If A Bomb Were Encased In Graphene, How Big Of A Blast Would It Be?

[TheSoloPlayer]

Say if we were to encase a bomb in a graphene ball. What would happen? Would the bomb have more energy because of pressure, or would the bomb explode and nothing will happen? For the blast size here are a few item's to get reference from: 1) sparkler, 2) cherry bomb, 3) Stick of dynamite, 4) Stick of nitroglycerin, 5) 1 kiloton nuke, and 6) 1 megaton nuke.

[CraigD]

Say if we were to encase a bomb in a graphene ball. What would happen?

Not much would happen.

 

Would the bomb have more energy because of pressure, or would the bomb explode and nothing will happen?

No and no.

 

Graphene is just carbon in the hexagonal crystal form found in graphite. It has about the same energy density as coal, so adding it to any other fuel, either a bomb or something that burns more slowly, would increase the total energy by about as much as adding the same mass of coal.

 

Though very strong, pure graphene is about as brittle as ceramics, so wouldn’t contain an explosion as well as more resilient material like nylon or aramid fiber.

 

It’s important to understand that explosives don’t necessarily, or usually, contain a lot of energy compared to slow-burning fuels. TNT, for example, has about 1/8th the energy density of coal.

 

What distinguishes explosives from typical fuels is that explosives can release their energy is much less time than fuels – that is, they have high power.

[TheSoloPlayer]

Not much would happen.

 

No and no.

 

Graphene is just carbon in the hexagonal crystal form found in graphite. It has about the same energy density as coal, so adding it to any other fuel, either a bomb or something that burns more slowly, would increase the total energy by about as much as adding the same mass of coal.

 

Though very strong, pure graphene is about as brittle as ceramics, so wouldn’t contain an explosion as well as more resilient material like nylon or aramid fiber.

 

It’s important to understand that explosives don’t necessarily, or usually, contain a lot of energy compared to slow-burning fuels. TNT, for example, has about 1/8th the energy density of coal.

 

What distinguishes explosives from typical fuels is that explosives can release their energy is much less time than fuels – that is, they have high power.

 I understand that Graphene could not be used as a fuel. I just need to know if the blast or shock wave would be bigger if there were something High power explosive inside. Sort of like a pipe bomb. Say if I filled it with nitroglycerin. And inside I also put and electronic detonator somewhat like a c4. Would the nitroglycerin encased in graphene be stronger than a pipe bomb? Or would it be less?

[NotBrad]

???

Coal is a form of hydrocarbon, combustion is generally the chemical reaction where hydrocarbon molecules and oxygen are converted into water and carbon dioxide

I can give an example of a chemical equation for the combustion of propane (which is a hydrocarbon)

 

C₃H₁₀ + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O + E (E is energy)

 

Graphene is actually quite strong when layered, and could certainly contain almost any reasonable blast given enough is layered together

 

edit:

But then again, how does one define "reasonable" anyhow? really on a small scale certainly, maybe a couple hundreds sheets could stop some black powder, but the true genius of why graphene has so much potential is because of its near perfect scaling performance. That there is such little need for redundancy when designing with it due to its incredible properties.

 

Of course, a bullet proof vest will not stop a .50 caliber bullet. But was it ever designed to? So the answer to your questions is based solely on the scale and circumstance of which this graphene and explosive are being tested at.

Edited September 30, 2015 by NotBrad

[Turtle]

Erhm...asking about building a destructive device online is not appropriate. It will get you a fine share of attention from the authorities I assure you.

[NotBrad]

holy crap man, almost 15,000 posts?

 

edit:

also, on a side-note, this question is most definitely in the wrong section of the forums

Science Forums  → General Science Forums  → Computer Science and Technology

 

that is where it is, I am pretty sure it belongs elsewhere

Edited September 30, 2015 by NotBrad

[Moontanman]

Erhm...asking about building a destructive device online is not appropriate. It will get you a fine share of attention from the authorities I assure you.

 Hey Turtle! Tell it like it is! 

[TheSoloPlayer]

Erhm...asking about building a destructive device online is not appropriate. It will get you a fine share of attention from the authorities I assure you.

 Did I say I was making it? Maybe I would one day to test it out and see the results in a desert or something like that. @notBrad I don't think you are understanding the concept. The Graphene is solely to be used as a case. Such as those spherical bombs you see on cartoons. Just without the fuse, having only oxygen and the high power explosive inside. The Graphene would take no role really in any way. Only to hold the explosives inside and burst open when the pressure inside reaches extremely high PSI. At that point I thing that you could not really use P.S.I. to rate the pressure. You might as well use Pounds per Square millimeter. Would the shockwave from the intense pressure the graphene held till it burst be much higher in comparison to using Steel to case the explosive (pipe bomb in other words)?

