Module 5 Flashcards
What explosive do we use as the comparison for measuring explosive power?
TNT
What general requirements must material used to manufacture military explosives meet?
Must be cheap, plentiful, and not vital to any other phase of the war effort.
What is the brisance of a military explosive?
The shattering or fragmentation effect.
What term describes the tendency of a substance to produce vapors?
Volatility
When a military explosive does not react with the metal that encases it or with
another explosive, it is said to have what characteristic?
A natural compatibility.
What is meant by explosive toxicity?
An explosive’s poisonous characteristics
What is hygroscopicity?
The moisture-absorbing property of an explosive.
What is the autocombustion rate of low explosives?
A few inches per minute to 1,300 feet per second.
What condition is essential for an explosive to detonate rather than to merely
deflagrate?
It must be confined.
What are the basic components of an explosive train?
Detonator, booster, and bursting charge.
What is the relatively small and sensitive initial component that begins the
functioning of the explosive train?
Primer
What are the two means by which we can activate a detonator?
The action of a primer or by a non-explosive impulse
What term do we use to describe the tendency of a substance to burn with a rapid
and sparkling combustion?
Deflagration.
What is the purpose of a delay in an explosive train?
A delay controls the timed delay in the functioning of the train.
What does an explosive booster do?
Amplifies the detonation received from the detonator to detonate the main charge.
