BRKG Massive Explosion in Beirut

jward said:

We have a woman who's daughter is near by as well, I've held them in prayers, and hope they've escaped physical harm. No escaping psychological and emotional, of course, that is just too devestating a scene, even to watch from here : (

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Laurie the mom posted this on another thread, I'm sure she could use our prayers for her daughter
Very large explosion in the Beirut port area a few minutes ago. (Daughter lives a little bit south of there.)

Laurie

AlfaMan said:

Funny you mention that-had a similar dream twice in the past week or so. Never held much stock in interpreting dreams (I was also shot in the head and died in one dream-that one woke me up) but they were like I was living a PONAST study. That and the 2008 report on hospitals in major cities after attack. These dreams made Threads look like a child's TV show.

That being said; hearing it was a storage and transshipment point for Hezbollah missiles that went up. Small rockets but lots of them. And explosives for the warheads in the same facility. The ammonium nitrate was just an add to the party favors.

Oh, and it's REAAAAALLLLL quiet in my area this evening.

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I have a gut feeling the USA is going to get dragged into this crap somehow and we will be the one they pile on. The veil is getting thinner and dreams are getting more realistic.

Seeker22 said:

Serious question if you care to answer: What would one thousand nukes do to the USA? What would they use? Who all would jump on us? Thank you for your response.

Click to expand...

Most cannot grasp what a total nuclear war really means. Once nuclear war starts, it will not be limited.

Weapons: ICBM's, bombers and hidden nukes. Main adversaries: China and Russia. Iran could be the cause for total nuclear war by attacking Israeli and using hidden nukes on America, Russia and China. Don't forget NK.

In America, there are approximately 780 cities of 50,000 or more population. The number of military bases is dependent on size and capabilities but approximately 192 targets. Many bases are located in or near the 780 cities.

1,000 nuclear weapons probably averaging over 40kt across America. This would be a total attack to destroy America. Under such an attack, the nuclear explosions will be at ground level creating more fallout.

• Tens of millions if not over a 100 million killed by the initial attack.
• More will be injured from flash burns, blindness, radioactive impact, blown and fallen objects and buried in the debris with no help coming.
• The injured and uninjured coming out of the nuclear explosion areas will be horrific. Dead will litter the roads, rivers and fields.
• Medical care will fail.
• Utilities will fail.
• Unprotected electric systems and electronics will fail.
• Transportation will fail.
• Food will disappear.
• Fuel will disappear.
• Manufacturing will fail.
• People will fight for clean water and food and most will die or be killed.
• Depending on air patterns, the fallout will spread causing more death and destruction.
• There would probably be several of the nuclear weapons used to create EMP.
• There would probably be several nukes used on Yellow Stone and other volcanoes and on Cape Verde Island Fogo Volcano. If the Yellow Stone Caldera explodes, middle America will be covered in ash. If the Fogo Volcano is nuked, this would create a tsunami along the eastern seaboard and completely across Florida.
• With an untold number of nuclear explosions across the world, what will happen to the ring of fire and other volcanic areas?

Such an attack would result in the destruction of America. America will respond like and kind to all of our enemies with an untold amount of fallout and debris thrown into the air. Nuclear winter will rampage across the globe.

There will be very few nations that are not nuked for under this scenario all major cities across the world will be nuked so all nations have to rise from the ashes and failures of everything if they can arise, but probably not.

To survive if at all possible, you would need: a fallout shelter, two to three year food supply, clean water supply, medical supplies, means to heat, means to keep what you have and means to farm. Location will be paramount as to possibility to survive.

There will be very few that survive for any time if at all.

Would you really want to survive to struggle to live in what is left and watch your loved ones die slowly?

All out nuclear war will destroy the world.

Texican....

Seeker22 said:

I have a gut feeling the USA is going to get dragged into this crap somehow and we will be the one they pile on. The veil is getting thinner and dreams are getting more realistic.

Click to expand...

