"Morgans" wrote:

:
:"Mark Andrew Spence" wrote
:
: The TICONDROGA and SPRUANCE class ships had aluminum superstructures which
: were welded to a "fusion bar" which consisted of a piece of very clean and
: smoothly-machined piece of aluminum FLAT BAR joined to a very clean piece
: and smoothly machined piece of steel flat bar via explosive charges.
:
:What was the purpose of the explosive charges? (besides, to go "bang" g)

It's a method of driving two different metals together in such a way
that they sort of blend into each other rather than having to be
welded, bolted, or some such.

The same process came to be used for coins when we switched from
silver to copper-cored coins.

--
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable
man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore,
all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
--George Bernard Shaw