Howdy, Kemlo.
Thanks for accepting my quote from Wikipedia as your answer. I've
reposted it below, with some additional material.
"Explosives are classified as low or high explosives according to
their rates of decomposition: low explosives burn rapidly (or
deflagrate), while high explosives undergo detonation. No sharp
distinction exists between low and high explosives, because of the
difficulties inherent in precisely observing and measuring rapid
decomposition. The chemical decomposition of an explosive may take
years, days, hours, or a fraction of a second. The slower processes of
decomposition take place in storage and are of interest only from a
stability standpoint. Of more interest are the two rapid forms of
decomposition, deflagration and detonation. The term 'detonation' is
used to describe an explosive phenomenon whereby the decomposition is
propagated by the explosive shockwave traversing the explosive
material. The shockwave front is capable of passing through the high
explosive material at great speeds, typically thousands of meters per
second. Explosive force is released in a direction perpendicular to
the surface of the explosive. If the surface is cut or shaped, the
explosive forces can be focused directionally, and will produce a
greater local effect. This is known as a shaped charge. In a low
explosive, the decomposition is propagated by a flame front which
travels much slower through the explosive material. The properties of
the explosive indicate the class into which it falls. In some cases
explosives may be made to fall into either class by the conditions
under which they are initiated. In sufficiently massive quantities,
almost all low explosives can undergo true detonation like high
explosives. For convenience, low and high explosives may be
differentiated by the shipping and storage classes."
Wikipedia: Explosive material
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosive_material
"There's basically two categories of explosives: high explosives, and
low explosives. High explosives are also called detonating, and low
explosives are referred to as burning mixtures. The difference between
detonation and burning is that a burning mixture simply burns at a
very fast rate, usually not exceeding the speed of sound, needing
other methods to produce an explosion. Detonation, on the other hand,
occurs almost simultaneously through the whole mass of the mixture.
The main difference between the two, chemically, is proximity of the
oxidizing and reducing compound. In detonating mixtures, the oxygen is
bound rather loosely to the reducing agent (the stuff that wants to
burn using the oxygen), so loosely in fact, that it takes very little
external energy to break them apart. This chemical composition is an a
molectualecular bond as opposed to the simple mixture of burning
explosives. This means that the oxygen is also looser to the reducing
agent, hence, it is much easier to utilize. It should be pointed out,
that although the bonds in a detonating molecule are l, they require a
great deal of energy to keep them bound. The greater the tension
contained in ths bonds, the more powerful the detonation will be, once
they are broken apart.
Because of these differences, in order for a low explosive to explode,
it must be contained in a strong enclosure."
TOTSE: Basic Explosives Theory
http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/ka_fucking_boom/bomb7.html
"Explosives are substances that, through chemical reaction, rapidly
and violently change to gas, accompanied by high temperatures, extreme
shock and a loud noise. An explosion is the process of the substance
transforming into the gaseous state.
Explosives are classified as low or high according to the detonating
velocity or speed at which this change takes place and other pertinent
characteristics such as their shattering effect. An arbitrary figure
of 3300 fps is used to distinguish between burning/ deflagration (low
explosive) and detonation (high explosive)."
Security Driver: EXPLOSIVE FORCES OF IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES
http://www.securitydriver.com/aic/stories/article-114.html
My Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "high explosive" "low explosive"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22high+explosive%22+%22low+explosive%22
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
