A blast wave in fluid dynamics is the pressure and flow resulting from the deposition of a large amount of energy in a small very localised volume. The flow field can be approximated as a lead shock wave, followed by a 'self-similar' subsonic flow field. In simpler terms, a blast wave is an area of pressure expanding supersonically outward from an explosive core. It has a leading shock front of compressed gases. The blast wave is followed by a blast wind of negative pressure, which sucks items back in towards the center. The blast wave is harmful especially when one is very close to the center or at a location of constructive interference. High explosives, which detonate, generate blast waves.
Read more about Blast Wave: Sources of Blast Waves, History, Characteristics and Properties of Blast Waves, How Blast Waves Cause Damage
Famous quotes containing the words blast and/or wave:
“Another hand thy sword shall wield,
Another hand the standard wave,
Till from the trumpet’s mouth is pealed
The blast of triumph o’er thy grave.”
—William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)
“When disaster waves, I try not to wave back.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)