What is Explosion: Definition and 274 Discussions

An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extremely vigorous outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known as detonations and travel via shock waves. Subsonic explosions are created by low explosives through a slower combustion process known as deflagration.

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  1. C

    Calculating Mass and Velocity of Exploding Object Pieces

    Homework Statement A 50kg object explodes into three pieces. Piece 1 flies off at 12m/s [N 30o E], piece 2 has velocity 10m/s [ S ]. If the mass of piece 1 is 25kg and piece 2 is 12kg, find the mass and velocity of piece 3. Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution My attempt is shown below...
  2. StevieTNZ

    News Paris shooting and explosion kills at least 140

    https://nz.news.yahoo.com/top-stories/a/30093213/fatalities-reported-in-paris-restaurant-shooting/
  3. Y

    Calculate the force of an explosion from chemical reaction?

    Example, I have a mixture of 5 grams of oxygen and 10 grams of hydrogen. I ignite them. How much force will the explosion do? Yes, I did think about posting this in the chem category but this is about forces, right?
  4. patrickbotros

    Gas or liquid to adsorb an explosion

    Obviously we don't have the technology to make this work now but I would like to know how plausible this is as a concept/thought experiment. Basically the idea is to discover a gas or liquid with a very high activation energy (for some reaction) so that it can absorb an explosion or control a...
  5. A

    Deformation of containers in the Tianjin explosion

    The following is an image of the aftermath of the Tianjin explosion: http://i.imgur.com/sJShsFC.jpeg The containers in the image seem to have been crushed/deformed - but how much energy would be needed to do this? Closeup: http://i.imgur.com/0XBdHsw.jpg A shot from above...
  6. nsaspook

    News Large explosion in Tianjin China

    http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=dev/lindsey/loops/12aug15_ahi_band7&image_width=1020&image_height=720 http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/13/asia/china-tianjin-explosions/ That was BIG.
  7. nicholas0211510

    Question about energy (explosions)

    I'm new to physics I tried doing some research but I can't seem to fully grasp the concept. My question is, how would one find how much energy is needed to destroy a object a select distence away from the blast For example if a star when super nova and had a x amount of joules, and let's say a...
  8. Priyadarshini

    Conservation of Momentum in an Explosion

    Homework Statement During an explosion, a bomb explodes into 3 pieces. Two fragments, whose masses are 0.8kg and 0.5kg fly off with velocities of 10m/s and 16m/s respectively along the paths at right angles to each other. If the third fragment goes off with a velocity of 24m/s, then find its...
  9. S

    After supernova explosion sound is created....

    After supernova explosion sound is created... so what happens to that sound??
  10. S

    What force is created before supernova explosion?

    how antigravity force is created before supernova explosion? why it is not created in a body less than chandrashekhar limit?
  11. R

    Supernova Explosion near a black hole

    What would happen if there was a supernova explosion near a black hole ? Would it just sit there and absorb all the energy incident on it ? Or would it simply vaporize into elementary particles ? And if it does vaporize, could the remnants give us a clue as to the quantum state of matter inside...
  12. A

    Risks of explosion mixing O2 and H2 in Ar magnetron plasma?

    I am interested in adding simultaneously O2 and H2 in a magnetron sputtering discharge ignited in Ar at a pressure of 3*10-2 mbar. The discharge is driven by a RF generator (13.56 MHz, 60 - 120W). The target is W. Can anyone told me if I can expect at any explsion to apear due to simultanoously...
  13. B

    Why do railguns produce an "explosion"?

    On 0:15 in the video above, you can clearly see an explosion just when the projectile in launched from the end of the barrel. However, as I understand it, railguns are purely powered by electromagnetic launchers and does not use any kind of explosives to launch the projectile. Many comments on...
  14. Den Webi

    Is there a difference in explosive force between successive explosions?

    Suppose there are two explosive charges in a single casing. The detonation of the charges can be initiated either simultaneously (A) or in succession some milliseconds apart (B). Does A differ from B in respect to the overall explosive force? Can the shock front in B carry more energy in a...
  15. AdityaDev

    Ring of smoke after bomb blast

    I attended the navy day celebrations and the marine commandos demonstrated a bomb blast by setting a time bomb in a small installation at the middle of the sea. The commandos dived from their boat and set the explosives from underwater. After the explosion, what I saw first was a cloud of black...
  16. G

    Accidental explosion (Kleppner 3.4)

    Homework Statement An instrument-carrying projectile accidentally explodes at the top of its trajectory. The horizontal distance between the launch point and the point of explosion is ##L##. The projectile breaks into two pieces which fly apart horizontally. The larger piece has three times the...
  17. R

    Pressure caused by explosion in closed container

    Homework Statement (C2H4NO6, EGDN) is an explosive with perfect attributes. We fill 20% of a sealed container with an EGDN. Assume that EGDN explodes and the created gas bahaves according to ideal gas law. What is the excess pressure in the sealed container? My problem: I don't know where to...
  18. gcombina

    Conservation of Momentum - BOMB EXPLOSION question

    Homework Statement QUESTION 1 :A stationary bomb explodes in space breaking into a number of small fragments. At the location of the explosion, the net force do to gravity is 0 Newtons. Which one of the following statements concerning the event is true? a) Kinetic energy is conserved in the...
  19. dav2008

    What color clothing is safest during a nuclear explosion?

