Wallis also spent a considerable amount of time studying the physics involved in high explosives and various bombs. As a result of these studies, Wallis conceived of more effective means to use explosives; that the shock wave that was created when munitions such as depth charges were detonated was more damaging than the initial blast of the detonation itself; he also viewed conventional bombing methods as practised by RAF Bomber Command to be insufficient on these terms to attack dispersed industrial areas. On this basis, he sought to apply this principle to a new type of weapon that would detonate underground. In 1940, Wallis designed a "penetrating" bomb that was to bury itself in the ground before detonating. Designed with a sharp, pointed nose, the bomb could be dropped from a high altitude of and would plunge around underground; the explosion would cause a miniature concentrated 'earthquake' with a destructive radius for 29 acres. It was estimated that this bomb could be capable of breaking dams such as the Möhne if it were to explode while in the reservoirs within of the dam's face.