I wish mine were. I dreamed 2 nights ago that my parents (both long gone) appeared in my dream and left two lottery tickets on my dresser. Haven't bought them yet. I never dream about my parents so that was kinda special.

Pinecone said:

Is REAAAALLLLLL quiet worse than lights on all night?

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Outside Lights go off at the WH at 11pm. The realllll quiet part is no choppers or air traffic of any kind for a while now. Think those that needed to hunker may already be hunkered. That's what I mean by reallll quiet.

Also, just watched the video Marymonde posted. Is it just me or did that explosion look eerily similar to a FAE (fuel air explosion)? Was there fuel storage facilities in the area? The explosion looked like a fog of something (too light to be airborne debris, debris in that cloud would make it appear darker)just before it went off. The slap of the shockwave hitting the cameraman also sounded pretty "crisp"-like a FAE explosion.
Don't know but that's what it looked like to me.

Texican said:

Most cannot grasp what a total nuclear war really means. Once nuclear war starts, it will not be limited.

Weapons: ICBM's, bombers and hidden nukes. Main adversaries: China and Russia. Iran could be the cause for total nuclear war by attacking Israeli and using hidden nukes on America, Russia and China. Don't forget NK.

In America, there are approximately 780 cities of 50,000 or more population. The number of military bases is dependent on size and capabilities but approximately 192 targets. Many bases are located in or near the 780 cities.

1,000 nuclear weapons probably averaging over 40kt across America. This would be a total attack to destroy America. Under such an attack, the nuclear explosions will be at ground level creating more fallout.

• Tens of millions if not over a 100 million killed by the initial attack.
• More will be injured from flash burns, blindness, radioactive impact, blown and fallen objects and buried in the debris with no help coming.
• The injured and uninjured coming out of the nuclear explosion areas will be horrific. Dead will litter the roads, rivers and fields.
• Medical care will fail.
• Utilities will fail.
• Unprotected electric systems and electronics will fail.
• Transportation will fail.
• Food will disappear.
• Fuel will disappear.
• Manufacturing will fail.
• People will fight for clean water and food and most will die or be killed.
• Depending on air patterns, the fallout will spread causing more death and destruction.
• There would probably be several of the nuclear weapons used to create EMP.
• There would probably be several nukes used on Yellow Stone and other volcanoes and on Cape Verde Island Fogo Volcano. If the Yellow Stone Caldera explodes, middle America will be covered in ash. If the Fogo Volcano is nuked, this would create a tsunami along the eastern seaboard and completely across Florida.
• With an untold number of nuclear explosions across the world, what will happen to the ring of fire and other volcanic areas?

Such an attack would result in the destruction of America. America will respond like and kind to all of our enemies with an untold amount of fallout and debris thrown into the air. Nuclear winter will rampage across the globe.

There will be very few nations that are not nuked for under this scenario all major cities across the world will be nuked so all nations have to rise from the ashes and failures of everything if they can arise, but probably not.

To survive if at all possible, you would need: a fallout shelter, two to three year food supply, clean water supply, medical supplies, means to heat, means to keep what you have and means to farm. Location will be paramount as to possibility to survive.

There will be very few that survive for any time if at all.

Would you really want to survive to struggle to live in what is left and watch your loved ones die slowly?

All out nuclear war will destroy the world.

Texican....

Click to expand...

Your post reads like a version of the FEMA TR-80? TR-90 targeting report. Quite frightening but very accurate.

Keep your Cresson Kearny books close, folks!

Now that Post 443 has given you the bad news on Nuculear War, go to: TECH - Lockheed C-130 Hercules airlifter modified with the addition of rocket engines Post #16, Shane's post and read ALL of the links in his SIGline. It'll take a while so git youseff a late-night coffee and settle in for the reading.

