<P> The speed of the reaction is what distinguishes an explosive reaction from an ordinary combustion reaction . Unless the reaction occurs very rapidly , the thermally expanding gases will be moderately dissipated in the medium , with no large differential in pressure and there will be no explosion . Consider a wood fire . As the fire burns , there certainly is the evolution of heat and the formation of gases , but neither is liberated rapidly enough to build up a sudden substantial pressure differential and then cause an explosion . This can be likened to the difference between the energy discharge of a battery , which is slow , and that of a flash capacitor like that in a camera flash , which releases its energy all at once . </P>
<P> The speed of the reaction is what distinguishes an explosive reaction from an ordinary combustion reaction . Unless the reaction occurs very rapidly , the thermally expanding gases will be moderately dissipated in the medium , with no large differential in pressure and there will be no explosion . Consider a wood fire . As the fire burns , there certainly is the evolution of heat and the formation of gases , but neither is liberated rapidly enough to build up a sudden substantial pressure differential and then cause an explosion . This can be likened to the difference between the energy discharge of a battery , which is slow , and that of a flash capacitor like that in a camera flash , which releases its energy all at once . </P>
what is the difference between combustion and explosion
what is the difference between combustion and explosion
The speed of the reaction
The speed of the reaction