Michael Bay, if you’re listening, we made this episode for you. To the rest of our listeners, we agree movie explosions can be great, but in this episode, we’re discussing the real-life science behind why some chemicals go boom and the dangers associated with them when they do. We go into detail about two terrifying, recent explosions, one in a Texas Tech laboratory and the other at the port of Beirut. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Pandora, or iHeartRadio.
To see pictures of damage from the Texas Tech explosion, visit this link: https://sma.nasa.gov/docs/default-source/safety-messages/safetymessage-2012-07-09-texastechlaboratoryexplosion.pdf?sfvrsn=e9ae1ef8_6
For pictures of the damage associated with the Port of Beirut incident, visit this link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53668493
Here is the full list of our sources:
- https://www.csb.gov/texas-tech-university-chemistry-lab-explosion/
- https://sma.nasa.gov/docs/default-source/safety-messages/safetymessage-2012-07-09-texastechlaboratoryexplosion.pdf?sfvrsn=e9ae1ef8_6
- https://www.chem.fsu.edu/chemlab/chm1020c/Lecture%207/03.php
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-security-blast-explosive-fact/what-is-ammonium-nitrate-and-why-is-it-dangerous-idUSKCN25126F
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/nichols1107.htm
- https://inchemistry.acs.org/atomic-news/the-boom-in-fireworks.html
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.657996/full
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53668493
- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/world/europe/1921-deadly-chemical-works-explosion-in-germany.html
- https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2020/08/06/379330/chemical-in-beirut-explosion-was-also-behind-two-texas-disasters/
- https://www.science.org/content/article/absolutely-horrendous-scientists-discuss-beirut-s-blast-and-how-they-are-coping-its
- https://www.llnl.gov/news/just-how-big-was-2020-beirut-explosion
- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/09/world/middleeast/beirut-explosion.html
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-ammonium-nitrate-the-chemical-that-exploded-in-beirut/
- https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/chemistry-behind-Beirut-explosion/98/web/2020/08
- https://www.cas.org/resource/blog/ammonium-nitrate
- https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02361-x