—The Definition Of Explosion “” Regarding Richard Rosera’s letter “Choosing the Right Words,” explosion is the correct term (C&EN, Aug. 5, page 4). The definition of the word explosion is the rapid expansion of a gas. To quote Rosera, the case at hand was “caused by the rupture of a nitrogen line or vessel by overpressure.”
by Robin M. Giroux | September 09, 2013
—When is an explosion really an explosion, take two “” A few weeks back, we had a letter to the editor in C&EN that took us to task for using "blast" and "explosion" to describe two industrial incidents. We have more in this week's issue (which, I might add, is a particularly awesome one in celebration of C&EN's 90th anniversary).
by Jyllian Kemsley | September 12, 2013
—Improving On Explosives “Energetic Materials: Potassium salt of new compound could serve as benign primary explosive” In their quest for environmentally friendly but potent explosives, scientists have synthesized one of the most powerful nonnuclear explosives yet (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201502919).
by Elizabeth K. Wilson | July 13, 2015
—Safer Explosives Still Pack A Punch “Energetic Materials: Compounds are less sensitive, less toxic than the military explosives RDX and HMX” Three new explosives from three different labs have attractive properties such as simple syntheses and relative insensitivity, making some of them possible candidates to replace current military explosive favorites, the nitramines RDX and HMX, observers say.
by Elizabeth K. Wilson | September 10, 2012
Some staunchly maintain the letters stand for High Molecular Weight Explosive. Many people, including Charles A. Wight, chemistry professor and explosives expert at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, know HMX as His Majesty's Explosive. "But I've also had people tell me in an authoritative voice that it stands for High Melting Explosive," he says.
April 05, 1999