Jim Elbrecht wrote:
"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.


Yep, doodlebuggers (oil exploration crew members) often rammed a stick of
dynamite in the ground, lit the end, and made coffee. The stuff burns like a
railroad flare, though not as violently (or smelly).