can sound trigger and explosion ?

Question

and if so what would be the science behind that?

Answer 1

There are some very unstable chemicals that can be triggered to explode by shock. Picric acid is such a chemical. It can be stored safely dissolved in water, but if the water evaporates, the picric acid forms crystals sensitive to vibration. A loud enough sound could cause some of the molecules to break down explosively, which would set off the rest of them, and the entire mass of crystals would explode.

Answer 2

yes and no. In physics there is a concept known as resonance frequency of an object. A solid object like a wine glass has a certain frequency at which it can vibrate if triggered by something such a a sound. If the amplitude of the sound is increased the vibration will become greater and greater until eventually the integrity of the glass is compromised and the glass shatters. While this principle works on wine glasses and other finely constructed objects, it is difficult to get most objects to resonate, and impossible to produce a typical explosion which would normally require combustion of carbon and oxygen.

Answer 3

Explosive substances are "detonated" by something that shocks them sufficiently. It can be ANYTHING that causes the mass of the explosive to "move" (acruately, accellerate) by a given amount. Makes no difference what causes that movement.

TNT is "safe" because "normal" handling does not accellerate the molecules in a suffuciently short period of time. But it can be detonated by hitting it with a hammer, IFF you can hit it hard enough!

So, YES, sound can detonate an explosive... And has done so in the past with very bad results....

Ron.

Answer 4

well i know that some avalanches are caused by loud bangs, but i dont no the science behind it