Eli5: why do explosives explode and flammables simply go on fire?

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As the title says, dynamite will explode, but other fuels simply catch on fire. Is there a hidden difference? Or is it simply that one catches on fire more violently?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

So if we are talking explosives like dynamite and grenades those are build to blow up. Cant really talk for how those work exactly. Chemical reactions or pressure overload most likely.

But your question isnt 100% correct. Certain flammable fuels do explode they just have somewhere to go with the explosion. If you look at any video of someone igniting gasoline there is a slight explosion just as they do it. So other fuels do blow up they just arent locked in a small casing thats made to go boom.

This is where we are gonna look at symbols on cans and other things. There are two that have to do with fire, to say something can ignite and to say something can burn. Burning is basically just you can light it on fire if you hold a lighter to it. Igniting is a little diffrent and is what i just described with gas, it doesnt just goes on fire it goes on fire violently(think deodorant)

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