist has tried to use it yet. They would probably need multiple batteries: after the "shoe bomber" attack, the government determined that as little as 50g of PETN could bring down a plane, which is equivalent to 80+g of TNT, which is four iPad 2 batteries.

Even then, it would be necessary to deliver that energy in a very small amount of time, which may not be possible rapidly enough with lithium-ion; they can burn, but can they explode quickly enough, with all of their energy? The TSA aays they have studied the issue, and the answer is no [1], they "cannot be used as an explosive and are not a security threat in personal carry-on quantities."

[1] http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2010-...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Former TSA screener says the job does little to keep flie... by wfunction on Sunday March 10, 2013 @05:34PM (#5353576)

> "Can they explode quickly enough...?"

Explosion? Starting a fire isn't enough?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Former TSA screener says the job does little to keep flie... by codex on Sunday March 10, 2013 @05:47PM (#5353629)

Given that the TSA allows common lighters and matches to be taken on board, apparently not. I think aircraft cabins are designed to be "fire resistant" (for obvious reasons) though I'd be surprised if they were fireproof.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Former TSA screener says the job does little to keep flie... by wfunction on Monday March 11, 2013 @01:03AM (#5355000)

But then why don't they allow water bottles? Is a flammable liquid worse than a flammable solid like Lithium?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Former TSA screener says the job does little to keep flie... by taligent on Sunday March 10, 2013 @06:12PM (#5353735)

The entire plane interior is fire-retardant and there are lots of extinguishers around.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Former TSA screener says the job does little to keep flie... by mpyne on Sunday March 10, 2013 @06:00PM (#5353677)

Given all the ways you could start a fire on a plane, it's probably better that they're engineered to survive a small fire being started anyways.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Former TSA screener says the job does little to keep flie... by Evbn on Sunday March 10, 2013 @10:56PM (#5354656)

What if I filled an old iPod shell with PETN?

[ Parent | on HN ]