Editing Detonator (section)

== Design ==

A detonator is usually a multi stage device, with three parts:
# at the first stage, the initiation mean (fire, electricity, etc.) must provide enough energy (as heat or mechanical shock) to activate
# an easy-to-ignite [[primary explosive]], which in turn detonates
# a small amount of a more powerful [[secondary explosive]], directly in contact with the primary, and called "base" or "output" explosive, able to carry out the detonation through the casing of the detonator to the main explosive device to activate it.

Explosives commonly used as primary in detonators include [[lead azide]], [[lead styphnate]], [[tetryl]], and [[Diazodinitrophenol|DDNP]]. Early blasting caps also used silver fulminate, but it has been replaced with cheaper and safer primary explosives. Silver azide is still used sometimes, but very rarely due to its high price.

It is possible to construct a Non Primary Explosive Detonator (NPED) in which the primary explosive is replaced by a flammable but non-explosive mixture that propagates a shock wave along a tube into the secondary explosive. NPEDs are harder to accidentally trigger by shock and can avoid the use of lead.<ref>’’[https://publish-almego.ecoonline.net/getfile/E086791B-1CD3-4F32-A55C-D35B675FA7F6/pdf/804708/804708_Orica%20UK%20Limited_Exel%20Neo%20(1.4S)_GB-en_v1_0 Safety Data Sheet: Exel Neo (1.4S)]’’.  Orica UK Limited.  11/09/2023 rev. 1.0.</ref>

As secondary "base" or "output" explosive, [[trinitrotoluene|TNT]] or [[tetryl]] are typically found in military detonators and [[PETN]] in commercial detonators.

While detonators make explosive handling safer, they are hazardous to handle since, despite their small size, they contain enough explosive to injure people; untrained personnel might not recognize them as explosives or wrongly deem them not dangerous due to their appearance and handle them without the required care.