Causes[edit]

Natural[edit]
Explosions can occur in nature. Most natural explosions arise from volcanic proc
esses of various sorts. Explosive volcanic eruptions occur when magma rising fro
m below has much dissolved gas in it; the reduction of pressure as the magma ris
es causes the gas to bubble out of solution, resulting in a rapid increase in vo
lume. Explosions also occur as a result of impact events and in phenomena such a
s hydrothermal explosions (also due to volcanic processes). Explosions can also
occur outside of Earth in the universe in events such as supernovae. Explosions
frequently occur during bushfires in eucalyptus forests where the volatile oils
in the tree tops suddenly combust.[1]
Animal bodies can also be explosive, as some animals hold a large amount of flam
mable material such as animal fat. This, in rare cases, results in naturally exp
loding animals.[citation needed]
Astronomical[edit]
Among the largest known explosions in the universe are supernovae, which result
when a star explodes from the sudden starting or stopping of nuclear fusion, and
gamma ray bursts, whose nature is still in some dispute. Solar flares are an ex
ample of explosion common on the Sun, and presumably on most other stars as well
. The energy source for solar flare activity comes from the tangling of magnetic
field lines resulting from the rotation of the Sun's conductive plasma. Another
type of large astronomical explosion occurs when a very large meteoroid or an a
steroid impacts the surface of another object, such as a planet.
Chemical[edit]
Main article: Explosive material
The most common artificial explosives are chemical explosives, usually involving
a rapid and violent oxidation reaction that produces large amounts of hot gas.
Gunpowder was the first explosive to be discovered and put to use. Other notable
early developments in chemical explosive technology were Frederick Augustus Abe
l's development of nitrocellulose in 1865 and Alfred Nobel's invention of dynami
te in 1866. Chemical explosions (both intentional and accidental) are often init
iated by an electric spark or flame. Accidental explosions may occur in fuel tan
ks, rocket engines, etc.
Electrical and magnetic[edit]
A high current electrical fault can create an 'electrical explosion' by forming
a high energy electrical arc which rapidly vaporizes metal and insulation materi
al. This arc flash hazard is a danger to persons working on energized switchgear
. Also, excessive magnetic pressure within an ultra-strong electromagnet can cau
se a magnetic explosion.
Mechanical and vapor[edit]
Strictly a physical process, as opposed to chemical or nuclear, e.g., the bursti
ng of a sealed or partially sealed container under internal pressure is often re
ferred to as a 'mechanical explosion'. Examples include an overheated boiler or
a simple tin can of beans tossed into a fire.
Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions are one type of mechanical explosion t
hat can occur when a vessel containing a pressurized liquid is ruptured, causing
a rapid increase in volume as the liquid evaporates. Note that the contents of
the container may cause a subsequent chemical explosion, the effects of which ca
n be dramatically more serious, such as a propane tank in the midst of a fire. I
n such a case, to the effects of the mechanical explosion when the tank fails ar
e added the effects from the explosion resulting from the released (initially li
quid and then almost instantaneously gaseous) propane in the presence of an igni
tion source. For this reason, emergency workers often differentiate between the
two events.

Nuclear[edit]
Main articles: Nuclear explosion and Effects of nuclear explosions
In addition to stellar nuclear explosions, a man-made nuclear weapon is a type o
f explosive weapon that derives its destructive force from nuclear fission or fr
om a combination of fission and fusion. As a result, even a nuclear weapon with
a small yield is significantly more powerful than the largest conventional explo
sives available, with a single weapon capable of completely destroying an entire
city.
Properties of explosions[edit]
Force[edit]
Explosive force is released in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the e
xplosive. If a grenade is in mid air during the explosion, the direction of the
blast will be 360. If the surface is cut or shaped, the explosive forces can be f
ocused to produce a greater local effect; this is known as a shaped charge.
Velocity[edit]
This section is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay that states
the Wikipedia editor's particular feelings about a topic, rather than the opinio
ns of experts. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style.
(February 2014)
The speed of the reaction is what distinguishes an explosive reaction from an or
dinary combustion reaction. Unless the reaction occurs very rapidly, the thermal
ly expanding gases will be moderately dissipated in the medium, with no large di
fferential in pressure and there will be no explosion. Consider a wood fire. As
the fire burns, there certainly is the evolution of heat and the formation of ga
ses, but neither is liberated rapidly enough to build up a sudden substantial pr
essure differential and then cause an explosion. This can be likened to the diff
erence between the energy discharge of a battery, which is slow, and that of a f
lash capacitor like that in a camera flash, which releases its energy all at onc
e.
Evolution of heat[edit]
The generation of heat in large quantities accompanies most explosive chemical r
eactions. The exceptions are called entropic explosives and include organic pero
xides such as acetone peroxide[2] It is the rapid liberation of heat that causes
the gaseous products of most explosive reactions to expand and generate high pr
essures. This rapid generation of high pressures of the released gas constitutes
the explosion. The liberation of heat with insufficient rapidity will not cause
an explosion. For example, although a unit mass of coal yields five times as mu
ch heat as a unit mass of nitroglycerin, the coal cannot be used as an explosive
(except in the form of coal dust) because the rate at which it yields this heat
is quite slow. In fact, a substance which burns less rapidly (i.e. slow combust
ion) may actually evolve more total heat than an explosive which detonates rapid
ly (i.e. fast combustion). In the former, slow combustion converts more of the i
nternal energy (i.e. chemical potential) of the burning substance into heat rele
ased to the surroundings, while in the latter, fast combustion (i.e. detonation)
instead converts more internal energy into work on the surroundings (i.e. less
internal energy converted into heat); c.f. heat and work (thermodynamics) are eq
uivalent forms of energy. See Heat of Combustion for a more thorough treatment o
f this topic.
When a chemical compound is formed from its constituents, heat may either be abs
orbed or released. The quantity of heat absorbed or given off during transformat
ion is called the heat of formation. Heats of formations for solids and gases fo
und in explosive reactions have been determined for a temperature of 25 C and atm
ospheric pressure, and are normally given in units of kilojoules per gram-molecu
le. A negative value indicates that heat is absorbed during the formation of the

compound from its elements; such a reaction is called an endothermic reaction.

In explosive technology only materials that are exothermic that have a net liberat
ion of heat are of interest. Reaction heat is measured under conditions either of
constant pressure or constant volume. It is this heat of reaction that may be pr
operly expressed as the "heat of explosion."
Initiation of reaction[edit]
A chemical explosive is a compound or mixture which, upon the application of hea
t or shock, decomposes or rearranges with extreme rapidity, yielding much gas an
d heat. Many substances not ordinarily classed as explosives may do one, or even
two, of these things.
A reaction must be capable of being initiated by the application of shock, heat,
or a catalyst (in the case of some explosive chemical reactions) to a small por
tion of the mass of the explosive material. A material in w