Still smoking. One of the most hideous pictures I've ever seen:



If you want to see the last pic really, really big, click here:

View: https://twitter.com/sehnaoui/status/1290847255516393474/photo/3

Texican said:

Most cannot grasp what a total nuclear war really means. Once nuclear war starts, it will not be limited.

Weapons: ICBM's, bombers and hidden nukes. Main adversaries: China and Russia. Iran could be the cause for total nuclear war by attacking Israeli and using hidden nukes on America, Russia and China. Don't forget NK.

In America, there are approximately 780 cities of 50,000 or more population. The number of military bases is dependent on size and capabilities but approximately 192 targets. Many bases are located in or near the 780 cities.

1,000 nuclear weapons probably averaging over 40kt across America. This would be a total attack to destroy America. Under such an attack, the nuclear explosions will be at ground level creating more fallout.

• Tens of millions if not over a 100 million killed by the initial attack.
• More will be injured from flash burns, blindness, radioactive impact, blown and fallen objects and buried in the debris with no help coming.
• The injured and uninjured coming out of the nuclear explosion areas will be horrific. Dead will litter the roads, rivers and fields.
• Medical care will fail.
• Utilities will fail.
• Unprotected electric systems and electronics will fail.
• Transportation will fail.
• Food will disappear.
• Fuel will disappear.
• Manufacturing will fail.
• People will fight for clean water and food and most will die or be killed.
• Depending on air patterns, the fallout will spread causing more death and destruction.
• There would probably be several of the nuclear weapons used to create EMP.
• There would probably be several nukes used on Yellow Stone and other volcanoes and on Cape Verde Island Fogo Volcano. If the Yellow Stone Caldera explodes, middle America will be covered in ash. If the Fogo Volcano is nuked, this would create a tsunami along the eastern seaboard and completely across Florida.
• With an untold number of nuclear explosions across the world, what will happen to the ring of fire and other volcanic areas?

Such an attack would result in the destruction of America. America will respond like and kind to all of our enemies with an untold amount of fallout and debris thrown into the air. Nuclear winter will rampage across the globe.

There will be very few nations that are not nuked for under this scenario all major cities across the world will be nuked so all nations have to rise from the ashes and failures of everything if they can arise, but probably not.

To survive if at all possible, you would need: a fallout shelter, two to three year food supply, clean water supply, medical supplies, means to heat, means to keep what you have and means to farm. Location will be paramount as to possibility to survive.

There will be very few that survive for any time if at all.

Would you really want to survive to struggle to live in what is left and watch your loved ones die slowly?

All out nuclear war will destroy the world.

Texican....

Click to expand...

I know a lot of this, but wanted a new perspective. Thank you for the time and effort you put into my question. I can't disagree with a single word.

mzkitty said:

Yeah, I remember the West Fertilizer explosion in Texas. We posted on it. That was psycho too:

View attachment 212684

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The fertilizer plant was originally constructed outside of the City of West, Texas. The town grew to and around the plant.
West Fertilizer Company explosion

On April 17, 2013, an ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas, eighteen miles north of Waco, while emergency services personnel were responding to an arson fire at the facility. Fifteen people were killed, more than 160 were injured, and more than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed.Wikipedia

Sad situation.

Stopped many times in West on the way from Austin to Dallas.

Texican....

Texican said:

Most cannot grasp what a total nuclear war really means. Once nuclear war starts, it will not be limited.

Weapons: ICBM's, bombers and hidden nukes. Main adversaries: China and Russia. Iran could be the cause for total nuclear war by attacking Israeli and using hidden nukes on America, Russia and China. Don't forget NK.

In America, there are approximately 780 cities of 50,000 or more population. The number of military bases is dependent on size and capabilities but approximately 192 targets. Many bases are located in or near the 780 cities.

1,000 nuclear weapons probably averaging over 40kt across America. This would be a total attack to destroy America. Under such an attack, the nuclear explosions will be at ground level creating more fallout.

