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Article: The electronic look of explosives. (research on arrangement of electrons in molecules of explosives)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- August 22, 1987
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1987 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The electronic look of explosives
Chemical explosives with similar molecular structures often show great differences in their sensitivity to shock waves used to detonate them. One such group is the nitroaromatic explosives, which includes compounds such as trinitrotoluene (TNT) and triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB). These explosives have a molecular structure consisting of an aromatic or benzene ring of six carbon atoms to which nitro (NO2) and sometimes other chemical groups are attached. Depending on the specific molecular arrangement, the pressure needed to initiate an explosion varies by as much as a factor of five.
Recently, a team of scientists at ...