Series: energetic-materials-research
What Happens in the First Microseconds: Using Quantum Mechanics to Map How RDX and HMX Begin to Decompose
Before you can model or predict the combustion of an energetic material, you have to know what actually happens at the molecular level when it starts to break down. This is the story of using quantum mechanics calculations to answer that question for RDX and HMX — two of the most important explosives and propellant ingredients in use today.