Trinitrotoluene - Energy Content

Energy Content

TNT is reported to contain 2.8 megajoules per kilogram explosive energy. The actual heat of combustion is 14.5 megajoules per kilogram, which requires that some of the carbon in TNT react with atmospheric oxygen, which does not occur in the initial event. The explosive energy utilized by NIST is 4184 J/g (4.184 MJ/kg). The energy density of TNT is used as a reference-point for many other types of explosives, including nuclear weapons, the energy content of which is measured in kilotons (~4.184 terajoules) or megatons (~4.184 petajoules) of TNT equivalent.

For comparison, gunpowder contains 3 megajoules per kilogram, dynamite contains 7.5 megajoules per kilogram, gasoline contains 47.2 megajoules per kilogram (though gasoline requires an oxidant, so an optimized gasoline and O₂ mixture contains 10.4 megajoules per kilogram), and butter contains 30 megajoules per kilogram (also requiring an external oxidizing agent).