PETN.
One of the most powerful explosive chemicals known to us is PETN, which contains nitro groups which are similar to that in TNT and the nitroglycerin in dynamite.
But the presence of more of these nitro groups means it explodes with more power.
What is the best explosive?
Here are five of these non-nuclear chemicals which all explode via the rapid release of gas.
- TNT. One of the most commonly known explosive chemicals is trinitrotoluene, or TNT, which has featured extensively in video games and films.
- TATP.
- RDX.
- PETN.
- Aziroazide azide.
What’s the biggest explosion ever?
But it still pales in comparison to the largest man-made explosion ever on Earth – the Soviet Union’s Tsar Bomba – King of Bombs – detonated in 1961 in the height of the nuclear arms race. That hydrogen bomb unleashed a staggering power of 50,000 kilotons, or 50 megatons.
Is TNT the most powerful explosive?
One of the most popular explosive compounds is TNT (trinitrotoluene). The energy released in an explosion of 1 gram of TNT is approximately 4000 Joules. It is common to measure the power of an explosion by asking how much TNT would be needed to produce an explosion as powerful.
What are the 3 categories of high explosives?
High explosives are divided into three main categories, Primary (or Initiating) High Explosives, Secondary High Explosives, Boosters and Secondary High Explosives, Main Charge. As with many of the terms associated with explosions, there is also other terms that describe combustion explosions, “Deflagration Explosion”.
What is the difference between flammable and explosive?
Flammable materials are those that ignite more easily than other materials, whereas those that are harder to ignite or burn less vigorously are combustible. Finely divided wood dust can undergo explosive combustion and produce a blast wave.
What is Semtex explosive?
Semtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications.
What is the largest explosion ever recorded on Earth?
Farthest Recorded Explosion. Gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions known in the universe. The light from the most distant gamma ray burst seen yet, dubbed GRB 090423, reached our world even from about 13 billion light-years away this year.
Is TNT the same as dynamite?
Dynamite is not the same thing as TNT. You’ve probably heard people say “TNT” and “dynamite” in a conversation as though they were the same thing. But TNT (or 2,4,6,-trinitrotoluene, to use its chemical name) is not one of those components. Instead, the active explosive in dynamite is a chemical called nitroglycerin.
Is hydrogen flammable or explosive?
It is the lightest gas and is explosive in air at concentrations greater than about 4% (Lewis 1996). In contact with chlorine, oxygen, or other oxidizers, hydrogen is flammable and explosive and burns with a nearly invisible flame (Budavari et al. 1989).
What is the difference between low and high explosives?
This can happen under higher pressure or temperature, which usually occurs when ignited in a confined space. A low explosive is usually a mixture of a combustible substance and an oxidant that decomposes rapidly (deflagration); however, they burn more slowly than a high explosive, which has an extremely fast burn rate.
Which chemical is explosive?
Chemical explosive reaction. A chemical explosive is a compound or mixture which, upon the application of heat or shock, decomposes or rearranges with extreme rapidity, yielding much gas and heat.
Is black powder a low explosive?
Gunpowder, also known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate and consequently low brisance.
What is the flammability range of gasoline?
The lower flammable limit or lower explosive limit (LFL or LEL) of gasoline is 1.4 percent; the upper flammable limit or upper explosive limit (UFL or UEL) is 7.6 percent. This means that gasoline can be ignited when it is in the air at levels between 1.4 and 7.6 percent.
What is the difference between LFL and LEL?
Lower flammability limit (LFL): The lowest concentration (percentage) of a gas or a vapor in air capable of producing a flash of fire in the presence of an ignition source (arc, flame, heat). The term is considered by many safety professionals to be the same as the lower explosive level (LEL).
How is Semtex detonated?
To detonate the likely plastic explosive, Semtex or other, a smaller detonator must be in the circuit. That could easily have been the old explosives used for such purposes, PETN or Tetryl. Its rate of detonation is about the highest among explosives at 27,757 feet a second (18,925 miles an hour).
Are plastic explosives legal?
Plastic Explosives Reminder. The Act, signed into law on April 24, 1996, generally makes it unlawful to manufacture, import, transfer, receive, or possess any plastic explosive that does not contain a detection agent.
Who discovered explosives?
It may never be known with certainty who invented the first explosive, black powder, which is a mixture of saltpetre (potassium nitrate), sulfur, and charcoal (carbon). The consensus is that it originated in China in the 10th century, but that its use there was almost exclusively in fireworks and signals.
Does hydrogen explode?
Hydrogen gas is very flammable and yields explosive mixtures with air and oxygen. The explosion of the mixture of hydrogen and oxygen is quite loud. Tests should be made prior to the demonstration to adjust the total volume in the balloons so that the sound of the explosion is tolerable in the room.
Is helium explosive or flammable?
As helium is lighter than air it can be used to inflate airships, blimps and balloons, providing lift. Although hydrogen is cheaper and more buoyant, helium is preferred as it is non-flammable and therefore safer.
Can hydrogen gas kill you?
The good news is, breathing helium does not kill brain cells. The bad news is that breathing helium can, in fact, kill you — but not because of the helium, rather because the lack of oxygen when you inhale the helium.
What is an example of a low explosive?
Examples include primary explosives such as nitroglycerin that can detonate with little or no stimulus and secondary explosives such as dynamite (trinitrotoluene, TNT) that require a strong shock (from a detonator such as a blasting cap). Low explosives change into gases by burning or combustion.
Who invented guns?
Richard Gatling
What is used instead of gunpowder?
Replacements for gunpowder (black powder) Gunpowder, an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre), was the original propellant employed in firearms and fireworks.
Photo in the article by “Wikipedia” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design