Which term describes sympathetic detonation caused by shock from an adjacent borehole?

Which term describes sympathetic detonation caused by shock from an adjacent borehole?

• A. Propagation
• B. Desensitization
• C. Deflagration
• D. Shutdown/Cutoffs

Answer: (A)

Propagation describes the spread of detonation from one borehole to another due to the shock wave produced by a neighboring charge. When one hole detonates, the resulting high-pressure wave can travel through rock or through the stemming between holes and trigger a nearby charge if the conditions—such as spacing and timing—allow it. This is what is meant by sympathetic detonation spreading from hole to hole. Deflagration would be a slower burning process, not a detonation, so it doesn’t describe how a shock from an adjacent borehole causes another charge to detonate. Desensitization involves making an explosive less sensitive, which is the opposite of why sympathetic detonation would occur. Shutdown/Cutoffs refer to safety mechanisms to stop blasting, not the mechanism of detonation transmission.

Propagation describes the spread of detonation from one borehole to another due to the shock wave produced by a neighboring charge. When one hole detonates, the resulting high-pressure wave can travel through rock or through the stemming between holes and trigger a nearby charge if the conditions—such as spacing and timing—allow it. This is what is meant by sympathetic detonation spreading from hole to hole.

Deflagration would be a slower burning process, not a detonation, so it doesn’t describe how a shock from an adjacent borehole causes another charge to detonate. Desensitization involves making an explosive less sensitive, which is the opposite of why sympathetic detonation would occur. Shutdown/Cutoffs refer to safety mechanisms to stop blasting, not the mechanism of detonation transmission.