In 1867 Alfred Nobel patented a material made by mixing nitroglycerine with kieselguhr (a mineral containing a large amount of silica).  This turned the liquid into a paste which could be shaped into rods - and which only exploded when they were detonated. It was used for blasting tunnels, cutting canals and building railways and roads all over the world. Its name comes from the Greek word meaning 'power'. What is it?   

• Gunpowder
• TNT
• Dynamite

Snoring is a common problem but in the armed forces this may have significant effects.  Stop that snoring you ‘orrible little man! Yes sah! A paper has been written on the general management of snoring in the military environment and in particular, one surgical procedure – known as 

• Rhinoplasty
• Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
• Punchinthechopsoplasty

The invention of radar by Watson-Watt was vital to the RAF during the Battle of Britain in 1940. It was thanks to the cavity magnetron which produced a compact source of short-wave radio waves. This led to the invention of the microwave oven when, during a radar-related research project around 1946, Dr. Percy Lebaron Spencer, an engineer with the Raytheon Corporation, noticed something very unusual.

• The chocolate bar in his pocket melted
• His cup of tea boiled over
• His bow tie exploded

GPS was invented by the US Department of Defence as a military aid to navigation. Now we find it in cars, boats, even laptops.  It works by trilateration  - calculating the distance to four or more satellites then deducing a GPS receiver location. What do we know GPS better as?   

• Big Nev
• Sat Dish
• Sat Nav

Still on the subject of GPS - the satellites broadcast on a shared group of frequencies according to a pre-determined pattern. The receiver must know the exact sequence of broadcast frequencies.  This is known as frequency hopping or spread spectrum. It was invented by a movie star to aid the US in the Second World War. Who was she?

• Hedy Lamarr
• Cary Grant
• Tracy Spencer

The Internet was invented by the US Department of Defense in 1969 as a means of communication if it was attacked by Russia. The World Wide Web is an information system that links data from several Internet servers. Tim Berners-Lee, an Englishman, invented the WWW in Switzerland in what year? 

• 1969
• 1979
• 1989

Night vision technology has already brought huge benefits to the military and more recently to the media with wartime reporting and wildlife programmes. Thermal imaging senses heat radiated by things and produces a video picture of the heat. What sort of radiation is it sensing? 

• Infrared
• Ultraviolet
• Visible light

Urea formaldehyde glue was used during the WW2 to produce parts for the ‘Wooden Wonder’ bomber. It became the adhesive of the 50's, 60’s and 70’s.  Now PVA is the most common modern adhesive.  What was the other name for the Wooden Wonder?

• The Stealth Bomber
• The Mosquito
• The Flying Rat

In 1933 one foggy night on a cobbled, unlit road with a perilous precipice on its right, a 43-year-old road repairer from West Yorkshire called Percy Shaw had his "eureka" moment.  When the blackout rules were enforced during WW2 his invention came into its own.  What was it?

• Catseyes
• Neon lights
• Double yellow lines

The world's first mass production factory was created in Southampton by Brunel to mass-produce blocks for ships' rigging for the Royal Navy. Henry Ford was so impressed by the idea; he used it to manufacture what car?   

• Ford Fiesta
• Fiat Panda
• Model T