Why the Times Square Bomb Fizzled Rather Than Boomed

The drama about the Times Square bombing event is continuing, and now a suspect is in custody, thanks to science and forensics. But it looks like the suspect's grip of science wasn't so hot: His bomb probably wouldn't have been as deadly as he hoped.

The investigation has revealed that the SUV contained an extremely jury-rigged device: simple alarm clocks, a "birds nest" of wiring, eight bags of fertilizer, jerry cans of 10 gallons of gasoline, M88 firecrackers, and three propane tanks. The...