CLASSIFICATION	EXPLOSIVE	COLOR	USES	RATE OF DETONATION	REMARKS
Low Explosives	Black Powder	Black, gray or cocoa brown	Safety fuze, Muzzle loaders	1,312 feet per second	very sensitive to friction heat and shock
	Smokeless Powder	Light brown to black	Small arms, mortars, rockets	Rapid burning	very sensitive to friction heat and shock
Primary Explosives	Lead Azide	White to buff gray	Detonators, priming compositions	13,400 to 17,000 feet per second	very sensitive to friction heat and shock
	Lead Styphnate	White to buff gray	Priming compositions	17,100 Feet per second	very sensitive to friction heat and shock
	Mercury Fulminate	Light orange to reddish brown	Detonators, priming compositions	11,500 to 21,100 feet per second	very sensitive to friction heat and shock
	Tetracene	Pale yellow	Detonators, priming compositions	Less than 13,100 feet per second	sensitive to shock and heat.  Used in combination with other explosives
Secondary Explosives	Amatol	Buff to yellow to dark brown	Main charge for bombs, projectiles	14,800 to 21,100 feet per second	Developed during WWII to conserve TNT
	Ammonal	Gray	Projectile filler	17,700 feet per second	water soluable
	Ammonium Nitrate	White but may be dyed other colors	Ingredient of many explosive mixtures	3,300 to 8,200 feet per second	Must be kept cool
	Ammonium Picrate	yellow to orange to red	Armor piercing projectiles and bombs	22,500 feet per second	Relatively insensitive to shock and friction
	Astrolite	White pellets	Demolition	2,600 to 26, 200 feet per second	Inert until mixed.   Do not use with Tetryl
	C-4	White to light brown	Plastic demolition explosive	26,400 feet per second	Insensitive to impact and friction
	Cyclotol	Buff to yellow to brown	Fragmentation bombs, projectiles	25,900 to 26,400 feet per second	Excellent for blast effects
	Flex-x	any color--Usually olive drab or red	Cutting charges	22,300 feet per second	Flexible, waterproof, insensitve to shock
Secondary Explosives	HBX (Torpex)	Gray	Main charge filler for underwater bombs and torpedoes	22,700 to 23,700 feet per second	Excellent for blast effects
	HMX	White	Mixed with TNT in high blast warheads	29,900 feet per second	By product of RDX manufacture
	Kinepak	Powder is white, the liquid is usually pink	Construction	20,100 feet per second	Inert until mixed
	Minol	gray	Filler for bombs and depth charges	19,100 to 19,700 feet per second	Comparable to TNT in sensitivity to initiation
	Nitro-Cellulose	White	Blasting, smokeless powder	21,900 feet per second	Used in flashless powder
	Nitro-glycerin	Clear to amber.   Red fumes mean "Beware"	Demolition, ingredient in dynamite	4,900 to 25,400 feet per second	Can be absorbed through skin causing headache
Secondary Explosives	Nitro-guanidine	White to yellow	Propellant and bursting charge ingredient	25,100 feet per second	One of the least sensitive military explosives
	Nitro-starch	white	Mortar shells, grenades	16,00 feet per second	Another form of Nitro-cellulose
	Octol	Buff	Projectile and bomb filler	27,500 to 28,300 feet per second	Excellent for blast effects
	Pentolite	White to yellow to gray	Shape charges, boosters	24,500 feet per second	Presence of   grit increases impact sensitivity
	PETN	white unless dyed	Det cord, blasting caps, primer	27,200 feet per second	Presence of  grit increases impact sensitivity
	Picratol	Yellow to brownish yellow	Armor piercing projectiles and bombs	22,900 feet per second	Insensitive to initiation
Secondary Explosives	Picric acid	Cream to yellow to red	Alternative filler	19,00 feet per second	Dangerous when it deteriorates
	RDX	White but may be dyed	Det cord, blasting caps, used to make C-4	26,800 feet per second	Not used much until WWII
	Tetryl	Clear to yellow to gray	Booster, blasting caps	25,800 feet per second	Colors skin reddish brown and causes rash
	Tetrytol	Light yellow to buff	Bursters, demolition blocks	24,000 to 24,200 feet per second	Similar to TNT and Tetryl
	TNT	Light yellow to brown to light gray	Bombs, projectiles, demolition	21,800 to 22,400 feet per second	Standard with which all other explosives are measured
	Torpex	Gray	Depth charges, mines	24,600 feet per second	Excellent for blast effects
	Tritonal	Silvergray	Bombs	21,200 to 22,000 feet per second	More powerful and more sensitive to shock than TNT
	Dynamite	There are hundreds of formulas for dynamite and there is no set standard for detonation speed,   color, or  size.   Dynamite with nitroglycerin as an ingredient is becoming rare.   Nitroglycerin dynamite will crystalize after a long period of storage.   A sudden temperature difference of 3 degrees can cause these crystals to detonate without warning.

Bombs, explode, explosions, potassium, nitrate, nitro, nitro glycerin, dynamite, bang, boom, pipe bomb, illegal explosives, fireworks, hand grenade, mortar, bazooka, anti-personnel, shrapnel, sulfuric acid, C-4, plastic explosive,TNT, picric acid, anarchists cookbook, poor mans james bond, time bomb, detonate, deflagrate, time fuse, detcord, det chord, det cord, kinepac, kinestick, ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, black powder, nitric acid, smokeless powder, PETN,Commercial high explosives almost always require a sudden shock (such as a blasting cap) to start the explosion.   They are made this way because far too many people were killed in accidental explosions when they were using the earlier sensitive explosives.    Commercial high explosives will detonate (explode) between 3,300 feet per second and 30,000 feet per second.   If they explode (deflagrate) below 3,300 feet per second, then they are called low explosives.     Low explosives usually do not require a blasting cap because they explode by burning very fast.    Low explosives (fireworks, gunpowders) are more dangerous and cause more injuries than high explosives because low explosives are sensitive to heat, friction, static electricity, and shock.   Home made explosives can be high or low explosives but they are usually sensitive to heat, friction, static electricity and shock.   RDX, semtec, blow up, terrorist, lead azide, mercury fulminate, ANFO, booby trap, permanganate, hypochlorite, oxidizer, detonation, explosion, sulfur, redstone, bomb technician, improvised device, homemade explosives, homemade explosive, car bomb, EOD, explosive ordinance disposal, HDS, explosives, training

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