BLASTING

Blasting is used in mining to break up rock or create space. Explosives are placed in a blasting hole and then detonated. The velocity of the detonation of the explosives are enormous. The detonation of a common explosive such as ANFO (an agent consisting of ammonium nitrate prills and fuel oil) can reach velocities of 5,000 m/s in a 375 mm blasting hole.

(http://www.geology.smu.edu/~dpa-www/papers/srl/S3_data.html)

Click above to see an explosion!

Blasting is very dangerous because it produces fragments of rock moving at high speeds called flyrock. There have been cases of flyrock weighing up to 500 kg being projected almost a full kilometer!