Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military
From: howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Napalm
Summary: magnesium, not phosphorus
Message-ID: <8598@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 26 Jul 89 02:22:21 GMT
References: <8232@cbnews.ATT.COM> <8518@cbnews.ATT.COM> <8534@cbnews.ATT.COM>
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From: howard@cos.com (Howard C. Berkowitz)

In article <8534@cbnews.ATT.COM>, allen%codon1.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Edward Allen;345 Mulford;x2-9025) writes:
> 
> 
> From: allen%codon1.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Edward Allen;345 Mulford;x2-9025)
> 
> 
> Kameran Kashani writes:
> 
> White phosphorous will also burn under water, making it harder
> to extinguish the fire, and polystyrene makes the Napalm sticky
> so it's harder to scrape off.  Neither of these enhancements
> were appreciated by the Viet Cong.
> 
The reason for adding phosphorus was to make sure any random bit of
gelled fuel would ignite, rather than rely.  on an igniter and flame spread,
as well as making it more difficult to extinguish.  Phosphorus is normally 
stored under water in a lab, as opposed, say, to sodium and potassium 
which are kept under kerosene.

Perhaps magnesium was confused with phosphorus.  Magnesium, used for point
target rather than area-effect incendiaries, will burn under water, or in
nitrogen or carbon dioxide.


Stray medical treatment note--white phosphorus burns have traditionally
been flooded with a cupric sulfate solution, which converts the
phosphorus to insoluble cupric phosphide.  THere is some controversy
whether this substance is significantly toxic itself, but it does
> specifically remember reading that soldiers with white phosphorus
> fragments in them would try to get into water to extinguish them, but if
> the fragments weren't removed while still submerged, they would re-ignite
> when the men came back out.
> 
Sounds about right.

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