Editing Explosive (section)

===Chemical composition===
A chemical explosive may consist of either a chemically pure compound, such as [[nitroglycerin]], or a mixture of a [[fuel]] and an [[oxidizer]], such as [[black powder]] or [[grain dust]] and air.

====Pure compounds====
Some chemical compounds are unstable in that, when shocked, they react, possibly to the point of detonation. Each molecule of the compound dissociates into two or more new molecules (generally gases) with the release of energy.
* '''[[Nitroglycerin]]''': A highly unstable and sensitive liquid
* '''[[Acetone peroxide]]''': A very unstable white [[organic peroxide]]
* '''[[TNT]]''': Yellow insensitive crystals that can be melted and cast without detonation
* '''[[Cellulose nitrate]]''': A nitrated polymer which can be a high or low explosive depending on nitration level and conditions
* '''[[RDX]]''', '''[[PETN]]''', '''[[HMX]]''': Very powerful explosives which can be used pure or in plastic explosives
** '''[[C4 explosive|C-4]]''' (or Composition C-4): An [[RDX]] [[plastic explosive]] plasticized to be adhesive and malleable

The above compositions may describe most of the explosive material, but a practical explosive will often include small percentages of other substances. For example, [[dynamite]] is a mixture of highly sensitive nitroglycerin with [[sawdust]], powdered [[silica]], or most commonly [[diatomaceous earth]], which act as stabilizers. Plastics and polymers may be added to bind powders of explosive compounds; waxes may be incorporated to make them safer to handle; [[aluminium]] powder may be introduced to increase total energy and blast effects. Explosive compounds are also often "alloyed": HMX or RDX powders may be mixed (typically by melt-casting) with TNT to form [[Octol]] or [[Cyclotol]].

====Oxidized fuel====
An [[oxidizer]] is a pure substance ([[molecule]]) that in a chemical reaction can contribute some atoms of one or more oxidizing elements, in which the [[fuel]] component of the explosive burns. On the simplest level, the oxidizer may itself be an oxidizing [[Chemical element|element]], such as [[gas state|gaseous]] or [[liquid]] [[oxygen]].
* '''[[Black powder]]''': [[Potassium nitrate]], [[charcoal]] and [[sulfur]]
* '''[[Flash powder]]''': Fine metal powder (usually [[aluminium]] or [[magnesium]]) and a strong oxidizer (e.g. [[potassium chlorate]] or [[potassium perchlorate|perchlorate]])
* '''[[Ammonal]]''': [[Ammonium nitrate]] and aluminium powder
* '''[[Armstrong's mixture]]''': [[Potassium chlorate]] and [[red phosphorus]]. This is a very sensitive mixture. It is a primary high explosive in which sulfur is substituted for some or all of the phosphorus to slightly decrease sensitivity.
* '''[[Sprengel explosive]]s''': A very general class incorporating any strong oxidizer and highly reactive fuel, although in practice the name was most commonly applied to mixtures of [[chlorate]]s and [[nitroaromatic]]s.
** '''[[ANFO]]''': Ammonium nitrate and [[fuel oil]]
** '''[[Cheddite]]s''': [[Chlorate]]s or [[perchlorate]]s and oil
** '''[[Oxyliquit]]s''': Mixtures of organic materials and [[liquid oxygen]]
** '''[[Panclastite]]s''': Mixtures of organic materials and [[dinitrogen tetroxide]]