What is the common characteristic of the chemical substances generally known as CL-20, HMX and LLM-105, which are sometimes talked about in media?
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Answer: B. CL-20, HMX and LLM-105 are all high-energy explosive compounds used in military munitions. CL-20 is one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosives, HMX is used in warheads and solid propellants, and LLM-105 is an insensitive high explosive.
Watch for: HMX is also used in some rocket propellants, which can tempt students towards option D.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong: they are not refrigerants.
- C. Wrong: they are explosives, not cruise-missile fuels.
- D. Wrong: although HMX can be a propellant ingredient, the common feature is that all are military explosives.
Source to check: DRDO/HEMRL publications; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory research on LLM-105.
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.