Mexico exploding sledgehammer festival

[HFS]

So these guys in a village in Mexico tape something to the business end of a sledgehammer and hit a metal rail or I-beam with it to go BOOM.
It says they use "dangerous home-made explosives." I wonder if it's something like tannerite?


Full video from the BBC:
<iframe width="1216" height="684" src="" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Link to video:

 

[dennishoddy]

Not Tannerite, but possibly an earlier variety.
Ammonium nitrate only detonates from shock. Interesting compound, every one of its constituent elements is a gas and it decomposes with an excess of oxygen. Exploding ammonium nitrate without a separate fuel component, eg dark aluminum, is a waste of a good resource. Straight potassium nitrate will never explode from shock under any circumstances. When it's compounded with charcoal and sulfur, however, it doesn't take a lot of friction heat to light it.