ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the detonation mechanism of explosives as well as some basic concepts of thermochemistry. The thermochemistry of explosives refers to the changes of internal energy, mainly in form of heat. The energy stored in an explosive is potential energy, latent or static. The essential objective in the use of explosives for rock breakage consists in having a chemically concentrated energy, properly placed and in sufficient quantity so that when it is liberated in a controlled manner, in time and space, it can achieve the fragmentation of rock material. Commercial explosives are those that are a mixture of compounds, some combustible and some oxidizing which, when properly initiated, have an almost instantaneous exothermic reaction that generates a series of high temperature gaseous products that are chemically more stable and take up a larger volume. To be able to get an idea of the strength of an explosive, a comparison with other sources of energy can be carried out.
