Dave's Informational Explosives Page

NOTE:THIS WEB IS FOR INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY

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This web contains information relevant to the expedient use of demolitions material and the use of explosives.

First and foremost, this page will not contain methods or ways of putting together or building a bomb or other explosive device. If you wish to find out how to do this, don't ask me or even suggest it. I don't care. If you wish to do so, you take into account all legal laws and penalties, and I suggest you contact your Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms(BATF) so that they may have a SWAT team ready to stop you at any costs.

Secondly, the most boring subject but the most important is safety. Safety with explosives in none other than the most dangerous thing that you could be doing if you are to do it wrong. I hope that no one ever attempts to build an improvised device without proper knowledge. Leave building explosives up to the trained professionals which use it for building demolitions, quarrying, building entry, and other special uses. Don't make the lives of some poor Explosives Ordinances Disposal (EOD) Technician bad by building something that you cannot control and have to call in a professional to deal with your mess. Whatever you do, prepare yourself, make sure you are outside away from all forms of life including animals, have a stable benchrest, and have a 55 gallon drum filled with water. The drum can be used to dissipate the explosive force. Always try to know how to stop what you are making before you actually make the damned thing. Anyway, after all that has been said and done, don't just dive in and build some 50 pound C-4 or Semtex charge with a delayed timer thinking it won't do that much damage. Granted 50 pounds of C-4 might not seem like much, it will be a bear to carry and will cause you to have to make a one thousand one hundred foot run to get into a safe distance. 1,100 feet just to be safe from a blast of 50 pounds of explosives. Not to mention if the charge is shaped or directed at something. Then you have to account for the directional blast as well as the all around blast radius.

A few simple facts: For any charge over 500 pounds the way of figuring out the minimum safe distance is 300 feet times the cubed root of the pounds of explosives.

For the safe distance in meters the formula is 100 times the cubed root of the pounds of explosives.

DO NOT use antennea, radios, or anything electrical in the vicinity of a radio controlled or delayed ignition switch. The minimum safe distance for such usage is directly proportional to the wattage of the antennea

Watts                 Meters     Feet

0-30                 30             98.4

30-50                 50             164.1

50-100            110         360.9

100-250        160             524.9

250-500        230             754.6

500-1,000    305             1,000.6

1,000-3,000    480        1,574.8

3000-5000    610             2001.3

5000-20000    915             3001.9

20000-50000    1530        4921.2

50000-100000    3050        9824.1    

This is the minimum safe distance from transmitter antenneas.

Note: When the transmission is a pulsed or pulsed continuous wave type and its pulse width is less

than 10 microseconds, the left hand column indicates average power. For all other transmission, including

those with pulse widths greater than 10 microseconds the left hand column indicates peak power.

A few safety reminders:

1. Safety regulations will be observed in all situations to the fullest extent permitted by time,by materials available,

and by requirements of the mission.

2. Always handle explosives carefully.

3.Responsibility for the preparation, placement, or firing of charges is never to be divided. One person should be responsible

to supervise all phases of a demolition mission.

4.Always know the minimum safe distances for troops in the open.

5.Do not mix explosives and detonators.

6. Destroy misfires with extreme care.

7.Do not take chances.

A simple conversion chart is as follows:

1 meter = 3.28 feet

1 kilogram = 2.20 lbs

1 ft. = .3048 meters

1 lb. = .4536 kilograms

The most common uses for explosives in a field situation is to create or strengthen obstacles. An obstacle is defined as any obstruction that restricts, delays, diverts, or stops movemnent. There are two types of obstacle: Natural and Artificial.

Natural obstacles are natural terrain features such as steep slopes, rivers, gulches, soil conditions, or man-made objects such as canals, embankments, and builtup trees that were not originally erected to serve as obstacles.

Artificial Obstacles are constructed for the express purpose of stopping or impeding military movement, including such obstacles as demolished bridges, roadblocks, minefields, or flooded areas due to destroyed dams.