12/19/2016

TNTequivalentWikipedia

TNTequivalent
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TNTequivalentisaconventionforexpressingenergy,typically
usedtodescribetheenergyreleasedinanexplosion.The"tonof
TNT"isaunitofenergydefinedbythatconventiontobe4.184
gigajoules,[1]whichistheapproximateenergyreleasedinthe
detonationofametricton(1,000kilogramsoronemegagram)of
TNT.Theconventionintendstocomparethedestructivenessofan
eventwiththatofconventionalexplosives,ofwhichTNTisa
typicalexample(althoughotherconventionalexplosivessuchas
dynamitecontainmoreenergy).

Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6

Kilotonandmegaton
Historicalderivationofthevalue
Conversiontootherunits
Examples
Seealso
References

Diagramofexplosiveyieldvsmushroom
cloudheight,illustratingthedifference
between22kilotonFatManand15
megatonCastleBravoexplosions

Kilotonandmegaton
The"kiloton(ofTNT)"isaunitofenergyequalto4.184terajoules.
The"megaton(ofTNT)"isaunitofenergyequalto4.184petajoules.
ThekilotonandmegatonofTNThavetraditionallybeenusedtodescribetheenergyoutput,andhencethe
destructivepower,ofanuclearweapon.TheTNTequivalentappearsinvariousnuclearweaponcontrol
treaties,andhasbeenusedtocharacterizetheenergyreleasedinsuchotherhighlydestructiveeventsasan
asteroidimpact.[2]

Historicalderivationofthevalue
AgramofTNTreleases26736702J(joules)uponexplosion.[3]TheenergyliberatedbyonegramofTNTwas
arbitrarilydefinedasamatterofconventiontobe4184J,[4]whichisexactlyonekilocalorie.
Anexplosive'senergyisnormallyexpressedasthethermodynamicworkproducedbyitsdetonation,whichfor
TNThasbeenaccuratelymeasuredas4686J/gfromalargesampleofairblastexperiments,andtheoretically
calculatedtobe4853J/g.[5]
Themeasured,pureheatoutputofagramofTNTisonly2724J,[6]butthisisnottheimportantvaluefor
explosiveblasteffectcalculations.
AlternativeTNTequivalencycanbecalculatedasafunctionofwheninthedetonationthevalueismeasured
andwhichpropertyisbeingcompared.[7][8][9][10]
AkilotonofTNTcanbevisualizedasacubeofTNT8.46metres(27.8ft)onaside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent

1/6

12/19/2016

GramsTNT

TNTequivalentWikipedia

Symbol

TonsTNT

Symbol

Energy

Correspondingmass
loss

microtonof
TNT

4.184 103Jor4.184
kilojoules

46.55pg

kilogramofTNT kg

millitonof
TNT

mt

4.184 106Jor4.184
megajoules

46.55ng

megagramof
TNT

Mg

tonofTNT

4.184 109Jor4.184
gigajoules

46.55g

gigagramof
TNT

Gg

kilotonofTNT kt

4.184 1012Jor4.184
terajoules

46.55mg

teragramofTNT Tg

megatonof
TNT

Mt

4.184 1015Jor4.184
petajoules

46.55g

petagramof
TNT

gigatonofTNT Gt

4.184 1018Jor4.184
exajoules

46.55kg

gramofTNT

Pg

Conversiontootherunits
1tonTNTequivalentisapproximately:
1.0 109calories
4.184 109joules
3.96831 106Britishthermalunits
3.08802 109footpounds
1.162 103kilowatthours

Examples

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent

2/6

12/19/2016

TNTequivalentWikipedia

MegatonsofTNT
1 109

Description
UndercontrolledconditionsonekilogramofTNTcandestroy(orevenobliterate)a
smallvehicle.

108

Theapproximateradiantheatenergyreleasedduring3phase,600V,100kAarcing
faultina0.5m0.5m0.5m(20in20in20in)compartmentwithina1second
period.[11]

1.2 108

AmountofTNTused(12kg)incathedralCopticchurchexplosioninCairo,Egypton
December11,2016thatleft25dead[12]

1 1064.4 105

ConventionalbombsyieldfromlessthanonetontoFOAB'sfortyfourtonnes.The
yieldofaTomahawkcruisemissileisequivalentto500kgofTNT,orapproximately
0.55tons.[13]

2.5 106

AnAmericantelevisionshow,MythBusters,used2.5tonsofANFOtomake
"homemade"diamonds.

Areal0.5kilotonneofTNT(2.1TJ)chargeatOperationSailorHat.Ifthechargewere
afullsphere,itwouldbe1kilotonneofTNT(4.2TJ).

5 104
500tonsofTNT(6by12m
(20by40ft))awaiting
detonationatOperation
SailorHat.

1 1032 103

EstimatedyieldoftheOppauexplosionthatkilledmorethan500ataGermanfertilizer
factoryin1921.

2.3 103

Amountofsolarenergyfallingon4,000m2(1acre)oflandinayearis9.5TJ
(2,650MWh)(anaverageovertheEarth'sdisk).

3 103

TheHalifaxExplosionin1917wastheaccidentaldetonationof3,000tonsofTNT.

8 103

MinorScale,a1985UnitedStatesconventionalexplosion,using4,744tonsofANFO
explosivetoprovideascaledequivalentairblastofaneightkiloton(33.44TJ)nuclear
device,[14]isbelievedtobethelargestplanneddetonationofconventionalexplosivesin
history.

