Squib (explosive) - Uses

Uses

Squibs were once used in coal mining to break coal away from rock. In the 1870s, some versions of the device were patented and mass-produced as "Miners' Safety Squibs".

Today, squibs are widely used in the motion picture special effects industry to simulate bullet impacts on inanimate objects. Items such as sand, soil, or wood splinters may be attached to the squib to simulate the "splash" that occurs when bullets pierce different materials.

Although squibs were once used even for the simulation of bullet hits on live actors, such use has been largely phased out in favor of more advanced devices that are safer for the actor, such as miniature compressed gas packs. These alternate devices are often still referred to as "squibs" even though they do not use explosive substances. The devices (whether explosive or not) are coupled with small balloons filled with fake blood and often other materials to simulate shattered bone and tissue.

Squibs are used in emergency mechanisms where gas pressure needs to be generated quickly in confined spaces, while not harming any surrounding persons or mechanical parts. In this form, squibs may be called gas generators. One such mechanism is the inflation of automobile air bags. In military aircraft, squibs are used to deploy countermeasures, and are also implemented during ejection to propel the canopy and ejection seat away from a crippled aircraft. They are also used to deploy parachutes. Squibs are also used in automatic fire extinguishers, to pierce seals that retain liquids such as halon, fluorocarbon, or liquid nitrogen.