napalm is a name for type of flammable liquids(liquids that are easy to burn) that have been used in war. often, it is gasoline that has turned into a jelly. when it is mixed with gasoline, the thickener makes a sticky gel that is easy to burn and burns a long time. a team of harvard chemists in u.s. made napalm during world war ii. the team leader was louis fieser. the name "napalm" comes from the ingredients that were first used to make it: coprecipitated aluminum salts of naphthenic and palmitic acids. these were added to the ingredients to cause it to turn into a gel.