Editing Siege Weapon (section)

===Portable Explosives===
Comes in all shapes and sizes. A few of the more noteworthy types:
*'''TNT''': TriNitroToluene. Also known as dynamite. More powerful than gunpowder, more stable than nitroglycerin. Dynamite comes in sticks and and is ignited using an electrical charge from a plunger device. Just a few well-placed sticks can blast rocks with ease.
*'''Plastic Explosives''': Explosives made from a flexible material, such as C4. Can be molded into any shape and stuck on any surface with a bit of duck tape. Stick the primer in, then remotely detonate when you’re a safe distance away.
*'''Thermite''': this compound produces a jet of molten iron when ignited, rather than exploding outright. Great for cutting through thick surfaces, or destroying gun barrels/sensitive equipment.
*'''Detcord''': A type of plastic explosive that’s optimized for dynamic entry. Comes in a rope shape for easy bundling and placement; stick it on a wall in an outline of the hole you want to make, or sandwich a rolled up bundle between two bags of water to create a powerful door-knocking explosive.
*'''Shape Charge''': explosives placed around an inverted metal cone. When ignited, the cone collapses into a jet of molten metal, concentrating the explosive power into a fine point to punch through armor. Commonly used in anti-tank rounds, though portable versions exist.
*'''IED''': Short for '''I'''mprovised '''E'''xplosive '''D'''evice. Term coined by the US military during the invastion of Iraq in the 2000s, that covers basically anything that goes ''boom'' and isn't covered by traditional military lingo or adheres to any standardized model of bomb or land mine. As the name tells, these are mostly improvised explosives made from a bewildering range of materials, from pipe bombs that are made by filling a solid steel pipe with some C4 or dynamite to more volatile and/or unreliable things like artillery shells equipped with a fuse or just a solid tube filled with ammonuiumnitrate (found in many fertilizers). 
*'''Land Mines''': Landmines are essentially small explosive containers that are buried and set off by someone or something stepping on them. Mines are primarily used to prevent an enemy setting foot in areas you don't want them to or force your enemy to march into a direction of your choosing. The major hassle of Land Mines is that they are buried en masse and remain actively dangerous until they are either set off or defused  - often long after a conflict has ended. This has lead to a movement toward banning anti-personnel mines.  While many countries have signed on to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (or the Ottawa Treaty), many countries, including Russia, China, and the United States have not.  While not a signatory, the US has said that they will abide by the terms of the treaty, except for on the Korean Peninsula (since the Korean DMZ is chock full of the things).

In addition, landmines come in all shapes and sizes.  Some will bounce into the air after being tripped, some are made from surprising materials like wood and glass, and the explosive yield can vary widely.  Britain was considering nuclear mines during the 1950s, in order to deal with any Soviet invasion of Germany.  Interesting fact:  In order to prevent the mine's electronics from freezing during the winter, the mines were to be equipped with live chickens which would theoretically provide enough heat to keep the electronics working.