totse.com | Glossary of Explosives

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Is classified as an oxidizer. An oxidizer is a substance that readily yields oxygen or other oxidizing substances to promote the combustion of organic matter or other fuel. Ammonium nitrate alone is not an explosive material. However, Federal explosives storage regulations require the separation of explosive magazines from nearby stores of ammonium nitrate by certain minimum distances.

A deflagrating or low explosive compound of an intimate mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and an alkali nitrate (usually potassium or sodium nitrate). See LOW EXPLOSIVES.

Any material or mixture consisting of fuel and oxidizer intended for blasting, not otherwise defined as an explosive, provided that the finished product, as mixed for use or shipment, cannot be detonated by means of a No. 8 test blasting cap when unconfined.

An explosive charge, usually a high explosive used to initiate a less sensitive explosive. A booster can be either cast, pressed, or extruded.

Explosives designed, produced, and used for commercial or industrial applications, rather than for military purposes.

Any chemical compound or element that, as part of a physical mixture, would be necessary for that mixture to be considered an explosive mixture; or any chemical compound or element that could be classified as an oxidizer or as a readily available fuel.

Any person engaged in the business of distributing explosive materials at wholesale or retail.

A marker or taggant placed into an explosive material that has utility before a bomb explodes.

A marker or taggant placed into an explosive material that has both pre-blast and post-blast utility.

An explosive reaction that moves through an explosive material at a velocity greater than the speed of sound.

Any device containing an initiating or primary explosive that is used for initiating a detonation. A detonator may not contain more that 10 g of total explosives by weight, excluding ignition or delay charges. The term includes, but is not limited to, electric blasting caps of instantaneous and delay types, blasting caps for use with safety fuses, detonating cord delay connectors, and nonelectric instantaneous and delay blasting caps which use detonating cord, shock tube, or any other replacement for electric leg wires.

A flexible cord containing a center core of high explosive and used to initiate other explosives.

2,3-Dimethyl – 2,3-dinitrobutane. One of four high-vapor pressure chemicals approved by the U.N. Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to be added to plastic explosives as a detection marker.

A high explosive used for blasting, consisting essentially of a mixture of, but not limited to, nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose, ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and carbonaceous materials.

An explosive material containing substantial amounts of oxidizers dissolved in water droplets surrounded by an immiscible fuel.

Any chemical compound, mixture, or device, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion.

This term encompasses actual and attempted explosive/incendiary bombings, stolen, and recovered explosives, hoax devices, and accidental explosions, as defined in ATF’s Arson and Explosives Incidents Report.

These include explosives, blasting agents, and detonators. Explosive materials include, but are not limited to, all items in the List of Explosive Materials.

ExploTracer is based on synthetic granules dyed with fluorescent pigments and iron particles. To ensure that each particle has a distinctive code of its own, rare earth elements are added.

A type of explosive/incendiary/chemical substance which, in combination with a fusing and/or firing system, constitutes an improvised explosive device (e.g. dynamite, match heads, gasoline).

Combustible. A flammable material is one that is ignited easily and burns readily, i.e., gasoline, charcoal lighter fluid, diesel fuel, and paint thinners.

Any substance that reacts with the oxygen in the air or with the oxygen yielded by an oxidizer to produce combustion.

Explosives which are characterized by a very high rate of reaction, high pressure development, the presence of a detonation wave in the explosive, and which can be caused to detonate by means of a blasting cap when unconfined.

HF-6 is similar to the 3M (Microtaggant) and is coded according to its several layers of color. The HF-6 taggant was developed by Swiss Blasting, and is used exclusively in its own products.

An abbreviation for the name of the explosive hexamethylene triperoxide diamine.

A minute post-blast taggant manufactured by Synthesia, Czech Republic. The taggant is comprised of Urea Formaldehyde Resin, Silicon Oxide, Rhodamin B, Iron, and oxides of metal.

