Contact explosive

A contact explosive is any chemical substance that will explode when relatively small quantities of energy are applied to it, whether that be heat, light, sound, or physical pressure.

Examples include:

Compound	Sensitivity	Sensitive to
Acetone peroxide	High	Heat, flame, shock, friction
Chlorine azide	Extreme	Friction, shock
Fulminates, such as silver fulminate and mercury fulminate	Very high	Static, heat, flame, shock
Lead azide	Very high	Shock, static
Nitrogen triiodide	Extreme	Shock, alpha radiation
Nitroglycerin	Very high	Shock, friction
Picric acid (dry)	High	Shock, friction
Tetrasulfur tetranitride	Moderate	Shock, friction
Flash powder (containing sulfur or chlorates)	High	Static, flame, friction
Silver nitride	Extreme	Shock

See also

• Shock sensitivity

External links

• List of shock-sensitive materials