• Question: what are the chemicals in the biggest explosion you have ever seen?

    Asked by thesloth to Callum, Gina, Katie, Michelle, Sam on 16 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Sam Godfrey

      Sam Godfrey answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      Well the biggest I’ve seen on TV would be a nuclear bomb, which needs uranium or plutonium, hydrogen and heavy water and I’m not sure what else. They don’t put a list of ingredients on line. The biggest I’ve seen was at a chemistry show when I was at school and I think it was rubidium and water. Check this out.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCk0lYB_8c0
      Other chemicals like charcole, fertiliser and sodium can also make big explosions. In the right mix they make gunpowder.

    • Photo: Katie Howe

      Katie Howe answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      The biggest explosion I have actually seen is when you put mentoes mints into diet coke. The mints cause the carbon dioxide gas to be released from the coke and it fizzes up into a big fountain! You could try that at home – (or maybe outside!)

    • Photo: Callum Johnston

      Callum Johnston answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      I’ve seen a couple of building’s being demolished before. To control the demolition they only use small amounts of explosives such as nitroglycerin and dynamite to shatter the supports of the buildings which actually cause it to implode instead of explode, that means it falls in on itself rather than being blasted into the air! Here is a video of a massive sports stadium in America being demolished, I think it looks amazing!
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiftDBtCFt8

Comments