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Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Research and Development of High-performance Explosives
Published on: February 20, 2016
Impact sensitivity and the maximum heat of detonation
Peter Politzer1,2, Jane S Murray3,4
1Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, 70148, USA. ppolitze@uno.edu.
Abstract:
We demonstrate that a large heat of detonation is undesirable from the standpoint of the impact sensitivity of an explosive and also unnecessary from the standpoints of its detonation velocity and detonation pressure. High values of the latter properties can be achieved even with a moderate heat of detonation, and this in turn enhances the likelihood of relatively low sensitivity.
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