|
There have been many extremely large explosions, accidental and intentional, caused by modern high explosives, boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions (BLEVEs), older explosives such as gunpowder, volatile petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline (petrol), and other chemical reactions. This list contains the largest known examples, sorted by date. An unambiguous ranking in order of severity is not possible; a 1994 study by historian Jay White of 130 large explosions suggested that they need to be ranked by an overall effect of power, quantity, radius, loss of life and property destruction, but concluded that such rankings are difficult to assess. The weight of an explosive does not directly correlate with the energy or destructive impact of an explosion, as these can depend upon many other factors such as containment, proximity, purity, preheating, and external oxygenation (in the case of thermobaric weapons, gas leaks and BLEVEs). In this article, explosion means "The sudden conversion of potential energy (chemical or mechanical) into kinetic energy",〔 p. 408〕 as defined by the National Fire Protection Association, or the common dictionary meaning, "a violent and destructive shattering or blowing apart of something". No distinction is made as to whether it is a deflagration with subsonic propagation or a detonation with supersonic propagation. == Before 1900 == ; Fall of Antwerp: On 4 April 1585, during the Spanish siege of Antwerp, a fortified bridge named "Puente Farnesio" had been built by the Spanish on the Scheldt river, in order to isolate the city from reinforcement. With the purpose of breaking the bridge, the Dutch designed four large hellburners, filled with gunpowder and rocks. Three of the hellburners failed to reach the target, but one of 800 tons struck the bridge. It did not explode immediately, which gave time for some curious Spaniards to board her. There was then a devastating blast that killed 800 Spaniards on the bridge throwing bodies, rocks and pieces of metal a distance of several kilometers. A small tsunami arose in the river, the ground shook for miles around and a large, dark cloud covered the area. The blast was felt as far as 35 km away in Ghent, where windows vibrated. It has been described as an early weapon of mass destruction. ; Great Torrington, Devon: On 16 February 1646, 80 barrels (5.72 tons) of gunpowder were accidentally ignited by a stray spark during the Battle of Torrington in the English Civil War, destroying the church in which the magazine was located and killing several Royalist guards and a large number of Parliamentarian prisoners who were being held there. The explosion effectively ended the battle, bringing victory to the Parliamentarians. It narrowly missed killing the Parliamentarian commander, Sir Thomas Fairfax. Great damage was caused in the town. ; Delft Explosion: About 40 tonnes of gunpowder exploded on 12 October 1654, destroying much of the city of Delft in the Netherlands. Over a hundred people were killed and thousands were injured. ; Destruction of the Parthenon: On 26 September 1687, the famous and, until then, intact Greek monument was partially destroyed when an Ottoman ammunition bunker inside was struck by a Venetian mortar. 300 Turkish soldiers were killed in the explosion. ; Bastion of San Nazaro, Brescia: In 1769, the Bastion of San Nazaro in Brescia, Italy was struck by lightning. The resulting fire ignited 90 tonnes of gunpowder being stored, and the subsequent explosion leveled one-sixth of the city and killed 3,000 people. ; Siege of Almeida (1810): On 26 August 1810, in Almeida, Portugal, during the Peninsular War phase of the Napoleonic Wars, French forces commanded by Marshall André Masséna laid siege to the garrison, commanded by British Brigadier General William Cox. A shell made a chance hit on the medieval castle, within the star fortress, which was being used as the powder magazine. It ignited 4,000 prepared charges, which in turn ignited 68,000 kg of black powder and 1,000,000 musket cartridges. The ensuing explosion killed 600 defenders and wounded 300. The medieval castle was razed to the ground and sections of the defences were damaged. Unable to reply to the French cannonade without gunpowder, Cox was forced to capitulate the following day with the survivors of the blast and 100 cannon. The French losses during the operation were 58 killed and 320 wounded. ; Siege of Multan: On 30 December 1848, in Multan during the Second Anglo-Sikh War, of gunpowder [] was being stored in a mosque when a mortar shell hit it, causing an explosion and many casualties. ; Palace of the Grand Master Explosion, in Rhodes: On 4 April 1856, the Ottomans had stored a large amount of gunpowder in the palace and the adjacent church, which were also full of people. At the time, it was considered that the ringing of bells could prevent the formation of storms. A lightning bolt hit the gunpowder, triggering a blast that killed 4,000 people. ; Mobile magazine explosion: On 25 May 1865, in Mobile, Alabama, in the United States, an ordnance depot (magazine) exploded, killing 300 people. This event occurred just after the end of the American Civil War, during the occupation of the city by victorious Federal troops. ; Flood Rock explosion: On 10 October 1885 in New York City, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detonated 300,000 pounds of explosives on Flood Rock, annihilating the island, in order to clear the Hell Gate for the benefit of East River shipping traffic.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mill Rock Island – Historical Sign )〕 The explosion sent a geyser of water 250 feet in the air; the blast was felt as far away as Princeton, New Jersey.〔 The explosion has incorrectly been described as "the largest planned explosion before testing began for the atomic bomb"〔 — the detonation at the Battle of Messines was larger. Rubble from the detonation was used in 1890 to fill the gap between Great Mill Rock and Little Mill Rock, merging the two into a single island, Mill Rock.〔 ; Braamfontein explosion: On 19 February 1896, an explosives train at Braamfontein station in Johannesburg, loaded with between 56 and 60 tons of blasting gelatine destined for the burgeoning gold mines of the Witwatersrand and having been standing for three and a half days in searing heat, was struck by a shunting train. The load exploded, leaving a crater in the Braamfontein rail yard long, wide and deep. The explosion was heard up to away. 75 people were killed, and more than 200 were injured. Surrounding suburbs were destroyed, and roughly 3,000 people lost their homes. Almost every window in Johannesburg was broken.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Dynamite explosion in Braamfontein )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|