Saturday 9 July 2011

MEAN

MEAN

MEAN is definitely a mean molecule. It stands for monoethanolamine nitrate, which is an explosive used as a sensitiser in 'slurry explosives' (mixtures of ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, a gelling agent and water). Slurry explosives are sometimes used in mining and quarrying, but nowadays they are on various governments' watch-lists as potential terrorist weapons due to their ease of manufacture. I believe it's also used in small quantities as a fertiliser, and doesn't cost too much - so it's a favourite with mean gardeners.

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