Word: napalm
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...next few years were spent testing napalm and developing new uses for it. Fieser performed test burnings and explosions in the Harvard labs and occasionally outside of Soldier's Field, though the invention remained a closely guarded secret...
...military started using napalm during the middle of 1942, and by the end of the war was using 75 million pounds a year. Meanwhile, Fieser kept experimenting. Harvard was still paying his salary, although he was working exclusively for the government. His work was still top secret, and he was spending a lot of time traveling to army bases...
Fieser got quite proficient at making napalm. "It's quite simple," he said. "You just take gasoline, sprinkle in some powder, and stir. First it turns into a mixture the consistency of applesauce, and then you let it sit a while and it turns into a thick, tough gel." He pulled a vial of napalm from one of his office shelves; it looks like dried yellow glue. Fieser said that although it was made 30 years ago it would still burn...
...also invented several kinds of napalm bombs, including a celluloid case filled with napalm and equipped with a time fuse, for use by espionage agents; a tiny, cylindrical napalm bomb with a time fuse, designed to be attached to bats who might nest in enemy installations; and the "Harvard candle", a napalm bomb which could be ignited by a match head attached...
After the war ended, Fieser went back to teaching here. He never worked for the government again. And the army continued to use napalm...