Dept. of Bad Ideas

This is a pretty worrying development- because US Forces are seizing too many weapons in Iraq (7million small arms) some bright spark has come up with the idea of creating an aerosol spray to aid them in rendering said weapons inoperable-

What the agency want to see instead: a non-toxic spray that can "penetrate rapidly into the [weapon's] active firing and/or actuation mechanisms and render them instantly and permanently inoperable."

The formulation will produce an accelerated corrosion (or other) reaction over a longer period of time (a few months or less), perhaps using the weapon material itself as a metallic catalyst, to destroy the weapon internal structure. The formulation must be effective in small quantities (i.e., a few grams per weapon), safe to use, stable over the range of operational temperature/humidity conditions, have a long shelf-life, be capable of large-area dissemination, and produce a non-toxic residue after the weapon is destroyed...

[The spray] must not be reversed by simple chemical, thermal, or other means. Such a chemical system has the potential to enable the systematic and effective removal of small arms from the battlespace.

The big problem with however is that how is the spray to distinguish between guns and other metallic objects? Is it similarly going to corrode cars, engines, etc?

And what the heck happens if the formula gets out? What if terrorists or an enemy army are able to replicate the mixture and spray it/airburst it over US military installations or positions?

Seems like a good few governments would like to see this produced too- to completely disarm their citizens.

Time to store your weapons in a baggie? That would be a really cheap way to foil this no-doubt horrendously expensive research program.