Larry Jaques fired this volley in
:

blink I guess I knew less about dynamite than I thought, thinking
that fire or shock could detonate it.

Heh!

Larry, "shock" IS what detonates it. But not the sort of shock it would
get from dropping, or even pounding a stick (not on a steel plate) with a
hammer.

Detonators' and blasting caps' primary purpose is to supply a shock of
such a magnitude and rise time that it initiates explosive decomposition
of the compound your using for blasting.

Some materials (most 'hand-carry' HEs) are totally insensitive to
mishandling, and only capable of being detonated with a cap or
detonator/booster, or with fire in a LARGE mass.

The old saw about "sweating" dynamite is true. If you see a stick of old
stuff with glistening yellow droplets on the outside, then avoid it. The
NG has migrated through the paper to the surface; and NOW it's sensitive
to handling shock!

That happens rarely today. Most "dynamites" aren't even Dynamite, any
more (which is nitroglycerine dispersed in inert fillers and gas-
producing compounds). Most modern _so_called_ "dynamites" are ammonium
nitrate/metal/oil/water emulsions that don't initiate at all - ever -
without a strong cap or a booster.

Lloyd


LLoyd