• Tens of millions if not over a 100 million killed by the initial attack.
• More will be injured from flash burns, blindness, radioactive impact, blown and fallen objects and buried in the debris with no help coming.
• The injured and uninjured coming out of the nuclear explosion areas will be horrific. Dead will litter the roads, rivers and fields.
• Medical care will fail.
• Utilities will fail.
• Unprotected electric systems and electronics will fail.
• Transportation will fail.
• Food will disappear.
• Fuel will disappear.
• Manufacturing will fail.
• People will fight for clean water and food and most will die or be killed.
• Depending on air patterns, the fallout will spread causing more death and destruction.
• There would probably be several of the nuclear weapons used to create EMP.
• There would probably be several nukes used on Yellow Stone and other volcanoes and on Cape Verde Island Fogo Volcano. If the Yellow Stone Caldera explodes, middle America will be covered in ash. If the Fogo Volcano is nuked, this would create a tsunami along the eastern seaboard and completely across Florida.
• With an untold number of nuclear explosions across the world, what will happen to the ring of fire and other volcanic areas?

Such an attack would result in the destruction of America. America will respond like and kind to all of our enemies with an untold amount of fallout and debris thrown into the air. Nuclear winter will rampage across the globe.

There will be very few nations that are not nuked for under this scenario all major cities across the world will be nuked so all nations have to rise from the ashes and failures of everything if they can arise, but probably not.

To survive if at all possible, you would need: a fallout shelter, two to three year food supply, clean water supply, medical supplies, means to heat, means to keep what you have and means to farm. Location will be paramount as to possibility to survive.

There will be very few that survive for any time if at all.

Would you really want to survive to struggle to live in what is left and watch your loved ones die slowly?

All out nuclear war will destroy the world.

Texican....

Click to expand...

But, will Facebood survive? And can I still get chicken nuggets??

marymonde said:

Here is a different angle. Go through the comments, someone captured the image on a still shot. There definitely a dark object with some sort of reflection.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290732594523525120

View: https://twitter.com/itsabouttime45/status/1290732594523525120?s=21

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Look at the 12 second point and see the large black bird fling across the screen.

Texican....

blackjeep said:

And can I still get chicken nuggets??

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Kill anything that moves. Rumor has it, it all tastes like chicken.

Housecarl said:

That would imply the AN in that warehouse was literally one fart away from going off on its own.

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I don't know how, or if, the AN fit into the "attack" on the stored iran missle items. His focus was on how they "burned" much of the warheads and HMX fuel instead of detonating them. If you didn't, it's worth reading his entire twitter link on this.

OMG, the people in this apartment. Scream, scream, scream:



Video:

Reuters
@Reuters
3m

Toll expected to rise in blast that shook Beirut, killing 78 and injuring thousands https://reut.rs/2Pqp8QA

Seeker22 said:

It might have been, but somebody needs to clean up Netanyahu's Twiitter account because that can be easily misconstrued to mean what we thought it meant. That they bombed the crap out of Beiruit.

Click to expand...

They wouldn't if people would pay attention to how many hours ago the tweet had been made and/or timestamp and compare it to the time of the explosion. It also helps to read the tweet threads and any articles containing the statements.

The PMs tweet was made several hours before the Beirut explosion even happened.
The blast happened a little after 6 PM in Beirut. (same time zone as Israel)
The tweet was posted at 2:08 PM Israel time. (timestamp time is showing 6:08 AM in CDT and they are 8 hours ahead of Central time in US)

View: https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1290605486493126656



PM of Israel
@IsraeliPM

Prime Minister Netanyahu toured the command center of the task force on cutting the chain of infection at IDF Home Front Command HQ in Ramla and held an assessment and discussions on the IDFHFC efforts to assist in the fight against the coronavirus. https://gov.il/en/departments/news/event_hfc040820

6:08 AM · Aug 4, 2020·Twitter Web App
View: https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1290605486493126656/retweets/with_comments




PM of Israel
@IsraeliPM
·
16h

Replying to
@IsraeliPM
PM Netanyahu: “I have just finished a tour of IDFHFC along with the Defense Minister. I was deeply impressed by the industrial enterprise here for cutting the chain of infection. Great efforts are being made here.


