A transient semimetallic layer in detonating nitromethane
Abstract
Despite decades of research, the microscopic details and extreme states of matter found within a detonating high explosive have yet to be elucidated. Here we present the first quantum molecular-dynamics simulation of a shocked explosive near detonation conditions. We discover that the wide-bandgap insulator nitromethane (CH3NO2) undergoes chemical decomposition and a transformation into a semimetallic state for a limited distance behind the detonation front. We find that this transformation is associated with the production of charged decomposition species and provides a mechanism to explain recent experimental observations.
- Publication:
-
Nature Physics
- Pub Date:
- January 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1038/nphys806
- Bibcode:
- 2008NatPh...4...72R