Questions tagged [explosives]
Questions discussing explosive nature of chemicals. Also, consider using the safety tag.
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Is Tollen's test safe?
Tollen's test is an important test to distinguish between aldehydes and ketones.
$$\ce{2[Ag(NH_3)_2]^+ + RCHO + H_2O → 2Ag(s) + 4NH_3 + RCO_2H + 2H^+}$$
But is this reaction safe? Is there any threat ...
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Does gunpowder (black powder) melt when heated?
I was just watching a video about yellow powder (similar formula to black powder, but with potassium carbonate instead of charcoal), and I was wondering:
Does regular black powder melt (and ...
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Does mercury(II) cyanate exist?
Recently I have answered a question "Comparing explosive properties of mercury(II) cyanate and mercury(II) fulminate" where stability of cyanate vs fulminate was discussed. While I was ...
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Criterion for a good explosive
For a mixture to be good explosive, it's components should react violently. In other words it should release more energy in less time. Thus enthalpy change of the reaction should be very high and rate ...
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Comparing explosive properties of mercury(II) cyanate and mercury(II) fulminate
I found this question online on Jiskha Homework Help:
Of the compounds mercury(II) cyanate, $\ce{Hg(OCN)2},$ and mercury(II) fulminate, $\ce{Hg(CNO)2},$ one is highly explosive, the other is not. ...
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Are tetra- and pentanitrotoluene better explosives than TNT?
When reading about TNT (trinitrotoluene), I noticed that the aromatic ring has still 2 carbon atoms left for two more possible nitro groups ($\ce{−NO2}$), which would get you tetra- or ...
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Could an airborne swarm of small insects explode? [closed]
I know that fine-grained organic matter such as flour or pollen can be quite explosive if ignited. It also seems logical to me that the explosiveness of such an organic powder is determined by many ...
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Why is black powder used in modern military munitions?
I was surprised to read in this recent WSJ article about a black powder shortage:
Today, [black powder] is a specialty commodity with few commercial applications—mostly for rocket hobbyists—but it’s ...
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Why is cyanuric triazide environmental friendly and less toxic?
This is the first line on Wikipedia:
Cyanuric triazide ($\ce{C3N12}$ or $\ce{(NCN3)3}$) is described as an environmentally friendly, low toxicity, and organic primary explosive with a detonation ...
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What is the flash point of acetylene?
On episode s10e11 of the show Criminal Minds, a confrontation occurs in a freezer full of acetylene gas. In this confrontation, the main character confidently fires her gun because the freezer was &...
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Chloramines & Nitrogen Trichloride vs Stainless Steel [closed]
We've recently experienced excessive corrosion on stainless steel within indoor pool environments. We believe this is due to chloramine (gasses) in the atmosphere. To test this, I plan to create a ...
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Are petroleum-based products prone to produce hard residues with black powder?
A common controversy about black powder is lubricant composition. Some people tell this is a bad idea to use any petroleum based products in such lube because it will produce hard, difficult to clean ...
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Weight Ratio vs Molar Ratio - Chloramines
I'm working with a delicate experiment whilst trying to test corrosion of stainless-steels in a chloramine environment. I've run into various literature that discusses the formation of different types ...
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What chemical elements does a nuclear explosion release into its mushroom cloud?
I'm interested in the mushroom cloud produced by a nuclear explosion: What is it made of?
I know that the uranium fission reaction is the following (from this web page)
$$\ce{{}^{235}U + {}^1_0n -&...
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Why the explosives get formed? [closed]
In many reactions mechanisms, we study things like 'it forms explosive mixture and should be discarded off immediately'.
Now my question is 'If those compounds are that much unstable that it will ...
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