PETN Experiment (IMAGE) DOE/Sandia National Laboratories Caption Sandia researchers Alex Tappan (left) and Rob Knepper watch the detonation of a critical thickness experiment. The experiment typically uses less explosive material than the size of one-tenth of an aspirin tablet to determine small-scale detonation properties. The bench-top experiment is so small, researchers can stand next to the firing chamber with eye and ear protection. Credit Sandia National Laboratories/Randy Montoya Usage Restrictions Credit required License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.