A binary explosive or two-component explosive is an explosive consisting of two components, neither of which is explosive by itself, which have to be mixed in order to become explosive. Examples of common binary explosives include Oxyliquit (liquid oxygen/combustible powder), ANFO (ammonium nitrate/fuel oil), Kinestik (ammonium nitrate/nitromethane), Tannerite (ammonium nitrate/aluminum), and FIXOR (nitroethane/physical sensitizer).
Binary explosives are often used in commercial applications because of their greater handling safety.
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—Primo Levi (1919–1987)