PM of Israel
@IsraeliPM
·
16h

There is full coordination with the Health Ministry and, of course, with national coronavirus project manager Prof. Gamzu. They are working together, coordinating with mayors, and trying to create – the ability of cutting the chain of infection at a high level, with great scope.


PM of Israel
@IsraeliPM
·
16h

PM Netanyahu: "The level of morbidity is high; we must lower it and we will lower it with joint efforts. We will reach the situation in which we can locate infected people and prevent continued morbidity; this is the goal.


PM of Israel
@IsraeliPM
·
16h

There are dates, goals and excellent people here, including commanders and reservists, in a major, impressive and good effort.



PM of Israel
@IsraeliPM
·
16h

Prime Minister Netanyahu: “We hit a cell and now we hit the dispatchers. We will do what is necessary in order to defend ourselves. I suggest to all of them, including Hezbollah, to consider this.



PM of Israel
@IsraeliPM
·
16h

PM Netanyahu: "These are not vain words; they have the weight of the State of Israel and the IDF behind them and this should be taken seriously.”

Seeker22 said:

I have a gut feeling the USA is going to get dragged into this crap somehow and we will be the one they pile on. The veil is getting thinner and dreams are getting more realistic.

Click to expand...

Well we're already "in it" and unfortunately I expect this at some point to fully ignite.

Peter said:

My understanding is that the context was in regards to a different event?

Click to expand...

I have been wondering how long before someone would point that out.
You are correct.

Seeker22 said:

I dreamed it two days ago.

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People should stop and take a breath. There is no immediate reason to think this is going to ignite any larger conflict than is already going on in the Middle East. It's possible Israel did this, and likely they will be blamed for it by the rabble rousers. But the major players probably have a much better idea than we do, and none of the major players is interested in a larger war.

bw said:

People should stop and take a breath. There is no immediate reason to think this is going to ignite any larger conflict than is already going on in the Middle East. It's possible Israel did this, and likely they will be blamed for it by the rabble rousers. But the major players probably have a much better idea than we do, and none of the major players is interested in a larger war.

Click to expand...

Iran, Turkey and the PRC are all ramping up the tension for their own internal reasons, any of which could go well beyond the Guns of August 1914 with just one miscalculation.

jward said:

We have a woman who's daughter is near by as well, I've held them in prayers, and hope they've escaped physical harm. No escaping psychological and emotional, of course, that is just too devestating a scene, even to watch from here : (

Click to expand...

She posted earlier on this thread. I will have to look back to see what her name is. Prayed for her daughter...and her.

jward said:

I've seen speculation it was rocket fuel, by those who usually know what they're speaking of... last I saw there was no evidence of nuclear fallout and readings remained normal.

ETA:

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Octanitrocubane is the explosive with the highest detonation speed. Over 10,000 m/sec I believe.

Link to more than you ever wanted to know about what it takes for ammonium nitrate to detonate.

Thousands of tons of Ammonium Nitrate next to a fireworks storehouse on fire and a possible Hezbolah missile factory with very high explosive warheads hidden in this mess.
What could go wrong?

packyderms_wife said:

If you slow it to frame by frame you can see the missile coming up out of that neighborhood and going directly into the smoke and then boom.

Click to expand...

How do you do that? I've never known you could control playback speed on a twitter video other than by repeatedly hitting pause/ play.

Occam's razor never has a chance here

Seeker22 said:

Miss Kitty, honey, go wash your hand after slapping that.

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HAHAHA! SEEKER! I love you!

The missing fire crew:

Countrymouse said:

How do you do that? I've never known you could control playback speed on a twitter video other than by repeatedly hitting pause/ play.

Click to expand...

