91av

The French Atomic Energy Commission is patenting a new way to trigger
“controlled” avalanches (WO 99/26039). The traditional method is to fire a
cannon, but the equivalent of 3 kilograms of TNT is needed to provoke an
avalanche. The new idea is to fill a meteorological balloon with a
lighter-than-air explosive gas, such as hydrogen, float it over the snow and
detonate it by remote control. Around 10 cubic metres of gas does the trick.