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Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in
an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures
and the release of gases. Supersonic explosions created by high
explosives are known as detonations and travel via supersonic shock
waves. Subsonic explosions are created by low explosives through a
slower burning process known as deflagration. When caused by a
human-made device such as an exploding rocket or firework, the
audible component of an explosion is referred to as its "report" (which
can also be used as a verb, e.g., "the rocket reported loudly upon Detonation of 16 tons of explosives.
impact").

Contents
Causes
Natural
Astronomical
Chemical
Electrical and magnetic
Mechanical and vapor Gasoline explosions, simulating
Nuclear bomb drops at an airshow.

Properties of explosions
Force
Velocity
Evolution of heat
Initiation of reaction
Fragmentation
Notable explosions
Chemical explosions
Nuclear explosions
Use in war
Black smoke from an explosion
Volcanic eruptions
rising after a bomb detonation inside
Etymology the outside Nahr al-Bared, Lebanon.
See also
References

Causes

Natural
Explosions can occur in nature. Most natural explosions arise from volcanic processes of various sorts. Explosive
volcanic eruptions occur when magma rising from below has much-dissolved gas in it; the reduction of pressure as the
magma rises causes the gas to bubble out of solution, resulting in a rapid increase in volume. Explosions also occur as

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a result of impact events and in phenomena such as hydrothermal explosions (also due to volcanic processes).
Explosions can also occur outside of Earth in the universe in events such as supernova. Explosions frequently occur
during bushfires in eucalyptus forests where the volatile oils in the tree tops suddenly combust.[1]

Astronomical
Among the largest known explosions in the universe are supernovae, which results when a star explodes from the
sudden starting or stopping of nuclear fusion, and gamma ray bursts, whose nature is still in some dispute. Solar flares
are an example of common explosion on the Sun, and presumably on most other stars as well. The energy source for
solar flare activity comes from the tangling of magnetic field lines resulting from the rotation of the Sun's conductive
plasma. Another type of large astronomical explosion occurs when a very large meteoroid or an asteroid impacts the
surface of another object, such as a planet.

Chemical
The most common artificial explosives are chemical explosives, usually involving a rapid and violent oxidation
reaction that produces large amounts of hot gas. Gunpowder was the first explosive to be discovered and put to use.
Other notable early developments in chemical explosive technology were Frederick Augustus Abel's development of
nitrocellulose in 1865 and Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite in 1866. Chemical explosions (both intentional and
accidental) are often initiated by an electric spark or flame. Accidental explosions may occur in fuel tanks, rocket
engines, etc.

Electrical and magnetic

A high current electrical fault can create an 'electrical explosion' by forming a high energy electrical arc which rapidly
vaporizes metal and insulation material. This arc flash hazard is a danger to persons working on energized switchgear.
Also, excessive magnetic pressure within an ultra-strong electromagnet can cause a magnetic explosion.

Mechanical and vapor

Strictly a physical process, as opposed to chemical or nuclear, e.g., the bursting of a sealed or partially sealed container
under internal pressure is often referred to as a 'mechanical explosion'. Examples include an overheated boiler or a
simple tin can of beans tossed into a fire.

Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions are one type of mechanical explosion that can occur when a vessel
containing a pressurized liquid is ruptured, causing a rapid increase in volume as the liquid evaporates. Note that the
contents of the container may cause a subsequent chemical explosion, the effects of which can be dramatically more
serious, such as a propane tank in the midst of a fire. In such a case, to the effects of the mechanical explosion when
the tank fails are added the effects from the explosion resulting from the released (initially liquid and then almost
instantaneously gaseous) propane in the presence of an ignition source. For this reason, emergency workers often
differentiate between the two events.

Nuclear
In addition to stellar nuclear explosions, a man-made nuclear weapon is a type of explosive weapon that derives its
destructive force from nuclear fission or from a combination of fission and fusion. As a result, even a nuclear weapon
with a small yield is significantly more powerful than the largest conventional explosives available, with a single
weapon capable of completely destroying an entire city.

Properties of explosions
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Force
Explosive force is released in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the explosive. If a grenade is in mid air during
the explosion and the direction of the blast will be 360°. In contrast, in a shaped charge the explosive forces are
focused to produce a greater local effect.

Velocity
The speed of the reaction is what distinguishes an explosive reaction from an ordinary combustion reaction. Unless
the reaction occurs very rapidly, the thermally expanding gases will be moderately dissipated in the medium, with no
large differential in pressure and there will be no explosion. Consider a wood fire. As the fire burns, there certainly is
the evolution of heat and the formation of gases, but neither is liberated rapidly enough to build up a sudden
substantial pressure differential and then cause an explosion. This can be likened to the difference between the energy
discharge of a battery, which is slow, and that of a flash capacitor like that in a camera flash, which releases its energy
all at once.

