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.