    All else being equal, which color clothing would be best if you are exposed to a nuclear explosion (far enough away where you're not instantly killed, but still subjected to significant radiant energy)? Black or white? It seems like black clothing would get hotter and could thus burn you by...
  20. morrobay

    Cause Of Virgin Galactic Rocket Explosion ?

    Carolynne Campbell, a rocket propulsion expert based in the Netherlands said that multiple warnings about the spacecraft s motor and fuel had been issued to Virgin since 2007. " I warned them that the rocket motor was potentially dangerous " Her warnings were related to the nitrous oxide and...
  21. A

    Calculating Velocity after Skateboard Jump - A Physics Problem

    Homework Statement Dan is gliding on his skateboard at 3.00m/s . He suddenly jumps backward off the skateboard, kicking the skateboard forward at 6.00m/s (as measured by an observer on the ground). Dan's mass is 40.0kg and the skateboard's mass is 5.00kg . How fast is Dan going as his feet hit...
  22. V

    Dimensional analysis - atomic bomb explosion radius

    Homework Statement :[/B] An atomic explosion can be approximated as the release of a large amount of energy ##E## from a point source. The explosion results in an expanding spherical fireball bounded by powerful shock wave. Let ##R## be the radius of the shock wave and assume that...
  23. S

    Conservation in Dynamite Explosion

    6. Which of the following is NOT conserved when a stick of dynamite explodes? a Internal (chemical potential energy) b. Total energy c. Mass d. Electric charge e. None of the above. They are all conserved. My best guess is none of the above because chemical potential...
  24. U

    Explosion force inside gun barrel

    When I fire a gun there is an explosion inside a barrel that causes bullet to fly and gun to recoil but when a barrel is blocked a whole gun can explode, does it mean explosion inside barrel is stronger in second case?(The reason why I am wondering about it is because forces of explosion press...
  25. gcombina

    (Problem 6) Fragments of explosion

    Why is the answer D for the following question? A stationary bomb explodes in gravity-free space breaking into a number of small fragments. Which one of the following statements concerning this event is true? A. Kinetic energy is conserved in this process. B. The fragments have equal...
  26. J

    Explosion from mix or vibration

    BTW, exist some substance that when is mixed with nitrogen, or with some compost of nitrogen, reacts and explodes? Also, exist some compost of nitrogen that when is submitted to high vibration or shock reacts and explodes?
  27. J

    Kinetic energy of rocket explosion

    Homework Statement a rocket explodes in flight into two equal mass pieces still going in the same direction with one piece moving twice as fast as the other. What is the ratio of the total kinetic energy of the pieces just after the explosion to that of the rocket just before? Homework...
  28. C

    Battery Explosion: What's Causing It?

    Battery "Explosion" Hi Everyone, My knowledge base is very limited when it come to electrical. I'm dealing with a simple charging system that has had problems. We have a system ran by 2 x 12V 5Ah sealed lead acid batteries in series. They are to be charged with a Schumacher CR2. Of about...
  29. U

    Find the place of the explosion

    A missile is fired at speed V0 at an angle 450. The missile exploded into two parts when reaches the maximum height. The part of mass m1 is thrown back at speed V1 relative to the missile speed before the explosion (V1>V0). From the shot till the explosion the wind was blown that exerts a...
  30. S

    Explosion mass and magnitude physics

    An object with total mass mtotal = 16.5 kg is sitting at rest when it explodes into three pieces. One piece with mass m1 = 4.7 kg moves up and to the left at an angle of θ1 = 19° above the –x axis with a speed of v1 = 26.5 m/s. A second piece with mass m2 = 5.2 kg moves down and to the right an...
  31. Eagle9

    Nuclear explosion and black holes

    The nuclear explosion occurs when the nucleus of atom of Uranium (of Plutonium) are split in two pieces by neutrons. These two pieces are repelled from each other due to (the same) positive charge; these pieces are moving quickly between other Uranium atoms, colliding with them. These collisions...
  32. D

    Explosion force is dependent on the Amount and the said Material

    As I understand it; when an explosive material is set off, the force is dependent on the Amount and the said Material. As an example, I have 2cm3 of dynamite I set it off and once the appropriate "oo's and ahh's" are said I set up eight separate 1cm3 blocks of dynamite and set them up...
  33. Crazymechanic

    Material explosion under pressure

    Now we knwo that materials tend to rapidly expand (explode) under given circumstances , like a wire subjected to sudden , rapid overcurrent or like a ball of hot flammable gas when heated or otherwise. Now I wonder what would happen if we had the ball of some heated rapidly expanding gas or...
  34. T

    Does between UEL and LEL can be have more powerfull explosion.

    as from this image. https://www.osha.gov/dte/library/flammable_liquids/flammable_liquids4.gif
  35. S

    Low capacity, battery driven, explosion proof blower

    Hello I am in a bit of an engineering bind. I need to evacuate a small room of a flammable, explosive gas that is at a nominal pressure of 3 mbar by pushing it from room to another room (both at equal pressure). The environment is Class 1 Div 1. The rooms have valved piping that enable me to...
  36. R

    Why wasn't the Big Bang an isotropic explosion?

