AndyC wrote:K.Mooneyham wrote:I always think of explosives as substances DESIGNED to give off large amounts of energy and/or heat.
Yes - there are low-order explosives which
deflragate and high explosives which
detonate (supersonic) - basically different decomposition rates. They also differ in terms of their
brisance, which really means their shattering power - a factor typically determined by how quickly they reach their peak pressure.
K.Mooneyham wrote:But what you say makes sense. I consider you the resident expert considering your experiences, so thanks for the informative reply.
Not an expert, just a mis-spent youth and some observations
I was "forced" to watch endless replays and slomos at work as everyone packed the break room to see. I was there taking my legitimate break and trying to read, but between the attractive nuisance of the TV that Home Depot provided, and all of the really stupid comments, reading was next to impossible.
One of the slomos of the moment of the blast shows the runner who collapses getting hit, you can see him react, just a split second after the banner lining the fence moved from the blast front and fragments. The smoke appeared to me to be secondary to the explosion and reminded me of something burning not the "high velocity" motion of smoke from an actual explosion, so immediately assumed that the bomb did not detonate completely, and then when I heard that there was a second explosion, I wrongly came to the conclusion that it was an explosion of an amount of leftover explosive from the first bomb, which I have seen happen. I don't really feel like watching it again, but I may have to just to prevent the talking heads from influencing my thinking.
My son-in-law, daughter, and a couple of grandchildren usually participate in the Boston run because of their proximity to the event and they are runners. I am praying for their safety.