Playing With Explosives

Most recent answer: 10/26/2013

Q:
Can you tell me what this is? Me and my dad like to do experiments, latley we have been messing around with black powder and explosives. Don't worry we were safe! We like to go to a remote area but people do go up there. Some guy was coming up at 1:00 in the morning and he stopped we couldnt find him but he seemed like he was trying to mess with us so we made a ball filled with black powder put a fuse put it down a pipe and pointed in his direction so the sound of the blast would scare him and that would tell him to back off. For some reason this one was more powerful and it echoed on flat land. i looked in the direction were the echoing blast was going and it was very temporary i only saw it for a second but it was a red streak and other big clouds of transparent red moving in the direction of the echo. I dont know if this is possible or not i only saw it for a second but do you think i saw sound waves or energy in sound waves giving off a luminesing transparent red color?
- Grant (age 12)
New Mexico
A:

Dear Grant,

I'm not going to tell you what to do or what not to do.     I want to tell you a personal story

When I was about your age I too was interested in explosives and had lots of fun.   I played the snare drum in a high school marching band.  My friend, Freddy, a clarinet player, also was interested in things that go bang.  One day while stirring a mixture, it went off.  Freddy no longer played the clarinet because he didn't have enough fingers.

 

LeeH


(published on 10/26/2013)