Comments on: The Bang Theory: Explosives, Force Multiplier or Dinner Bell

By: 68A Soldier

68A Soldier — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:07:30 +0000

Something that fragments (Grenade, Claymore,etc…) at head level would be highly effective if your not worried about noise discipline. And seeing how the dead are well dead camouflage would be a moot point.

By: Nikson

Nikson — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:36:14 +0000

If you really are in a pinch and you have the access you can use a jar or some kind of container of straight gunpowder (or some other powders too).The right kind of gunpowder and in large enough amounts can burn hot enough to do damage to anything.

Or if you really want to cause some fire damage you can make or buy thermite. Thermite can literally burn through large chunks of steel. Imagine what it could do to dead or living flesh.

Either on of these could really hurt crowds of zombies

Ex: Burn through muscles, making the zed immoble
Even making the brain literally melt or boil and explode in their head depending on the kind of zed.

By: Roy

Roy — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:04:48 +0000

using explosives against zombies falls into the category of Very Bad Ideas. The biggest problem with using explosives against zombies is due to the physical differences between humans and zombies. Firstly, humans do not need to be “blown up” to die from an explosion. There are three basic ways an explosion kills you: Shrapnel enters your body causing organ failure, The force of the explosion rips the body apart, causing death by blood loss and massive trauma, or the blast wave causes neural overload and hydrostatic shock. Let’s look at each one individually.

1. Shrapnel wounds will not cause the trauma necessary to kill the horde size we are talking about here. AP explosives, even claymores, will shred the flesh like a shotgun blast. We all know what happens when you shoot a zombie in the torso or limb with a shotgun. Shrapnel based weapons will cause mayhem, yes, but not in the amounts that will justify using something that draws that much attention.

B. Anyone who’s watched any of the Doctors Without Borders or Red Cross videos about the dangers of land mines has seen what they do to people: Arms and legs blown off. This is bad in every zombie related situation. Legless zombies are sneaky little monsters that like to hide in tall grass, under vehicles, etc. A zombie with missing arms is a threat due to the fact that where a whole zombie will grab you with his hands and then go for the bite, handless zeds will simply stab you with exposed arm bones. Automatic infection.

III. Thirdly, explosives will not work for the same reason a zombie will not bleed to death when cut. Zed blood is congealed and unmoving. Due to this fact, they are not subject to the same forces that the living human body is put through when hit with a large blast wave. Experiments in living creatures have confirmed that a distant effect exists in the central nervous system after a high-energy impact, even to an extremity. A high-frequency oscillating pressure wave with large amplitude and short duration was found in the brain after the impact. As the body is hit by a shock wave, the sheer amount of trauma inflicted causes massive organ failure, and it causes your brain to simply “shut down”.

The greatest evidence against the use of explosives against zombies is in the notes of reporter Max Brooks in his book chronicling the events of World War Z. When the US used thermobaric weapons against the North American herd after the battle of Yonkers, NY, the death rate was much lower than would be expected against living targets.

–Roy

By: skield

skield — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:27:32 +0000

“And a 2 kilogram grenade weighs nearly a pound.”

Kain, actually 2 kilograms weighs more around 4.4 pounds. The conversion is 1 kilogram to about 2.2 pounds.

“A propane tank (yes, it’s from the awful remake of Dawn of the Dead) when shot, would make a big fire ball…”

Beonist, propane tanks do not simply explode when shot (unless you have incendiary round available, which is extremely doubtful). The actors in “Dawn of the Dead” fixed flares to them and shot a hole close to the flare.

By: Dr Who

Dr Who — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:33:49 +0000

Against a living enemy explosives make wonderful defensive weapons in minefields and such, but as small unit, manportable weapons their usefulness is limited. This reverses against our dead foe. The defence utility of explosives should be used sparingly. Remember you aren’t the military and resupply is not a radio call away. Save AP mines and such for herding areas in a fixed defensive position. And on the defensive side you should remove ANY obstacle to vision so as not to worry about any nonstanding zombie whether you blew off its legs or someone else did a month ago. Pack the zeds as close in together using fences and place your mines there. With both defensive and offensive explosives there are ways to increase short range mortality though it decreases long range mortality. The military doesn’t do this because killing an enemy soldier take one out, wounding one takes out three (the other two to care for him). Where against zombies you want to create as much damage as possible. The concussive effects of explosives aren’t to be ignored either. Taking handfulls of BBs and using hot glue you can increase the effectiveness of your grenades and mines. Now as offensive weapons explosives come into their own again. On the offense and moving you get rid of the disadvantage of “ringing the dinnerbell” ring that bell and move. What better than to take down a crowd and the call the rest to your handiwork when you’re moving away from it. Here is where wounding them matters not. If you’re mobile taking out a zeds leg is just as good as killing it period. Mines can even be used offensively. Arm a pressure detonated one for that persuing horde. With an armored vehicle take a trip wire detonated mine, mount it atop a 2 meter tall pole and use these to keep your vehicle from being swamped. A good deal of these can make crowd clearing an easy, if messy, proposition. Used in the appropriate way and time explosives can be a great force multiplier. While they aren’t as effective against dead opponents as oppused to live ones they are still effective. And never forget the Chunky Salsa Effect, this is when you use explosive and fragmentary weapons in an enclosed space.

