No distinction is made as to whether it is a deflagration with subsonic propagation or a detonation with supersonic propagation.īefore World War I Fall of Antwerp įurther information: Battle of the Crater and Siege of Petersburgĭuring the American Civil War at 4:44 a.m.

In this article, explosion means 'the sudden conversion of potential energy (chemical or mechanical) into kinetic energy', as defined by the US National Fire Protection Association, or the common dictionary meaning, 'a violent and destructive shattering or blowing apart of something'. The weight of an explosive does not directly correlate with the energy or destructive impact of an explosion, as these can depend upon many other factors such as containment, proximity, purity, preheating, and external oxygenation (in the case of thermobaric weapons, gas leaks and BLEVEs). An unambiguous ranking in order of severity is not possible a 1994 study by historian Jay White of 130 large explosions suggested that they need to be ranked by an overall effect of power, quantity, radius, loss of life and property destruction, but concluded that such rankings are difficult to assess. This list contains the largest known examples, sorted by date. There have been many extremely large explosions, accidental and intentional, caused by modern high explosives, boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions (BLEVEs), older explosives such as gunpowder, volatile petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline, and other chemical reactions. Explosion of the mine under Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt, 1 July 1916

Tnt village release list