When defusing a bomb, why can’t you just cut all wires at once?
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If you’re 5:
Because then the bad guys would reverse the bomb’s computers to blow up the bomb not when current is flowing through them, but when the current flow ends. Go ask your teacher (Google) about “Normally closed” and “Normally Open” button logic.
If you’re older:
Because not many bombs necessarily actually have wires to cut. C4 blasting caps do certainly. TNT technically only needs a source of flame, so there could be a sparker attached directly to the exposed dynamite. Same with gasoline or ampho. A bunch of grenades don’t need wires, and can be mechanically booby trapped inside a box or room. And of course, in computer time, it’s impossible to cut all wires at once. The bomb could detect you cutting the power supply first and be programmed to instantly trigger the bomb as it’s losing power, or in the event of control loss, a “Normally closed” relay could trigger the bomb via a backup power source that it switches to when power is lost.
It’s safer to cut the correct wire first, as in, cut the wire to the blasting cap, or cut the wick, or whatever the trigger mechanism is.
Or even better is to just verify the type of explosive and then get a bomb disposal robot to dump a bucket of water on it. Or just evacuate and let the bomb blow up anyway. Depends on the type of explosive and the situation.
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