Explosions Definition and 66 Threads

So in this video Dr Jorge S. Diaz walks through a way to model the movement of a blast wave (with an explanation that I don't fully follow because I'm an idiot) and I'm wondering if it's possible to use the same equations to calculate the overpressure of a blast wave from a given explosive...

The context behind my question is quite silly, but I've encountered some people who believe lasers cannot produce explosions, even at insane levels of energy. Now, I'm not big on physics nor will I pretend I am, I think they could but I came here to get a more knowledgable opinion(using a silly...

Trying to understand the effects of a deep space nuclear explosion. Starfish prime was detonated at 400km, ie still within Earth's atmosphere, and the explosion effects are well described. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-altitude_nuclear_explosion A significant outcome is the high MeV...

How much radiant energy is released by a regular TNT explosion? Is radiant heat just emitted from the fireball? Once again, this is for my tabletop game. I found a formula that calculates the temperature of gas in the shockwave front from the overpressure. Would that include radiant energy...

Hello I must do a report on Chernobyl: before, during and after. I have all I need except for a clear and simple explanation of how steam explosions work in this regard. All the online sites I've been on provide information that is too advanced, and as a non native English speaker, the...

I'm googling and reading about Shape Dynamics and I came across this site about Julian Barbour research: http://discovermagazine.com/2012/mar/09-is-einsteins-greatest-work-wrong-didnt-go-far Can you find flaw in the following arguments about possible error in the computations of the...

If the timing of detonation of nuclear weapons’ numerous implosive lenses must to be kept to within a microsecond or so in order to avoid asymmetrical detonation, does the timing of a supernova explosion similarly have tight constraints on its simultaneity and hence the sphericity of its...

I have heard an interesting claim that looks fishy to me. The claim is that during the last 10,000 years there hasn't been a single Supernova eruption closer than about 5,000 light years. And that somehow this is an anomaly. That the background rate of nearby supernovas is much higher. And so...

Hi...Here is a GIF of some electrical explosions that I recorded with my full spectrum camera. These power lines supply power to a neighboring county so it didn't affect my area. In the upper atmosphere we see something similar in Transient Luminous Events (TLEs). In the case of the blue in Blue...

Probably a silly question, but I'm curious because I want to draw some hard sci-fi based on it: if I shoot a nuke "ballistically" (viz., think of firing a cannon at a mountainside), upon detonation, what would be the smoke's/plasma's (?) profile? I guess it wouldn't be the famous mushroom...

Homework Statement A firework of mass 1 kg is placed on the ground and ignited , the impulse created by the explosion causes it to move vertically upwards,after 4 seconds a second explosion takes place in air and the horizontal impulse forces cause it to separate into 4 identical pieces 2...

In Hawking's "Black hole explosions?" 1974 letter to Nature, he states: My question is: wouldn't it be a terrible idea to generate a black hole of any size in a particle accelerator? http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v248/n5443/abs/248030a0.html

Can you pump enough low energy photons into a box that the rate of dissipation is overwhelmed and cause the box to explode?

Understanding waves typically don't displace atoms but momentarily and then they move back into place, my intuition tells me that if a pressure wave on a certain gas meets a slightly different gas but with a similar density, the different gas wouldn't move dramatically due to the pressure wave...

Missile Defense has been a big thing over the past decades to one day stop Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. (ICBMs)Today's Missile Defense system is limited and the only defense against ICBMs is Mutually Assured Destruction. But that may change in the future. Early programs like Nike Zeus...

Why do humans like explosions so much, while all the other animal species I know are afraid of them? Why do we enjoy watching a firework show or a chemical demonstrarion of a violent reaction?

Explosions hit Brussels airport, several killed: Belgian media http://news.yahoo.com/belgian-media-explosions-brussels-airport-several-injured-072952033.html By Philip Blenkinsop Brussels Zaventem airport and metro hit by blasts http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35869254 Apparent...

I'm reading about the interesting data that suggests a new heavy particle about 750 GeV. It talks about the energy being the mass times the velocity of light squared and is indicated by the two photons as the particles decay. I guess it's the same with this and a nuclear explosion which...

Please be patient with my ignorance. :) I have just learned in the LHC's own website ( http://lhc-machine-outreach.web.cern.ch/lhc-machine-outreach/beam.htm ) that their proton beams traveling at 0.999999991c carry about 362 MJ of energy, equivalent to 77.4 kg of TNT. These beams seem to be...

I have a question about cosmic explosions. Now, I know at least two kinds of explosions that can happen in space; supernovae and gamma ray bursts. I was wondering, what are the names of other types of cosmic explosions other than those two? I'd like to know.

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...

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...

Homework Statement [/B] 2 masses connected with a solid rod .distace between them is 2L , total mass is M . B total mass is m ,length L can freely move between A and A' on flat and frictionless surface. all collisions are elastic. at the beginning B was stuck to A and all the...

Homework Statement Cart 1 and cart 2 are initially at rest, and after the explosion the momentum of the two carts was the same. If the two carts were moving at some initial speed v0 before the explosion: would the momentum of the two carts still be equal? Homework Equations Momentum. mvi=mvf...

I'm watching a show on meteor catastrophes. They can cause damage by hitting the Earth causing a mechanical explosion due to the energy of the mass transferring into the Earth as kinetic energy. What I don't understand is what makes them explode above the surface like Tunguska? Tex

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...

