“Massive explosion” is an understatement

3 Responses to “Massive explosion” is an understatement

1. Michael in Nelson says:

   August 5, 2020 at 01:24

   Interior Minister says it was caused by 2,700 tons of Ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse after being confiscated from a cargo ship in 2014.

   Six years and still not dealt with?!
   • Darin says:

     August 5, 2020 at 07:39

     Most likely tied up in court, 2700 tons would be worth about $3million just for the chemical, not counting transportation and storage.

     An interesting historical note is the story of the Haber-Bosch process for making it. If it hadn’t been for the work of Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch there is a 50/50 chance we wouldn’t exist to read about them.
     Haber today is villainized by some because technically he is the father of chemical warfare, but in an ironic twist of history his own family was gassed by the Nazis with Zyklon B, which was a pesticide derived from his work in WWI.
     Carl Bosch never gets the credit he deserves, the process would not have been possible if not for his work. He is also villainized by some ignorant lefties who accuse him of being a Nazi, even though he was strongly anti- Nazi and predicted the fall of Germany before his death in 1940.

     Dan Gelbart did a video with Haber and Bosch as part of the subject matter.
     https://youtu.be/lLTfMLaX820?t=1135

     The whole video is worth the time, some fascinating back stories to some of the greatest inventions of the last 100 years or so.
2. Pascal says:

   August 5, 2020 at 18:04

   This was the first posting of the explosion I saw. None of the others show the mushroom cloud so well. (Thanks to Wretchard on FB.)

   https://twitter.com/i/status/1290670566924587018

   Here’s a screencap at 2 seconds.

   

   The stem of the mushroom follows quickly, but its top and left side get obscured a bit.