Evolution of heat
The generation of heat in large quantities accompanies most explosive chemical reactions. The exceptions are called
entropic explosives and include organic peroxides such as acetone peroxide[2] It is the rapid liberation of heat that
causes the gaseous products of most explosive reactions to expand and generate high pressures. This rapid generation
of high pressures of the released gas constitutes the explosion. The liberation of heat with insufficient rapidity will not
cause an explosion. For example, although a unit mass of coal yields five times as much heat as a unit mass of
nitroglycerin, the coal cannot be used as an explosive (except in the form of coal dust) because the rate at which it
yields this heat is quite slow. In fact, a substance which burns less rapidly (i.e. slow combustion) may actually evolve
more total heat than an explosive which detonates rapidly (i.e. fast combustion). In the former, slow combustion
converts more of the internal energy (i.e. chemical potential) of the burning substance into heat released to the
surroundings, while in the latter, fast combustion (i.e. detonation) instead converts more internal energy into work on
the surroundings (i.e. less internal energy converted into heat); c.f. heat and work (thermodynamics) are equivalent
forms of energy. See Heat of Combustion for a more thorough treatment of this topic.

When a chemical compound is formed from its constituents, heat may either be absorbed or released. The quantity of
heat absorbed or given off during transformation is called the heat of formation. Heats of formations for solids and
gases found in explosive reactions have been determined for a temperature of 25 °C and atmospheric pressure, and are
normally given in units of kilojoules per gram-molecule. A positive value indicates that heat is absorbed during the
formation of the compound from its elements; such a reaction is called an endothermic reaction. In explosive
technology only materials that are exothermic—that have a net liberation of heat and have a negative heat of formation
—are of interest. Reaction heat is measured under conditions either of constant pressure or constant volume. It is this
heat of reaction that may be properly expressed as the "heat of explosion."

Initiation of 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. Many substances not ordinarily classed as explosives
may do one, or even two, of these things.

A reaction must be capable of being initiated by the application of shock, heat, or a catalyst (in the case of some
explosive chemical reactions) to a small portion of the mass of the explosive material. A material in which the first
three factors exist cannot be accepted as an explosive unless the reaction can be made to occur when needed.

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Fragmentation
Fragmentation is the accumulation and projection of particles as the result of a high explosives detonation. Fragments
could be part of a structure such as a magazine. High velocity, low angle fragments can travel hundreds or thousands
of feet with enough energy to initiate other surrounding high explosive items, injure or kill personnel and damage
vehicles or structures.

Notable explosions

Chemical explosions
Nanaimo mine explosion 1887 Nedelin catastrophe 1960
Halifax Explosion 1917 Soviet N1 rocket explosion 1969
Battle of Messines 1917 Flixborough disaster 1974
Oppau explosion, Ludwigshafen, Germany PEPCON disaster, Henderson, Nevada 1988
1921 AZF (factory), Toulouse, France 2001
1944 Bombay explosion Ryongchon disaster 2004
Port Chicago disaster 1944 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire
RAF Fauld explosion 1944 2005
Cádiz Explosion 1947 2008 Gërdec explosions
Texas City Disaster 1947 Cataño oil refinery fire 2009
2015 Tianjin explosions 2015

Nuclear explosions
Trinity test
Castle Bravo
Tsar Bomba
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Use in war
Artillery, mortars, and cannons
Gunpowder and smokeless powder as a propellant in firearms and artillery
Bombs
Missiles, rockets, and torpedoes
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Land mines, naval mines, and IEDs
Satchel charges and sapping
Hand grenades

Volcanic eruptions
Santorini
Krakatoa
Mount St. Helens
Mount Tambora
Mount Pinatubo
Toba catastrophe theory
Yellowstone Caldera

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Etymology
Classical Latin explōdere means "to hiss a bad actor off the stage", "to drive an actor off the stage by making noise",
from ex- (“out”) + plaudere (“to clap; to applaud”).. The modern meaning developed later:[3]

Classical Latin: "to drive an actor off the stage by making noise" hence meaning "to drive out" or "to reject"
In English:

Around 1538: "drive out or off by clapping" (originally theatrical)

Around 1660: "drive out with violence and sudden noise"
Around 1790: "go off with a loud noise"
Around 1882: first use as "bursting with destructive force"

See also
Combustion
Deflagration
Detonation
Dust explosion
Explosion protection
Explosive limit
Fuel tank explosion
Implosion (mechanical process): opposite of explosion
Internal combustion engine
Mushroom cloud
Piston engine
Plofkraak
Standards for electrical equipment in potentially explosive environments
Underwater explosion

References
1. Kissane, Karen (2009-05-22). "Fire power equalled 1500 atomic bombs" (http://www.theage.com.au/national/fire-p
ower-equalled-1500-atomic-bombs-20090521-bh7r.html?page=-1). The Age. Melbourne. Archived (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20090527014811/http://www.theage.com.au/national/fire-power-equalled-1500-atomic-bombs-2009
0521-bh7r.html?page=-1) from the original on 2009-05-27.
2. Dubnikova, Faina; Kosloff, Ronnie; Almog, Joseph; Zeiri, Yehuda; Boese, Roland; Itzhaky, Harel; Alt, Aaron;
Keinan, Ehud (2005-02-01). "Decomposition of Triacetone Triperoxide Is an Entropic Explosion". Journal of the
American Chemical Society. 127 (4): 1146–1159. doi:10.1021/ja0464903 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fja0464903).
PMID 15669854 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15669854).
3. wikt:explode#Etymology

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