Explosives

Gunpowder

Mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, invented by Ancient Chinese during the Tang Dynasty

Dynamite

Explosive invented by Alfred Nobel in 1867, made by adsorbing nitroglycerin onto inert clay

TNT

Trinitrotoluene, developed by German chemist Joseph Julius Wilbrand in 1863, originally used as a yellow dye

Explosion

Sudden and rapid expansion of gases from a confined space, associated with outward release of energy, high temperatures, and high-pressure gases

Detonation

Supersonic explosion created by high explosives, travels via shock waves

Deflagration

Subsonic explosion created by low explosives through a slower combustion process

Oklahoma City Bombing

Domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995, perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols

Explosive

Material whose common purpose is to function by explosion

Explosive Material

Reactive substance containing potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly

Detonations

Supersonic explosions created by high explosives, travel via shock waves

Deflagrations

Subsonic explosions created by low explosives through a slower combustion process

Shockwave

Pressure wave produced by an explosion, causing potential destruction

Nitroglycerin

Colorless, oily explosive liquid, produced by nitrating glycerol with fuming nitric acid

Nitrocellulose

Low explosive compound with a cellulose backbone and NO3 functional groups as an oxidizer

Black Powder

Chemical mixture of charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate, used during the Tang Dynasty

BLEVE

Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion, resulting from a propane tank rupture

Atomic Bomb

Nuclear weapon using nuclear reactions to release vast amounts of energy

Hydrogen Bomb

Nuclear weapon using fusion of isotopes of hydrogen to release energy

Silo Explosion

Rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in the air

Concentrated Explosives

Explosives that cannot rely on atmospheric oxygen as their oxidizer

Nitroglycerin Stability

Notoriously unstable and sensitive to spark, shock, or heat

Explosive Mixtures

Mechanical mixtures of substances necessary to propagate an explosion

Explosive Compounds

Compounds containing the components necessary to propagate an explosion

Hiroshima Bombing

Gun-type uranium bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945

Nagasaki Bombing

Plutonium and implosion-based bomb tested on August 9th, 1945, at Nagasaki

Blasting Cap

Contains a small amount of sensitive high explosive, sufficient to cause an explosion capable of removing a hand

Migration of Nitroglycerin

On old dynamite, nitroglycerin tends to migrate out of the clay, saturating paper or dripping onto nearby surfaces, making it unstable and highly dangerous

Commercial Explosives

Explosives based on nitrated organics, often copied from the model established by Nobel

Low Explosives

Reaction rate up to 340 m/s; also known as deflagrating explosives or propellants, burn rapidly but do not detonate

High Explosives

Reaction rate greater than 400 m/s; also known as detonating explosives, combust supersonically and will detonate, usually with a reaction rate of 3000-9000 m/s

Detonation of Low Explosives

Low explosives need to be contained (e.g. in a pipe) to detonate, with pressure and temperature build-up causing the reaction rate to increase until the pipe bursts

Brisance

The breaking and shattering power of high explosives, derived from the French and Russian verb 'briser' (to break or shatter)

Detonating Cord

Tubing filled with high explosive, used to communicate explosions from one charge to another or as an explosive itself

Detonation Effects

Explosive detonation rapidly converts solid material into gases, creating high blast pressure, fragmentation, and thermal effects, causing widespread destruction

Blasting Agents

Mixture of fuel and oxidizer designed for low explosive effect

Blast Pressure

Pressure from rapidly expanding gases in an explosion

Fragmentation

Shattering of objects in the path of a blast wave

Thermal effects

Heat generated by an explosion

Stimuli for Explosive Reactions

Heat, friction, impact/shock, static electricity, radio frequency, or a combination

Explosive Materials

Found in agriculture, demilitarization, excavation, manufacturing, railroads, tunneling, welding, firefighting

Potassium Chlorate

Example of an explosive material

Peroxide-based explosives

Example of an explosive material

Powdered Ammonium Nitrate and Aluminum Powder

Example of an explosive material

Urea Nitrate

Example of an explosive material

Hypergolic explosives

Example of an explosive material

Balancing Chemical Explosion Equations

Determining the composition and order of priorities in explosion reactions

Volume of Products of Explosion

Determined by moles of gas produced and molecular volume at 0°C and normal pressure

Robert Oppenheimer

Known as 'the father of the atomic bomb'

Edward Teller

Known as 'the father of the hydrogen bomb'

Explosive Potential

Total work performed by gas from an explosion under adiabatic conditions

Gay-Lussac's Law (PV = nRT)

Relates pressure, volume, amount of gas, and temperature

Heat of Formation

Heat absorbed or released when one mole of a substance is formed from its elements

Calculating the Explosive Potential of TNT

Involves heat of formation and molar mass

Relative Strength of Explosives

Expressed relative to the strength of TNT

Molecular volumes of gas per gram molecule for PETN reaction

Calculation involving the number of molecular volumes of gas and heat of formation