eli5 why do fuses for explosives stay lit underwater?

Question

I’ve seen videos of people throwing firecrackers and dynamite and things like that into water and they still explode, but how do the fuses stay lit?

In: 128

Answer 1

Safety fuses, invented in the early 1800s, consist of a core of gunpowder wrapped in some sort of waterproof material, originally something called jute rope, but later replaced with other more reliable materials. Gunpowder contains it’s own oxidizer, so it will burn underwater so long as it stays dry.