Introduction -- Black powder -- Black powder guns -- Fulminating compounds -- Guncotton and smokeless powders -- Nitroglycerin -- Picric acid -- Trinitrotoluene -- Tetryl -- Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) -- Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) -- Cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX) -- Hexanitrohexaazaisowurzitane (HNIW or CL-20) -- Triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB) -- Polymer-bonded explosives (PBX) -- Testing explosives -- Insensitive explosives -- Shaped charges -- Types of explosives -- Thermobaric explosives -- Eco-friendly explosives -- High-energy rocket fuels -- A brief history of explosives in the home.
Summary
Field takes readers on a decades-long journey through the history of things that go boom. From the early days of black powder to today's modern plastic explosives, he details now just the who, when, and why, but also the how. He explains how explosives work on a molecular scale, and gives readers a basic understanding of the chemistry that makes them possible.
