Gadgets

Outwardly, this appears to be a normal ear stud, with a somewhat large and flashy stone inset. However, it contains a small but powerful explosive charge which can blow a fist-sized hole in virtually any material. Although designed to destroy locks or sabotage machinery, it could serve in an emergency as an anti-personnel device. The stone consists of a thin crystal shell containing two tiny fluid reservoirs. When separate, the liquids contained in each are completely harmless; when the bomb is armed and they are mixed together, they react with each other to form a binary explosive. To arm the bomb, the stud is pressed firmly into the butterfly to complete the primary arming circuit. When the two parts are separated again, the secondary arming circuit is completed. The liquids are mixed and a timer counts down from ten seconds, until the trigger circuit detonates the explosive. The stone is made from diamond-like cubic zirconium crystal, which will shatter on detonation, increasing the device’s effectiveness.