A marker or taggant placed into an explosive material that has utility after an explosion to identify the manufacturer, the date, and shift when it was manufactured. Once this type taggant is located and identified, the information it provides would allow law enforcement to trace all of the same type explosives manufactured on that specific date and shift to all of the legal purchasers.

Any person engaged in the business of importing or bringing explosive materials into the United States for purposes of sale or distribution.

Commerce between any place in a State and any place outside of that State, or within any possession of the United States (not including the Canal Zone) or the District of Columbia, and commerce between places within the same State but through any place outside of that State.

A readily identifiable, mass-enhanced, non-radioactive molecular marker that employs the unique chemical structure of the host product without harm to the quality of the product or the environment.

Required if a person is intending to engage in the business as an explosive materials manufacturer, importer, or dealer and allows a person to transport, ship, and receive explosive materials in interstate or foreign commerce.

Any importer, manufacturer, or dealer licensed under the Federal explosives laws.

Explosives which are characterized by deflagration (a rapid combustion that moves through an explosive material at a velocity less than the speed of sound).

A solid glass ball, 37-840 microns in size, which can be manufactured to contain different chemical compositions to be used as identifiers.

Color-coded, polymer microchip consisting of ten layers including a magnetic layer and a fluorescent layer, which is intended to function as an identification taggant. The chip was developed by the 3M Company, but is now manufactured by Microtrace, Minneapolis, Minnesota, which acquired the rights to production in 1984.

N is one of the three primary plant nutrients, together with phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

For purposes of the AEIR, the category of Other includes: match heads, military explosives (excluding C4 and TNT), improvised mixtures, flares, boosters, detonating cord, gases, blasting caps, PETN, RDX, HMTD, model rocket propellant, and smoke grenades.

A substance, such as a nitrate, that readily yields oxygen or other oxidizing substances to stimulate the combustion of organic matter or other fuel.

Is required if any person intends to acquire for use, explosive materials from a licensee in a State other than the State in which he/she resides, or from a foreign country, or who intends to transport explosive materials in interstate or foreign commerce.

Any person who has obtained a Federal User Permit to acquire, ship, or transport explosive materials in interstate or foreign commerce.

Any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, or joint stock company.

An explosive material intended to produce an audible report and a flash of light when ignited, and typically containing potassium perchlorate, sulfur or antimony sulfide, and aluminum metal.

Any chemical compound or element which can be subjected to a chemical reaction or series of reactions in order to synthesize the chemical compound or element into an explosive compound.

A chemical mixture which, upon burning, produces visible, brilliant displays, bright lights, or sounds.

An abbreviation for the name of the explosive cyclonite, hexogen, T4, cyclo-1,3,5,-trimethylene-2,4,6- trinitramine; hexahydro-1,3,5,-trinitro S-triazine.

Any residual or off specification material which can be recycled within the manufacturing process.

Any of a class of explosive propellants that produce comparatively little smoke on explosion and consist mostly of gelatinized cellulose nitrates.

Any specialty tool used for a particular purpose other than blasting, such as explosive-actuated device (jet-tappers, jet perforators), propellant-actuated power device (construction nail guns), commercial C-4, detasheet, oil well perforating guns, etc.

An explosive material containing substantial portions of a liquid, oxidizer, and fuel, plus a thickener.

A solid, liquid, or vapor emitting substance put into an explosive material for the purposes of detection or identification. Also known as a marker or tracer element.

(For purposes of this report, "tagging" is the act of marking or adding a taggant to an explosive material.)

Triacetone Triperoxide – A highly sensitive primary explosive manufactured from common chemicals such as acetone, peroxide, and acid.

For purposes of the AEIR, the category of Undetermined captures incidents in which fillers could not be identified through laboratory analysis or incomplete data that was reported.

UAN solution is a popular liquid fertilizer in the United States and other industrialized areas.

Any persons who purchase and use explosives within their State of residence and are not Federal licensees or permittees.

An explosive material containing substantial portions of water, oxidizers, and fuel, plus a cross-linking agent which may be a high explosive or blasting agent.

Glossary of Explosives

by Agent Boris_KGB