ChemistryTerrorists often use ammonium nitrate fertilizer as an ingredient in car bombs. When ammonium nitrate explodes, it decomposes to gaseous nitrogen, oxygen and water vapour. The force of the explosion results from the sudden production of a huge volume of hot gas. It has been claimed that NH4NO3 fertilizer can be rendered unexplodable by adding compounds such as diammonium hydrogen phosphate (NH4)2HPO4. Analysis of such a disensitized sample of NH4NO3 showed the mass % nitrogen to be 33.81%
Terrorists often use ammonium nitrate fertilizer as an ingredient in car bombs. When ammonium nitrate explodes, it decomposes to gaseous nitrogen, oxygen and water vapour. The force of the explosion results from the sudden production of a huge volume of hot gas. It has been claimed that NH4NO3 fertilizer can be rendered unexplodable by adding compounds such as diammonium hydrogen phosphate (NH4)2HPO4. Analysis of such a disensitized sample of NH4NO3 showed the mass % nitrogen to be 33.81%