On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 08:24:05 GMT, Gunner Asch
wrote:

Actually, inhibited nitrocellulose gun powder is still considered a
"propellent" as its chemistry is designed to NOT detonate.

Right, but (as you know) it goes a lot faster when confined. If
you just pour a string of it on the sidewalk and light it, it burns --
but not all that fast. I think in a cartridge (or artillery piece)
all of the grains get initiated at the same time and each goes at the
rate it was designed to go.

Brisance is the term.

Cartridge primers can be smaller than blasting caps because they
operate in a confined space -- a cartridge confined by a chamber. A
small initiating charge produces high pressure, shock and
temperature in such a situation.

A cartridge primer embedded in unconfined HE, C4 or whatever, may
or may not work. I'd suspect not, but I'd neither bet against it or
on it.

It would be damned hard to detonate an embedded primer G

It is easy enough to initiate with a hot wire, but not much point
in doing so with HE. I've used .22 blanks and electrically-heated
wires as squibs. Advantage: it can be outside a sealed plastic
enclosure and still work by punching thru the plastic.