"Steve B" wrote:


"Ralph Mowery" wrote


While probably not strickly correct, there are high and low explosives.
The high explosives material go off almost all at once such as the C4.
The low explosives burn very fast, such as black powder.

Strictly put, there are a lot of terms regarding "explosions".

You refer to explosive materials, such as C4. Explosives are rated at feet
per second. C4, IIRC is somewhere around 26,400 fps, which means that if
you put 26,400 feet of it out there, it takes one second to go from one end
to the other. It is not sensitive to impact or friction.

Or flame. We used to use pieces- 1/4 golf ball size?- to heat
C-rations. It has been a *very* long time- but if I remember right
a chunk would burn for 1/2 minute or so and boil a can of beans and
franks. [too hot for the spaghetti & meatballs]

And technically,
it does not explode, rather detonates is the proper term.

I never understood exactly what a detonator did -- but they scared the
crap out of me. C4 was silly putty that burned.

-snip-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-4_(explosive)

I note that the Wiki page says C4 will explode if stomped on while
burning. That was 'common knowledge' in 1969 when I was a foolish
lad of 18. We tried to detonate it by stomping & by throwing large
rocks on it while burning. I never saw anything but a blasting cap
detonate C4.

-snip-

In common language, an explosion is anything that goes boom. In technical
talk, there are all sorts of levels of boom.

Conflagration would best describe the sparking off of twenty gallons of gas.

What would be the term for the 'whoosh' of the vapors that can lift
buildings off their foundations?

Gas is pretty safe-- it's the vapors that kill you.

Jim