[Turtle]

holy crap man, almost 15,000 posts?

...

:lol: Sad, ain't it?

 

 

 

Erhm...asking about building a destructive device online is not appropriate. It will get you a fine share of attention from the authorities I assure you.

Did I say I was making it? Maybe I would one day to test it out and see the results in a desert or something like that. ...

 

If you think it's OK, you have another think coming and if the FBI wasn't aware of you before (as if), they certainly are now.

 

Hey Turtle! Tell it like it is!

Yuppers. You know me. :D Believe me when I say that I have no qualms about reporting this kind of stuff.

[NotBrad]

 Did I say I was making it? Maybe I would one day to test it out and see the results in a desert or something like that. @notBrad I don't think you are understanding the concept. The Graphene is solely to be used as a case. Such as those spherical bombs you see on cartoons. Just without the fuse, having only oxygen and the high power explosive inside. The Graphene would take no role really in any way. Only to hold the explosives inside and burst open when the pressure inside reaches extremely high PSI. At that point I thing that you could not really use P.S.I. to rate the pressure. You might as well use Pounds per Square millimeter. Would the shockwave from the intense pressure the graphene held till it burst be much higher in comparison to using Steel to case the explosive (pipe bomb in other words)?

well the actual force exerted by any explosive is always the same. The only difference is combustion efficiency, atmospheric pressure, and the rate at which said energy is released. You could potentially receive higher explosive power due to a build up of pressure that would be released equally on all surfaces after sufficient pressure has built up, but to answer your question very technically, the answer is maybe. I say that because there is a certain point at which additional layers will prevent the shell from braking, and also a certain point at which there will not be complete combustion at the point when the shell breaks, which leads to reduced pressure, and therefore will result in a smaller shock-wave. But to answer your question in a realistic and applicable manner? Sure, graphene could certainly increase the lethality of a fragmentation grenade if used as a lining. But there are a great many chemical engineering components and physics-related elements involved that are very specific to both size, shape, and materials used(both quantity, quality, and type). So the actual outcome of said experimentation would probably end with your death, as the explosives necessary to justify a material as strong as graphene as a liner would be tremendously powerful. And you would also have the jail-time to contend with as the other have already said.

[Turtle]

...So the actual outcome of said experimentation would probably end with your death, as the explosives necessary to justify a material as strong as graphene as a liner would be tremendously powerful. And you would also have the jail-time to contend with as the other have already said.

You misunderstood my admonition. Just discussing this will get SoloPlayer -and anyone who helps him- attention from all kinds of authorities including the FBI, NSA, CIA, and their ilk. In this day and age of terrorism this topic is a bad idea from the git-go. I am also rather disappointed that staff has seen fit to even allow it as it is expressly forbidden by forum rules. Wise up people.

 

Science Forum Rules

Promotion of illegal activities—drugs, weapons, sexual assault, etc.—will be swiftly removed. This is distinguished from clinical discussion of the social problems associated with such activities. The staff is the sole arbiter on this topic and in many cases no warnings will be issued..

Edited October 1, 2015 by Turtle

[NotBrad]

Fair enough. I see you point and will discontinue any further advice to the OP. But I think this forum should be locked as well, no offense to the OP, but rules are rules.

[Turtle]

Fair enough. I see you point and will discontinue any further advice to the OP. But I think this forum should be locked as well, no offense to the OP, but rules are rules.

Acknowledged. Personally I would delete this thread as anyone searching terms that appear in the title and tags will be directed here whether it's locked or no. That includes authorities as well as folks with bad intent. It's trouble we don't need.

 

I see from another thread by Solo that he says he is 13, so I think some further comment is merited.

 

TheSoloPlayer, the authorities are not messing around with this kind of thing as the threat is very real and the consequences of not investigating threads and other online posts such as this may be peoples' deaths. Age is no protection as we saw recently in Texas when authorities arrested a 14 year old boy for bringing an electronic clock -say suspicious device- to school. Whatever the boy's intentions, his actions alarmed people and got him some pretty tough treatment for his trouble before he was cleared and released. Even so, he's now on the radar and the subject of attention not in his favor.

 

Be smart, read and follow the rules, and stick to science. :)

[Libor11]

As other said, not much gonna happen. If you wanna some better idea about graphene and its properties, you should try this blog. On the other hand, it gives me idea to think about. What would dirty bomb using nanoparticles looks like?