Tag: Explosives

By scientific convention, a single gram of TNT equivalent is defined as releasing exactly 1 kilocalorie, also known as one food Calorie. While this sounds comparable to a tiny amount of food, the comparison is misleading due to the vastly different nature of the energy release.

While a gram of the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) is defined as releasing exactly one kilocalorie of energy by convention, it has no nutritional value and is not edible. This unusual question has a clear, albeit complex, scientific answer that separates chemical energy from food energy. It's a critical distinction to understand why this powerful chemical is incredibly dangerous and should never be consumed.

Elemental potassium is so reactive it can spontaneously ignite in moist air, but the popular concept of a "potassium bomb" is often misunderstood. This term actually refers to the extreme danger of mishandling pure potassium metal or using its compounds improperly, rather than a specific weapon.