Win,
the original daisy cutter used in nam was a 10,000 bomb...used primarily to cut instant helicopter landing zones in the jungle. it did not have an incendiary component. it was used to recover recon teams from hot areas and to cut landing zones to insert combat units.
i believe the current version is a 15,000 pounder comprised mainly of explosives but with a deflagration additive. i do not know the exact composition but somehow the combination of different chemicals and probably the detonation height above the ground have been changed to creat a much improved effect.
the current fuel air explosives or bombs are a different animal than the daisy cutter. similar perhaps but not the same. the daisy cutter gets most of its action from the explosive ammonium nitrate = more explosion than deflagration. the fuel air devices get most of their action from the deflagration material = more deflagration than explosion.
there are several classification levels of demolitions and explosives...i will explain briefly.
an explosive is anything that burns rapidly and creates a lot of gas pressure. it can be gasoline, nitro, plastic, tnt, ammonium nitrate or many other chemical combinations. they are classified into 3 groups.
deflagration...mostly heat and flame. main use incendiary grenades and devices. heat is quite intense. an incendiary grenade can cook through a truck engine in a minute or two.
napalm and flamethrowers are also in this classification. i would place fuel air bombs here too though they do contain a small amount of high explosive.
low order explosive...usually dynamite or ammonium nitrate based explosives. detonates in the approximate range of 10,000 to 15,000 feet per second. excellent for earth moving charges. used in mining, highway building, quarry work. military uses include destroying bridge abuttments, cratering roads, etc. it is relatively cheap and very stable making it a good choice for very large charges. these lower order explosives are much better at lifting and moving earth and rocks than high order explosives.
high order explosive...tnt, C-4, tetratol, etc.. very fast, detonation rate can exceed 25,000fps. excellent for cutting steel. has many uses such as cutting steel I-beams on bridges, anti-tank mines, hand grenades, limpet mines, etc.
these 3 varieties can be combined for special effects...for example one special expedient charge combines C-4 with thermite which is then detonated with gasoline (or other substance such as flour) in a special way to provide an enormous effect from very little explosive. this is called a dust initiator charge and is often used in building demolition. this is the so called implosion.
here are a coupla safety considerations:
nitro is the most unstable high explosive...it was the main component in dynamite at one time. if you ever see old dynamite laying around or the word nitro. do not touch it. do not even walk near it as it can leach into the floor or ground and simply walking near it can set it off.
the next most unstable explosives you are likely to encounter are blasting caps...if you have no training do not pick them up either. pressure or heat will set them off.
the explosive most used in caps is petn it is also used in detonating cord. keep it from fire and heat too. better yet leave it alone.
jj...as an engineer officer you know beaucoup about this...pipe in if you have a thought or two.
unclewest |
