ABSTRACT
Explosives Since the first modern armies met on the battlefield in the Byzantine Empire, leaders have attempted to gain an advantage using superior firepower over their enemies. Explosives could provide that advantage. Dynamite was one of the first high explosive materials developed, not for the battlefield, but for construction to clear rock and large parcels of land. Dynamite did, however, lead to more effective explosives such as Semtex and C-4, which are used for military and terrorism purposes. Explosives in the United States are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) in fixed storage and the Department of Transportation when in transit. The first Department of Transportation/ United Nations (DOT/UN) hazard class deals with explosives. The DOT defines an explosive in 49 CFR 173.50 as “any substance or article, including a device, which is designed to function by explosion or which, by chemical reaction within itself, is able to function in a similar manner even if not designed to function by explosion.” This definition applies only to chemicals designed to create explosions. Another definition, taken from the National Fire Academy Tactical Considerations Student Manual, is “a substance or a mixture of substances, which, when subjected to heat, impact, friction, or other suitable initial impulse, undergoes a very rapid chemical transformation, forming other, more stable, products entirely or largely gaseous, whose combined volume is much greater than the original substance.”
