Primary explosive/Related Articles
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Primary explosive: An explosive that takes relatively little energy to detonate, although recent versions require a specialized application of energy; used to start the explosion sequence in a weapon or demolitions charge, transferring energy to the optional secondary explosive or directly to the tertiary explosive [e]
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Parent topics
- Explosives [r]: Explosive agent; a compound or mixture susceptible of a rapid chemical reaction, as gunpowder, or nitroglycerin. [e]
- Detonator [r]: That part of an explosive assembly that contains the primary explosive, the mechanism for initiating the explosion of the primary, and a housing and perhaps power supplies; it may be a subcomponent of a more complex and intelligent fuze [e]
Subtopics
- Mercury fulminate [r]: A highly shock-sensitive compound that was widely used as the initial element in the triggering of explosives or firearms ammunition; it has largely been replaced by lead azide preparations [e]
- Lead azide [r]: Pb(N3)2, the most common modern initiating/primary explosive; good compromise among initiators with respect to storage stability, impact sensitivity, and tertiary explosives it can detonate without a booster; several variants of mechanical properties and additives [e]
- Lead styphnate [r]: Also called trinitroresorcinol, a primary explosive, introduced in 1914, with relatively poor detonating qualities, generally replaced by lead azide; sometimes used for commercial explosives and as an igniter for lead azide [e]
- DDNP [r]: Diazodinitrophenol (DDNP) is a primary explosive, less sensitive but more powerful than lead azide [e]
- Nitroglycerin [r]: A very unstable, shock-sensitive high-explosive which also has medical uses as a vasodilator in heart disease [e]
- Secondary explosive [r]: Not always present but required in some applications, an explosive that is less sensitive than the primary explosive in the detonator, and used to amplify an initiating shock wave into the insensitive tertiary explosive [e]
- Tertiary explosive [r]: The main, and least sensitive, charge of an explosive or propellant system [e]