I'm looking for an equation that can give me the the amount an explosions force dissipates based on varied gas densities. I've already posted this in r/AskPhysics, r/AskScience, and r/Physics, and thought posting it here might give it better exposure. Oh, and before someone asks, this isn't...

I haven't thought of any dignified scientific questions to ask about these explosions, so I'll post this link in general discussions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FG1LGKieTxY#t=167

Hello. I’m trying to understand the nature and amount of force generated in an explosion. Take, for example, the explosion that results from the complete annihilation of one gram of matter, releasing 8.9876E+13 Joules. Let’s say that the initial volume of the explosive material is one cubic...

Quick question: My friend and I are having problems on how explosions work. According to him, in a explosion smaller objects don't receive the full force of the blast since they only encompass a small fraction of the blast radius. So basically let's say if I'm in the path of a grenade...

I was reading this article http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-graph-suggests-iran-working-bomb-161109665.html on Iran's nuclear programme and at first thought the numbers on the left (relating to kilotons of energy per second) were off, but then I realized that it relates to peak power output at...

Homework Statement After several large firecrackers have been inserted into its holes, a bowling ball is projected into the air using a homemade launcher and explodes in midair. During the launch, the 5.43-kg ball is shot into the air with an initial speed of 12.9 m/s at a 39.9° angle; it...

Hello, I am currently trying to create a sculpture that involves having a live electric current running through water inside of a sterilite tub. The way I would like to go about doing this is very crude, I would like to take an extension cord, cut the end off of it,and stick the live end...

Homework Statement At 11h 0m 0.0000s AM a boiler explodes in the basement of the Denver Science Museum. At 11h 0m 0.0003s, a similar boiler explodes in the basement of a ski lodge in Aspen at a distance of 150 km from the first explosion. Show that in the reference frame of a spaceship moving...

Please read this carefully before answering,in fiction lasers are quite common and they seem to have the property to produce explosions.I am not asking if they exist,I am asking if with the right technology can laser beams produce explosions.Is this just some myth or is there some truth to...

1) How does an explosion or impact (e.g. meteorite) create a pressure wave? In the case of a meteor, if kinetic energy is being transferred into the wave, how does this conversion take place? 2) Is it the shock wave from an explosion or impact (e.g. meteorite) just the collision of air...

From 1945 until the US put a ban on aboveground nuclear explosions in the US, there were some 300 nuclear devices exploded aboveground in the US. These explosions lead to an eventual nuclear fallout. Anyone have resources like books or internet sites that detail the medical research and overall...

I've been looking into some of the various treaties regarding the use of nuclear explosions, and I'm having trouble figuring out some of the gray zones; The United States and Russia have both signed treaties http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_Nuclear-Test-Ban_Treaty" So my question...

Hi This is my first post, and I have a lot of ideas to talk about I'll start with this one: What would the difference be between a thermonuclear explosion and an antimatter explosion, of equal yield (say 2 megatons each), and similar location and weather? I think that the each would have a...

I'm writing a story set in a futuristic, but post-apocalyptic Earth wherein most of the Earth has been rendered a barren wasteland and humanity, as per the genre, struggles to survive at all. What I'm not sure of is how to get there. I don't know enough about high-energy/theoretical weapons...

What do they mean with "faint regime", when they talk about cosmological explosions?? (e.g X-ray flashes) thnx

Hi What exactly is an explosion? How is it different from something burning? When you get an explosion with cornflour as described here why is the lid blown off? Is it due to rapid production of carbon dioxide? I presume cornflour is just starch so the reaction is essentially combustion of...

Homework Statement An astronaut is space-traveling from planet X to planet Y at a speed of 0.17c. When he is precisely halfway between the planets, a distance of 1 light-hour from each, nuclear devices are detonated. The explosions are simultaneous in the astronaut's frame. What is the...

Hi, i need to know something about the explosion risk of gasoline. I have to assess the risks of gasoline leaking into a sewer. They say the vapor can cause explosions. I looked up some facts, but i can't find the answer. 1) Here's the data temperature: 2 to 10°C explosion boundaries of...

In some pictures of nuclear tests from the 50's and 60's you will often see illuminated "tendrils" falling through the air away from the mushroom clouds. Always wondered what it was? Any ideas Darren

Hey ppl i wanted to know that wat is the name of the method with which astrosphysicists are able to detect the elements present in supernovae.for eg they say type 2 suprnva is mainly hydrogen containing. Is it by spectroscopy if yes which one? pleasez temme soon

We're doing another demonstration about explosives, discussing the forces created. Our primary explosive is PETN (detcord) - handled by a licensed technician of course. I need to prepare some facts about the physical forces at play with the explosions. How can I quantify the energy...

why do they form the shape they do? that is after a nuclear explosion i'm familiar with thermodynamics and fluids ect..., does it have something to do with archimedes principal?

m studying civil engineering and trying to research how a bomb would affect a dam, but i know little about physics so could anyone help with this problem? dam has dimensions 7.6m wide at the top, 39.6m wide at the bottom and 34m tall, water level is 2m from top of the dam. 135*10^6 cubic...

Came across the following interesting problem : Two explosions take place at the same place in a rest frame with a time separation of 10 s in that frame. A) Find the time between explosions, as measured in a frame moving with a speed 0.9 c with respect to the rest frame according to...