Explosive's CharacteristicsAn explosion is a violent expansion of gas at high pressure.
Physical Explosions- A destructive process capable of causing damage by airblast and by the propulsion of debris at high velocity. e.g volcanos, lightning.
Nuclear Explosions- A result of nuclear fission or fusion processes, which release enormous amounts of heat very rapidly.Expansio is mostly that of air surounding the device, primary mateial damage is due to airblast and heat. The radio active elements which produce nuclear explosions are not referred to as explosives, but it is necessary to use a chemical explosive to trigger a nuclear weapon.
Chemical Explosion- Caused by rapid decomposition of a chemical system with the evolution of heat and usually gas. In general the decomposition takes the form of combustion, i.e. an exothermic oxidation reaction which produces some visable manifestation such as flame or smoke. (Exceptions to this are certain compounds which decompose explosively without the formation of oxidation products.
