INTRODUCTION:

A new explosive - Octanitrocubane - has recently been synthesised in the US by chemists Philip E. Eaton and Mao-Xi Zhang at the University of Chicago and its structure was proven by Richard L. Gilardi of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. Initial estimates suggest that as the most energy-dense explosive known, it could be as much as 25% more powerful than octogen (the most powerful military explosive in common use) and twice as powerful as TNT.

Octanitrocubane:

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