
Originally Posted by
MarkCO
Getting kind of close. Black Powder in a sufficient pressure vessel certainly causes a detonation. Detonation is not only due to chemical means. Remember, just because it is on Wikipedia does not make it right. Detonations and deflagrations are characterized by the speed of the burn vs. the expansion rate of the products. While there are generalized speeds we use, supersonic (which is the speed of sound in air) has no bearing on the classification. Due to densities, about 3100 fps is typically seen as the common threshold for a detonation. Some reactions go from one to the other as well, so it is not universal.