Legoman2179

I am wondering what is released in an ammonium nitrate explosion. Ammonium Nitrate = NH4NO3

I am wondering what is released in a Tannerite explosion. The formula is NH(4)NO(3)+Al. Tannerite is made of the elements: Nitrogen (N) Hydrogen (H) Oxygen (O) Aluminum (Al)

Hi, I am doing a project on a mixture of Aluminum and Ammonium Nitrate. When you mix these together it makes an explosive, which will only go off when you shoot it with a rifle. I have a few questions regarding what happens between the two. 1. What makes the aluminum a catalyst 2. Is the ammonium nitrate detonating? 3. From what I've read, the aluminum acts as a catalyst and makes a lower energy pathway for detonation. The aluminum makes the the ammonium nitrate unstable. Is this correct? 4. Does the aluminum make a small detonation when under high pressure or is impacted very hard? If this is totally wrong feel free to tell me what is going on in the mixture. Thanks.