The creationist claim about the bombadier beetle is that the chemicals it uses explode spontaneously when mixed together
I’ve always been particularly amused by this creationist claim. The explosive chemical the bombardier beetle uses is just good old hydrogen peroxide, i. e., H2O2. H2O2, on exposure to heat or a catalyst breaks down int H2O and O2 in a fairly exothermic reaction, i.e., it generates hot steam (along with some oxygen). H2O2 is so dangerous that you can buy it in any drug store - no explosives permit or prescription needed. It is sold in a low concentration solution (5% to 10%) to be used as a mouthwash (saliva catalyses its decomposition yielding O2, a strong foamy antiseptic) or as a germicide to splash on wounds - about $1 a pint. At that low concentration it does not become dangerous hot. Our bodies; your, mine, Duane Gish’s, and all microbes, produce small quantities of H2O2 used in a variety of biochemical reactions (well, maybe not Duane Gish’s since he’s dead). The beetle catalyses the breakdown of H2O2 using a protein, ejected at the same time as the H2O2 so they are not combined in the beetles body, that is probably used for several other reactions.
My experience with H2O2 comes from my career as a systems engineer on a major satellite program. The boosters for our satellite, when ignited (actually using an automobile spark plug), have to almost instantly pump massive amounts of fuel and oxidizer into the rocket combustion chamber and do this using a centrifugal pump driven by a turbine that itself is driven by passing high concentration H2O2 (80% to 90%) over a catalyst bed, i.e., it is effectively a steam turbine.
I have always wondered what is going through the minds of people like Henry Morris and Duane Gish (well, maybe not Gish since he’s dead) when they repeat an argument that they have already agreed is fallacious.
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