CM,

Pull up the video then start it and then stop it. Then put your pointer over the video line and move it slowly forward and backward to look at each frame of the video.

Texican....

Jeffrey Lewis


@ArmsControlWonk

The bags say "NITROPRILL HD," which may be a knock-off of Nitropril made by Orica. Orica sets the TNT equivalence for fire at 15 percent. .15 x 2750 = 412.5 One more data point that suggests the explosion was a few hundred tons.



Jeffrey Lewis
@ArmsControlWonk
4h

Replying to
@ArmsControlWonk
Here are two fact sheets. 15 percent is described as conservative for safety purposes, which means that 400 tons is an upper limit, not a best guess.


Er, 20 percent for bags. .2 x 2750 = 550. Different number, same bottom line.




Bronco

@Verylongrange

Replying to
@ArmsControlWonk
A NH4NO3 explosion requires three (3) things: (1) compression of the NH4NO3, (2) *fuel.* (usually diesel fuel), (3) a high explosive detonator. (Firecrackers won't do it!) Also, and most importantly, NH4NO3 smoke is not red, but nitric acid smoke is.
Replying to
@Verylongrange
and
@ArmsControlWonk
We also need to be thinking about a, "high-order NH4NO3 *detonated* explosion" vs. a low-order NH4NO3 explosion." In both cases the NH4NO3 explodes, but they are two *very different* things. This was *very clearly* a high-order detonated explosion.
Replying to
@Verylongrange
and
@ArmsControlWonk
Wikipedia has a great article on this subject. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_

TerryK said:

Octanitrocubane is the explosive with the highest detonation speed. Over 10,000 m/sec I believe.

Link to more than you ever wanted to know about what it takes for ammonium nitrate to detonate.

https://www.osmre.gov/resources/blasting/docs/USBM/RI6773ExplosionHazardsAmmoniumNitrateUnderFireExposure.pdf

Thousands of tons of Ammonium Nitrate next to a fireworks storehouse on fire and a possible Hezbolah missile factory hidden in this mess.
What could go wrong?

Click to expand...

I havent been sleeping or eating to speak of lately, so will just leave the math on the table for any well fed brains that wish to do their own assessments :: shrug :: I still don't know what was done to manipulate what into the event that occurred, nor by whom. I do know though it's a damn shame, and there are far better ways to spend the gift of life than stealing it from one another.

TerryK said:

Actually Ammonium nitrate, especially in the presence of fuel is classified as a high order explosive. It can detonate rather than explode in a pressure sensitive burn.
Examples of HE include TNT, C-4, Semtex, nitroglycerin, dynamite, and ammonium nitrate fuel oil

Having thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port for over 7 years as admitted by Lebanon officials themselves was beyond stupid/

Click to expand...

Ammonium nitrate is very hyroscopic and must be kept dry to maintain its effectiveness as a component of explosives. Those bags of AN shown in the pictures of the pre-blast warehouse are
anything but air tight.

You can readily see the moisture content in the air as the blast wave blows outward from the explosion. It is what created the hazy fog during the initial few seconds. As the blast wave moves out and away the air becomes clear revealing the debris cloud.

Too, for there to have been an AN explosion only the fertilizer would have to have been stored under pressure. By the pictures shown it clearly wasn’t. It was stored in dense, woven material like tyvek or nylon bags in an open warehouse at the mercy of ambient temperature and humidity conditions.

As you quote “ammonium nitrate/fuel oil” can detonate in a pressure sensitive burn which is ANFO not straight AN. ANFO does not have the brisance of a high order explosive such as RDX, Semtex, or the ever popular C4. It’s good for blasting stumps, mild rock such as slate or shale but it cannot create a blast or pressure wave that traveled as fast, or was as destructive for such long distances, as what is shown in all the videos. There was something else being stored there in that warehouse and the Lebanese are using the AN story as a cover.

AlfaMan said:

(I was also shot in the head and died in one dream-that one woke me up)

Click to expand...

