Dense Inert Metal Explosive
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Dense inert metal explosive (DIME) is an experimental type of
explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
that has a relatively small but effective
blast radius A blast radius is the distance from the source that will be affected when an explosion occurs. A blast radius is often associated with bombs, mines, explosive projectiles ( propelled grenades), and other weapons with an explosive charge. Use in ...
. It is manufactured by producing a homogeneous mixture of an explosive material (such as
phlegmatized A phlegmatized explosive is an explosive that has had an agent (a phlegmatizer) added to stabilize or desensitize it. Phlegmatizing usually improves the handling properties of an explosive (e.g. when munitions are filled in factories. Alfred No ...
, HMX or
RDX RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a n ...
) and small particles of a chemically inert material such as
tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...
. It is intended to limit the effective distance of the explosion, to avoid
collateral damage Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an incidental result of an activity. Originally coined by military operations, it is now also used in non-military contexts. Since the development of precision guided ...
in warfare. The phrase '' inert metal'' refers to a metal that is not chemically active and therefore not part of the chemical reaction that causes the explosion, as opposed to some metals, such as
aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
, that do form part of the chemical reaction—e.g. in
tritonal Tritonal is a mixture of 80% Trinitrotoluene, TNT and 20% aluminium Powder (substance), powder, used in several types of ordnance such as air-dropped bombs. The aluminium improves the total heat output and hence Impulse (physics), impulse of the ...
. An emerging criticism of DIME weapons is that they might turn out to have strong biological effects in those who are hit by the micro-
shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
from these explosives. DIME mixtures have been studied for some time, but apparently only began to be adopted for weapons after the year 2000.


Method of operation

A DIME weapon consists of a
carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
casing filled with a mixture of explosive and very dense microshrapnel, consisting of very small particles (1–2 mm) or powder of a heavy metal. To date, tungsten alloy (heavy metal tungsten alloy, or HMTA) composed of tungsten and other metals such as
cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...
and
nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
or
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
has been the preferred material for the dense microshrapnel or powder. Two common HMTA alloys are: * rWNiCo: tungsten (91–93%), nickel (3–5%) and cobalt (2–4%) * rWNiFe: tungsten (91–93%), nickel (3–5%) and iron (2–4%) Upon detonation of the explosive, the casing disintegrates into extremely small particles, as opposed to larger pieces of shrapnel which results from the fragmentation of a metal
shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...
casing. The HMTA powder acts like micro-shrapnel which is very lethal at close range (about ), but loses momentum very quickly due to air resistance, coming to a halt within approximately 40 times the diameter of the charge. This increases the probability of killing people within a few meters of the explosion while reducing the probability of causing death and injuries or damage farther away. Survivors close to the lethal zone may still have their limbs amputated by the HMTA microshrapnel, which can slice through soft tissue and bone.


Toxic/carcinogenic effects

The
carcinogen A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substan ...
ic effects of heavy metal tungsten alloys (HMTA) (along with
depleted uranium Depleted uranium (DU; also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy or D-38) is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope than natural uranium.: "Depleted uranium possesses only 60% of the radioactivity of natural uranium, hav ...
U have been studied by the U.S. Armed Forces since at least the year 2000. These alloys were found to cause
neoplastic A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
transformations of human
osteoblast Osteoblasts (from the Greek language, Greek combining forms for "bone", ὀστέο-, ''osteo-'' and βλαστάνω, ''blastanō'' "germinate") are cell (biology), cells with a single Cell nucleus, nucleus that synthesize bone. However, in the p ...
cells. A more recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study, from 2005, found that HMTA shrapnel rapidly induces
rhabdomyosarcoma Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a highly aggressive form of cancer that develops from mesenchymal cells that have failed to fully differentiate into myocytes of skeletal muscle. Cells of the tumor are identified as rhabdomyoblasts. There are four subt ...
in laboratory rats. Tungsten alloy carcinogenicity may be most closely related to the nickel content of the alloys used in weapons to date; however, pure tungsten and
tungsten trioxide Tungsten(VI) oxide, also known as tungsten trioxide is a chemical compound of oxygen and the transition metal tungsten, with formula WO3. The compound is also called tungstic anhydride, reflecting its relation to tungstic acid . It is a light ...
are also suspected of carcinogenic and other toxic properties, and have been shown to have such effects in animal studies. In 2009, a group of Italian scientists affiliated with the New Weapons Research Committee (NWRC) watchdog group pronounced DIME wounds "untreatable" because the powdered tungsten they dispense cannot be removed surgically."Gaza: Israel under fire for alleged white phosphorus use"
''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'', January 14, 2009, by Robert Marquand and Nicholas Blanford


Use in battle

In July and August 2006, doctors in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
reported unusual wounds caused by
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
attacks against Palestinians, claiming that they were from previously unknown weapons. A lab analysis of the metals found in the victims' bodies was reportedly "compatible with the hypothesis" that DIME weapons were involved. Israel denied possessing or using such weapons, and an Israeli military expert said that the wounds were consistent with ordinary explosives.
Mads Gilbert Mads Fredrik Gilbert (born 2 June 1947) is a Norwegian physician, humanitarian, activist, and politician for the Red Party. He is a specialist in anesthesiology and head of the emergency medicine department at the University Hospital of North No ...
and
Erik Fosse Erik Fosse (born December 2, 1950) is a Norwegian physician, professor of medicine at the University of Oslo, and musician. Fosse is a specialist in general surgery and thoracic surgery, and is director of the Intervention Centre at the Nationa ...
, working on wounded from the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, reported injuries that they believed were caused by some new type of weapon used by Israel, which they speculated were DIME bombs. Gilbert and Fosse made the same accusations during the 2014 Gaza conflict.


See also

*
GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a precision-guided glide bomb that is intended to provide aircraft with the ability to carry a higher number of more accurate bombs. Most US Air Force aircraft will be able to carry (using the BRU-61/A ...


References

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External links


Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME)How Goes the War From Here? Small diameter solutions
SF Chronicle, September 12, 2006

by Defense Tech Ammunition Explosives