Why is nitrogen part of so many explosives? April 5, 2004 12:04
AM   Subscribe  Why is nitrogen part of so many explosives?
This comment got me to thinking -- there's ammonium nitrate,
nitroglycerin, TNT, et cetera...what about nitrogen makes it so
reactive in these compounds. Isn't it an inert gas?  (by the
way, my knowledge of chemistry is limited to my tenth-grade high
school class. Most of which knowledge I've undoubtedly
forgotten.) posted by Vidiot to Science & Nature (12 answers
total) The volatility of the aforementioned compounds has little
to do with the Nitrogen contained within it. Once Nitrogen is
bound to other elements within a compound, it takes on entirely
different physical and reactive properties.  The classic example
given is the chemical reaction between sodium (a soft metal that
reacts explosively with water) and chlorine (a poisonous green
gas) to form Sodium Chloride (common table salt, which is
neither explosive nor poisonous.) posted by Danelope at 12:13 AM
on April 5, 2004  Nitroge