Me Too!

Which proved to me that it is only myth that if you die in your dreams, you die in the real world

Last night in Beirut:

Another thread by Osweda ref explosion:

Texican said:

Look at the 12 second point and see the large black bird fling across the screen.

Texican....

Click to expand...

There are birds... Ignore them. That isn't what you are watching for...

At the 5-6 second mark, you will see a cylindrical object coming in from the left, right along the power lines and near the top right interior area of the blue circle...

anney said:

If watch at the 7 second mark, you will something come from the left. Not sure what it is but interesting.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290775202725613570

View: https://twitter.com/jkdubai1/status/1290775202725613570?s=21

Click to expand...

bw said:

People should stop and take a breath. There is no immediate reason to think this is going to ignite any larger conflict than is already going on in the Middle East. It's possible Israel did this, and likely they will be blamed for it by the rabble rousers. But the major players probably have a much better idea than we do, and none of the major players is interested in a larger war.

Click to expand...

Funny thing about war...

It really doesn't care what "major players" are interested in.

TerryK said:

Octanitrocubane is the explosive with the highest detonation speed. Over 10,000 m/sec I believe.

Link to more than you ever wanted to know about what it takes for ammonium nitrate to detonate.

https://www.osmre.gov/resources/blasting/docs/USBM/RI6773ExplosionHazardsAmmoniumNitrateUnderFireExposure.pdf

Click to expand...

Thank you for this.

My daddy left on our farm an old sack of what he called "soda" and put about 1/4 teaspoon next to each of his corn plants (not "right" next to them--about 6 inches away---otherwise it would "burn" them). He called this "side-dressing" the corn.

After his death, I realized one day the "soda" he used was a sack of .. ammonium nitrate.

I've only got about a peck-bucket's worth left--but yes, it has solidified--hard as rock. But you can still break bits of it off, for use as "side-dressing" in the spring. Cant' leave it on iron tools, though---must wash if off or it rusts them. It will burn your hands if you handle it with bare skin. White as snow...

Asked our local fire dept about it, but they said it's safe as long as I don't mix it with something (like kerosene, such as at the McMurrah bldg) but if I wanted to get rid of it just put it in the garbage to be hauled away (?!?)

Ping Jockey said:

Ammonium nitrate is very hyroscopic and must be kept dry to maintain its effectiveness as a component of explosives. Those bags of AN shown in the pictures of the pre-blast warehouse are
anything but air tight.

You can readily see the moisture content in the air as the blast wave blows outward from the explosion. It is what created the hazy fog during the initial few seconds. As the blast wave moves out and away the air becomes clear revealing the debris cloud.

Too, for there to have been an AN explosion only the fertilizer would have to have been stored under pressure. By the pictures shown it clearly wasn’t. It was stored in dense, woven material like tyvek or nylon bags in an open warehouse at the mercy of ambient temperature and humidity conditions.

As you quote “ammonium nitrate/fuel oil” can detonate in a pressure sensitive burn which is ANFO not straight AN. ANFO does not have the brisance of a high order explosive such as RDX, Semtex, or the ever popular C4. It’s good for blasting stumps, mild rock such as slate or shale but it cannot create a blast or pressure wave that traveled as fast, or was as destructive for such long distances, as what is shown in all the videos. There was something else being stored there in that warehouse and the Lebanese are using the AN story as a cover.

Click to expand...

All the above is true for stump charges and truck bombs.
Not for ships and building on fire and loaded with thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate. The huge explosions on ships in Halifax and Texas City and in railroad cars did not have the ammonium nitrate under pressure. Nor I believe any special detonators.
Fire raises the ease of detonation for ammonium nitrate as the temperature increases.
The formula for explosive decomposition is 2NH4NO3 → 2N2 + O2 + 4H2O
Plenty of vaporized water produced, plus the explosion happened on the water front, also plenty of water.
The expanding white bubble was the shock wave causing condensation in the air. It quickly dissipates.