By: --

-- — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:09:38 +0000

At what point does a zombie die? Cutting off all the limbs? Cutting it in half horizontally? Will decapitation kill it or will the head keep chomping as long as the brain is unharmed?

By: z_no

z_no — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:55:08 +0000

While I agree about bombs and grenades, I can see anti-personnel landmines being a good early warning system which would also slow down a zombie considerably - most are designed to disable the enemy’s legs. It should also be noted that zombies are not the only enemy in a worldwide outbreak - human marauders can be just as nasty and they may be dissuaded by just the signage of a minefield.

Nukes on the other hand could be used as a last resort for containment. This assumes we are talking about plague zombies and not supernatural zombies or re-animated corpses digging themselves out of their graves. In an uncontrollable outbreak, a tactical nuclear strike would be faster and safer than any evacuation. Even if it doesn’t destroy all the walking dead, it would certainly remove their “feedstock” by killing any uninfected in a large radius and give the authorities time to move additional forces into the area to mop up any straggler zombies.

The decision would really depend of population density and proximity to other high population areas: Madison Wisconsin could probably evacuate because it’s small and also nearly a hundred miles from another major city, but someplace like Philadelphia PA, you’d have to nuke to avoid infection from spreading up and down the east coast. The rage virus (fast zombies) would spread to the entire coast in just a couple days.

By: Angryvikingman

Angryvikingman — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:04:32 +0000

In the case of explosives, let us consider the differences in human and zombie physiology. Humans are vulnerable to shrapnel, burns, ect., and zombies aren’t. In theory anyway. If you want to make an affective anti-zombie explosive device, then you need something that zombies are weak against. Since the brain must be destroyed to effectively kill a zombie, then you only need a small amount of the right combination of chemicals to produce a corrosive explosive. If any of you have played the Resident Evil games, think Acid rounds for the grenade launcher. Also, thermite grenades would be a great substitute for regular frag grenades. Thermite will burn through a body in seconds. To that end, I suggest that you set up some remote monitoring stations around your compound, safe house, pillow fort, ect. Having done that, you can make an electronic firing board like the ones used for large fireworks displays, and wire acid or thermite bomb packs around your perimeter. Mix and match as you desire. Thermite components and acidic compounds are easily obtainable from your local wal-mart, or other large retail stores. To make explosives, just get stump remover for the KNO3 (potassium nitrate, salt peter) and mix proper components for black powder. Lets be real, none of you are going to be able to get your hands on military grade explosives. Do you have tons of ammonium perchlorate laying around your house? No, didnt think so. If you have a way to funnel zombies into a bottle neck, so much the better, but if you dont its ok. Open areas can be rigged by using fence posts, or sticks driven into the ground if you’re in a pinch. The higher to head height you can mount these things the better, but its not absolutely necessary. In fact, if you manage to burn off arms or legs, then its not so bad. After the carnage is over, you can go out and mop up the area pretty easily. If the zombie cant grab you, or walk, then it isnt so much of a threat. Take your time and kill them as you see fit with your favorite hand to hand combat weapon. If they cant get you, then there’s no need to waste ammo on them. If you have a field with high grass, then burn that crap down. Don’t limit your visibility. Explosives with the right attributes can be an effective force multiplier, and not just a dinner bell. Add large amounts of shrapnel to penetrate the head and body to make your chemicals more devestating. To argue against some of you peoples comments that regular frag grenades would be almost useless, a friend of mine in the 82nd Airborne was almost killed from the concussion from a frag grenade that was thrown into a bunker that he was laying on top of while firing his M-249. The concussive shockwave traveled through 2 feet of concrete and rebar, knocked him unconscious, gave him a concussion, and made him bleed from his ears, nose, eyes, and mouth. He woke up 6 hours later in the army medical center, lucky to be alive. Just imagine what would have happened if that blast wave hit zomies. If a normal frag grenade has a kill radius of 5 meters, then anything within 15 feet of it is going to die. Zombies included. Any collateral zombie damage is only a bonus.

By: Blitz Haigen

Blitz Haigen — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:39:11 +0000

I like the bit on claymores, ball-bearing claymores would be excellent for fighting zombies that might surround a building or encampment. However, they would have to be placed at a general head height because people, and therefore zombies, come in many different sizes.

I would think that the best use for a bomb would be to signal across long distances. Yes, you may run into the fact that zombies would figuratively rush to the site of detonation, but a tripwire mine set up at the very edge of an important perimeter might give early warning about a possible attack.

Another fun thought running around in my head would be to capture some zombies, rig ‘em with enough C4 to choke a horse, and release them into a crowd of their undead brethren. You then provide bait at a strategic point so that they draw together into a veritable moshpit of zombies and hit the switch.

By: Platinum

Platinum — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:18:09 +0000

Bruce Campbell without gunpowder?

This is my boomstick! sounds much better than, “look at my shiny club.”