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UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 · GS Paper I · Question 46 · Defence, nuclear & energy technology

कभी-कभी समाचार माध्यमों में चर्चित सामान्यतया CL-20, HMX और LLM-105 के रूप में ज्ञात रासायनिक…

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025, General Studies Paper I, Question 46 — Defence, nuclear & energy technology.

कभी-कभी समाचार माध्यमों में चर्चित सामान्यतया CL-20, HMX और LLM-105 के रूप में ज्ञात रासायनिक पदार्थों में सर्वनिष्ठ अभिलक्षण क्या है?

Read this question in English

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?

(a) These are alternatives to hydro-fluorocarbon refrigerants · (b) These are explosives in military weapons · (c) These are high-energy fuels for cruise missiles · (d) These are fuels for rocket propulsion

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) ये सैन्य आयुधों के अंतर्गत विस्फोटक हैं

CL-20, HMX and LLM-105 are all high explosives, the kind packed into warheads and other military munitions. None of them is a refrigerant or a fuel; they release energy by detonating, not by burning steadily with oxygen from outside.

  • ✓ (b) DRDO's High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune, made CL-20 in the laboratory as a more powerful explosive than HMX, which fills most warheads. LLM-105 is also an explosive, an insensitive one whose performance lies between HMX and TATB.
  • ✗ (c) Cruise missiles are propelled by ordinary fuels burnt in an engine. These three compounds sit in the warhead, not in the fuel tank.
  • ✗ (a) Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants are gases used for cooling; these three are solid explosive compounds, so they have nothing to do with refrigeration.
  • ✗ (d) Rocket propellants are designed to burn in a controlled way. These compounds are designed to detonate and are used as explosive fills.

Remember · CL-20 (most powerful of the three), HMX and LLM-105 (an insensitive explosive) are high-energy explosives for warheads, not fuels or refrigerants.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

Cite this question: UPSC CSE Prelims 2025, Q46 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/prelims/2025/q46

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