The detonation velocity of ammonium nitrate with a density near 0.8 is around 10,000 feet per second. Ammonium nitrate with a density near 1.2 may have a velocity of 15,000 feet per second. It's not the highest order explosive, but it is still classified as a high explosive.

It also makes a cold pack when the ampule inside the plastic pouch is crushed and the ammonium nitrate mixes with water.

You can make it at home with commonly available materials but it is difficult.
Ammonium Nitrate in fertilizer in the US is no longer useful to make explosives due to impurities added to it to make it virtually non explosive.

Here is an article that describes the observable effects of the explosion.
Here’s what the videos of the Beirut blast tell us about the explosion

By
Alex Horton
August 4, 2020 at 7:35 p.m. EDT
The massive explosions in a Beirut port on Tuesday provoked fear, then speculation after an eerie, white cloud enveloped the lenses of bystander videos, with many suggesting online that it looked something like a nuclear blast.

But the building consensus among arms experts and Lebanese officials is that the explosion, which killed at least 63 people and injured thousands more, may have been ignited by burning chemicals stored at a warehouse.
Many not accustomed to seeing large explosions may conflate mushroom clouds and spherical blast waves as nuclear, said Jeffrey Lewis, an arms-control expert and professor at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. “But some of the things we associate with nuclear explosions are just associated with explosions.”

Maybe the first #Beirut explosion was fireworks. The second...pic.twitter.com/RPapULgIMi
— Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) August 4, 2020

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Few things can be concluded from the videos, including some filmed before the bigger of the blasts, which Lewis said may have begun when munitions in storage caught fire.
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A rising cloud of white smoke featured crackling and bright pops consistent with when small munitions — rockets, for instance — begin cooking off, he said.
Then a fireball erupts, followed by an orb of white that quickly expands from the blast zone. That is the pressure of the shock wave condensing the moisture in the air, he said.
Brian Castner, a former Air Force bomb technician and investigator at Amnesty International, echoed that on Twitter, saying the shock wave “is visible in the humid air.”
Lebanese Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi said it appeared that stocks of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can be used in bombmaking, had exploded.

The telltale signs of ignited ammonium — reddish smoke — spewed from the blast, Lewis said. The color is consistent with the chemical compound and comes from nitrogen oxides, the byproduct of which gives smog its reddish-brown tones.

Stunning video shows explosions just minutes ago at Beirut port pic.twitter.com/ZjltF0VcTr
— Borzou Daragahi (@borzou) August 4, 2020

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Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab linked the explosions to dangerous stocks of chemicals that had been stored at the port since 2014, despite warnings from port officials that the material was not safe.
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“I promise you that this catastrophe will not pass without accountability. … Those responsible will pay the price,” he said in a televised speech. “Facts about this dangerous warehouse that has been there since 2014 will be announced and I will not preempt the investigations.”

Around 2,700 tons were stockpiled, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said. That is near back-of-the-envelope estimates of the size of the explosion, which is around the equivalent of a “few hundred tons of TNT,” Lewis said. Ammonium nitrate is not as powerful as TNT.
In 2011, a similar explosion occurred in Cyprus after munitions stored there for years exploded, killing at least 12.

The official story will be AN...regardless.

I doubt they want anybody digging into their port operations.

Countrymouse said:

Asked our local fire dept about it, but they said it's safe as long as I don't mix it with something (like kerosene, such as at the McMurrah bldg) but if I wanted to get rid of it just put it in the garbage to be hauled away (?!?)

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And the garbage truck blows up down the road leaving your house because something accidentally spilled on the "soda" you had thrown away per the FD's instructions. That advice I don't think I would follow if I was you. SMH!

Not that you would get rid of it, it's just unreal they gave you THAT advice. But make certain batteries and paint are disposed of properly. SMH again!

We would miss you greatly here if you were sitting in prison! Lol!