    I'm sure I'm making a plethora of naive assumptions in this question, but I was just thinking that the Big Bang, or the birth of our universe should logically be isotropic if space and time is assumed to be homogenous and infinite in every direction.
  37. J

    Schrodinger's Cat vs. The Principle of Explosion

    onsider the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_explosion Now, consider Schrodinger's Cat. Does this not imply the following statements? - A) The cat is alive before the box is opened. - B) The cat is not alive before the box is opened. Aren't both of these statements...
  38. H

    How different would matter-antimatter explosion be compared to nuclear

    Would the antimatter explosion still make a fireball and thus a blast wave ? If so, then how will the fireball form in this case ? I mean, matter and antimatter annihilation produce very energetic pions, muons and gamma rays and some other particles after decaying depending of course on which...
  39. J

    What Are the Speeds of the Fragments from a Space Rocket Explosion?

    Homework Statement A rocket ship parked at rest in space suddenly explodes into 3 pieces of equal mass traveling in the directions shown. If the piece traveling upward has a speed of 150 m/s, what are the speeds of the other two pieces?Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution How do I...
  40. C

    Nuclear explosion size required to create a Shattered Horzion scenario

    I'm not sure if any of you have heard about the game, Shattered Horizon. It's story takes place in 2047 when the Moon Mining Corporation accidentally fractured a large chunk of the moon and sent fragments and debris in orbit around Earth. International Space Agency workers and MMC miners are now...
  41. J

    Projectile explosion velocity and direction of fragments

    Homework Statement A gun fires a shell with the horizontal component of its velocity equal to 200m/s. At the highest point in its flight, the shell explodes into three fragments. Two of these fragments, which have equal mass, fly off with speeds of 300m/s relative to the ground, one along the...
  42. F

    Calculating Rest Mass of Original Object in Inelastic Explosion

    Homework Statement An object at rest in deep space explodes into two parts converting some of its original mass into kinetic energy of the fragments. Both fragments move at a speed of 0.60 c relative to the position of the original object. Each fragment has a rest mass of 3.0 kg...
  43. I

    Comparing Atmospheric Pressure to Explosion Force

    Is there any way, crude as it may be, to find an equivalency between the pressure exerted on an object from layers of atmosphere and the force or energy put on an object from an explosion? I'm trying to categorize the durability of certain things and I've gotten to a point where instead of...
  44. morrobay

    Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion ?

    It started as a fire at a Texas fertilizer plant where ammonia is produced and stored. Then a massive explosion. What happened chemically ? Three possibilities : Ammonia produced by the Haber process. N2 + 3H2 --> 2NH3 -92 kJ/m 1. a hydrogen tank exploded. 2. With heat from the initial...
  45. L

    News (update) Texas Fertilizer Explosion may be deliberate bombing

    Turned on CNN. Seems there's been an explosion with an unknown amount of people dead with hundreds possibly injured. And big fire. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hundreds-believed-injured-in-texas-fertiliser-plant-blast-8577619.html
  46. Greg Bernhardt

    News Explosion reported near Boston Marathon finish line

    http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/metro/Explosion-reported-near-Boston-Marathon-finish-line/-/11971628/19757044/-/odjbsx/-/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
  47. S

    Explosion+Impulse: Calculating Pressure

    given the values of explosion and impulse how to calculate the pressure
  48. S

    What significance does brownian motion has to do with coal explosion?

    Apparently : What significance does brownian motion has to do with coal explosion?[Brownian motion or pedesis is the presumably random moving of particles suspended in a fluid (a liquid or a gas) resulting from their bombardment by the fast-moving atoms or molecules in the gas or liquid.] Now...
  49. C

    Momentum change after explosion

    1. Please refer to the first image, the yellow star question. No answer is provided at the back so I'm not very sure whether my reasoning is correct. Is it because the spring exerted an impulse on that trolley, causing its momentum to change? But all the spring's energy was provided by the...
  50. B

    Conservation of mom. explosion

    Homework Statement (2) A fuel tank with a total mass of 6 kg is moving with a speed of vi = 0.5 m/s when it explodes into three pieces. The three pieces fly away from the explosion in the directions shown in the figure; N.B., vi and v3 point in the same direction. The masses of the pieces...
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