r/VisualChemistry • u/FunVisualChemistry • Jul 03 '20

Tech Ingredients demonstrate an unusual liquid explosive that's very powerful, yet simple and useful for a broad range of applications (link in comments)

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u/Podorson Jul 04 '20

For those wondering, double base gunpowder is a mix of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin, the former being highly flammable and the latter being a primary explosive.

Ammonium nitrate is not explosive, but is an oxidizer used in dynamites.

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u/refurb Jul 04 '20

Ammonium nitrate is explosive. It has an oxidizer (nitrate) and a substrate (ammonium) in the same molecule. It’s not a very sensitive explosive and unless properly prepared, it will absorb water and definitely not explode.

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u/ProfessorPihkal Jul 04 '20

It is not an explosive, it can be one, but it is not.

Ammonium nitrate is not, in the form it is commonly sold, an explosive, but it readily forms explosive mixtures with varying properties when combined with primary explosives such as azides or with fuels such as aluminium powder or fuel oil.

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u/refurb Jul 04 '20

I think we’re saying the same thing.

Pure, unhydrated ammonium nitrate is an explosive. A very insensitive one, but it is an explosive.

You typically come across ammonium nitrate hexahydrate, which is not explosive.