Editing Self-destruct (section)

==Uses==
{{refimprove section|date=May 2022}}

===Land mines===
[[File:Mine_POM-3.jpg|thumb|A Russian anti-personnel land mine [[POM-3]] ({{Langx|ru|Противопехотная Осколочная Мина|lit=Infantry shrapnel mine}}) with a self-deactivation mechanism that disables the mine upon expiration of battery charge.]]
Some types of modern [[land mine]]s are designed to self-destruct, or chemically render themselves inert after a period of weeks or months to reduce the likelihood of friendly casualties during the conflict or civilian casualties after the conflict's end.  The Amended Protocol II to the [[Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons]] (CCW), amended in 1996, requires that [[anti-personnel land mine]]s deactivate and self-destruct, and sets standards for both.<ref name=NR>{{cite news|last1=Groves|first1=Steven|last2=Bromund|first2=Ted R.|title=Obama Says No to Landmines: The president is denying the U.S. armed forces a crucial weapon.|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/388807/obama-says-no-landmines-steven-groves-ted-r-bromund|access-date=26 September 2014|publisher=National Review|date=September 25, 2014}}</ref>  Landmines currently used by the [[United States military]] are designed to self-destruct after between 4 hours and 15 days depending upon the type.<ref name=USState>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/asmp/campaigns/landmines/FactSheet_FAQ_NewUSLandminePolicy_2-27-04.htm |title=Frequently Asked Questions on the New United States Landmine Policy |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=26 September 2014 |date=February 27, 2004 }}</ref>  The landmines have a battery and when the battery dies, the land mine self-destructs.<ref name=USState />  The self-destruct system never failed in over 67,000 tested landmines in a variety of conditions.<ref name=USState />  Not all self-destruct mechanisms are absolutely reliable,{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} and most landmines that have been laid throughout history are not equipped to self-destruct. Landmines can also be designed to self-deactivate, for instance by a battery running out of a charge, but deactivation is considered a different mechanism from self-destruction.<ref name=USState />

===Military ships===
Another form of a self-destruct system can be seen in the [[Navy|naval]] procedure of [[scuttling]], which is used to destroy a ship or ships to prevent them from being seized<ref>{{cite web|title=Scapa Flow Scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet|url=http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/scuttle.html|work=World War 1 Naval Combat|publisher=World War I UK|access-date=28 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Scuttling the Navy August 29, 1943: August 29, 1943 - the turning point|url=http://www.navalhistory.dk/english/history/1939_1945/us_safari.htm|work=Danish Naval History|publisher=Johnny E. Balsved|access-date=28 May 2012}}</ref> and/or [[Reverse engineering|reverse engineered]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Eilam|first=Eldad|title=Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering|url=https://archive.org/details/reversingsecrets00eila_683|url-access=limited|year=2005|publisher=Wily Publishing|isbn=978-0-7645-7481-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/reversingsecrets00eila_683/page/n32 3]}}</ref>

Generally the scuttling of a ship uses strategically-placed explosive charges by a demolition crew and/or the deliberate cutting open of the hull rather than an in-built self-destruct system.

===Rockets===
{{Further information|Range safety}}
Launch vehicles self-destruct when they go errant, to prevent the endangerment of nearby ground personnel, spectators, buildings and infrastructure. When a rocket flies outside of a prescribed safety zone, personnel monitoring the launch or onboard computers activate the rocket's flight termination system. This usually detonates explosives mounted on the rocket, which sever its propellant tanks or solid fuel casing, leading to a controlled breakup of the vehicle.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rice |first=Tony |date=2015-07-06 |title=When good rockets go bad |url=https://www.rocketstem.org/2015/07/05/when-good-rockets-go-bad/ |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=RocketSTEM |language=en-US}}</ref> 

===Anti-aircraft cannon shells===

Since [[anti-aircraft weapon]]s are used in the [[home front]] or in the rear of friendly forces anti-aircraft cannon [[Shell (projectile)|shells]] are often equipped with self-destruct mechanisms to prevent missed shots from falling down and causing damage to friendly targets. Different self-destruct types exists: in [[tracer ammunition]] the burning tracer material can trigger a self-destruct fuse at the end. Other self-destruct types are mechanical where a spring is held back by the [[centrifugal force]] of the rotating projectile; as the drag slows down the rotation the force is eventually no longer able to prevent the spring from triggering the self-destruct fuse. Heavy anti-aircraft cannons typically fired [[time fuse]]d shells which did not need a separate self-destruct since they were intended to detonate in the air after a set time.<ref>{{Cite book
 | last1 = Vehviläinen
 | first1 = Raimo
 | last2 = Lappi
 | first2 = Ahti
 | last3 = Palokangas
 | first3 = Markku
 | title = Itsenäisen Suomen ilmatorjuntatykit 1917-2000
 | trans-title = Anti-aircraft cannons of independent Finland 1917-2000
 | chapter = 2. Ilmatorjuntatykistön teoriaa ja käytöntöä
 | trans-chapter = 2. Theory and practice of anti-aircraft artillery
 | language = Finnish
  | publisher = Sotamuseo
 | year = 2005
 | location = Helsinki
 | page = 42
 | url =
 | doi =
 | id =
 | isbn = 952-91-8449-2}}</ref>

===<span class="anchor" id="Deep sea oil drilling"></span>Deep-sea oil drilling===
A form of self-destruct system can also be observed in deep-sea oil drilling. In the event of an oil well becoming disconnected from its oil rig, a [[dead man's switch]] may trigger activation of a [[blowout preventer]] blind shear ram, which cuts the drill pipe and permanently seals the well to prevent an oil leak.  The [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill|oil spill]] that followed the [[Deepwater Horizon explosion|''Deepwater Horizon'' explosion]] is an example where the self-destruct system failed to operate correctly (due to the pipe buckling and moving outside of the blind shear ram's reach).

===Data storage===
Self-destruct mechanisms are sometimes employed to prevent an apparatus or information from being used by unauthorized persons in the event of loss or capture. For example, they may be found in high-security [[data storage device]]s (e.g. [[IronKey]]), where it is important for the data to be destroyed to prevent compromise.

Similarly, some online [[social media platform]]s are equipped with a ''Stories'' feature, where posted content is automatically erased after a predetermined time, commonly 24 hours. This concept has been popularized by [[Snapchat]] and later adapted by [[Instagram]] and [[YouTube]].

=== Artwork ===
Some artworks may have mechanisms in them to destruct themselves in front of many eyes watching. An example is the painting [[Love is in the Bin]] by [[Banksy]], which shredded itself right after a £1 million auction at [[Sotheby's]] London on 5 October 2018.<ref>{{cite news|title=Banksy: Love in the Bin's internal shredder deactivated |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47123606 |work=BBC News |date=2019-02-04 |access-date=2023-01-18}}</ref>