1.5 1022 102

TheLittleBoyatomicbombdroppedonHiroshimaonAugust6,1945,explodedwith
anenergyofabout15kilotonsofTNT(63TJ),andtheFatManatomicbombdropped
onNagasakionAugust9,1945,explodedwithanenergyofabout20kilotonsofTNT
(84TJ).ThemodernnuclearweaponsintheUnitedStatesarsenalrangeinyieldfrom
0.3kt(1.3TJ)to1.2Mt(5.0PJ)equivalent,fortheB83strategicbomb.

TheenergycontainedinonemegatonofTNT(4.2PJ)isenoughtopowertheaverage
Americanhouseholdfor103,474years.[15]The30Mt(130PJ)estimatedupperlimit
blastpoweroftheTunguskaeventcouldpowertheaforementionedhomeforjustover
3,104,226years.Toputthatinperspective,theenergyofthatblastcouldpowerthe
entireUnitedStatesfor3.27days.[16]

ThetotalenergyofallexplosivesusedinWorldWarTwo(includingtheHiroshimaand
Nagasakibombs)isestimatedtohavebeenthreemegatonsofTNT.

8.6

Theenergyreleasedbyan"average"tropicalcycloneinoneminute,primarilyfrom
watercondensation.Windsconstituteaquarterofapercentofthatenergy.[17]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent

3/6

12/19/2016

TNTequivalentWikipedia

21.5

Thecompleteconversionof1kgofmatterintopureenergywouldyieldthetheoretical
maximum(E=mc2)of89.8petajoules,whichisequivalentto21.5megatonsofTNT.
Nosuchmethodoftotalconversionascombining500gramsofmatterwith500grams
ofantimatterhasyetbeenachieved.Intheeventofprotonantiprotonannihilation,
approximately50%ofthereleasedenergywillescapeintheformofneutrinos,which
arealmostundetectable.[18]Electronpositronannihilationeventsemittheirenergy
entirelyasgammarays.

24

Approximatetotalyieldofthe1980eruptionofMountSt.Helens.

25,50,100

DuringtheColdWar,theUnitedStatesdevelopedhydrogenbombswithmaximum
theoreticalyieldsof25megatonsofTNT(100PJ).TheSovietUniondevelopeda
prototypeweapon,nicknamedtheTsarBomba,whichwastestedat50Mt(210PJ),but
hadamaximumtheoreticalyieldof100Mt(420PJ).[19]Theeffectivedestructive
potentialofsuchaweaponvariesgreatly,dependingonsuchconditionsasthealtitude
atwhichitisdetonated,thecharacteristicsofthetarget,theterrain,andthephysical
landscapeuponwhichitisdetonated.

26.3

Megathrustearthquakes2004IndianOceanearthquakereleasedrecordMEsurface
ruptureenergy,orpotentialfordamageat26.3megatonsofTNT(110PJ).

200

ThetotalenergyreleasedbytheeruptionofMt.KrakatoainIndonesiain1883.

540

Thetotalenergyproducedworldwidebyallnucleartestingandcombatcombined,from
the1940stillnowisabout540megatons.

7,000

Thetotalglobalnucleararsenalisabout30,000nuclearwarheadswithadestructive
capacityof7,000megatonsor7gigatons(7,000milliontons)ofTNT.

62,500

ThetotalsolarenergyreceivedbyEarthperminuteis440exajoules.

875,000

ApproximateyieldofthelasteruptionoftheYellowstonesupervolcano.

6,000,000=6 106

TheestimatedenergyatimpactwhenthelargestfragmentofCometShoemakerLevy9
struckJupiterisequivalenttosixmillionmegatons(sixtrilliontons)ofTNT.

9.32 106

Theenergyreleasedinthe2011Thokuearthquakeandtsunamiwasover200,000
timesthesurfaceenergyandwascalculatedbytheUSGSat3.91022joules,[20]slightly
lessthanthe2004IndianOceanquake.Thisisequivalentto9,320gigatonsofTNT,or
approximately600milliontimestheenergyoftheHiroshimabomb.

9.56 106

MegathrustearthquakesrecordhugeMWvalues,ortotalenergyreleased.The2004
IndianOceanearthquakereleased9,560gigatonsTNTequivalent.

1 108

TheapproximateenergyreleasedwhentheChicxulubimpactcausedthemass
extinctionsixtysixmillionyearsagowasestimatedtobeequalto100teratons(i.e.100
exagramsorapproximately220.462quadrillionpounds)ofTNT.Thatisroughlyeight
billiontimesstrongerthaneachofthebombsthathitHiroshimaandNagasakiandthe
mostenergeticeventonthehistoryofEarthforhundredsofmillionsofyears,farmore
powerfulthananyvolcaniceruption,earthquakeorfirestorm.Suchanexplosion
annihilatedeverythingwithinathousandmilesoftheimpactinasplitsecond.Such
energyisequivalenttothatneededtopowerthewholeEarthforseveralcenturies.

7.89 1015

Totalsolaroutputinalldirectionsperday.

Onamuchgranderscale,atype1asupernovaexplosiongivesoff121044joulesof
energy,whichisabout2.4to4.8hundredbillionyottatons(24to48octillion(2.4
4.81028)megatons)ofTNT,equivalenttotheexplosiveforceofaquantityofTNT
2.4 10284.8 1028 overatrillion(1012)timesthemassoftheplanetEarth.TheType1asupernovais
essentiallythefusiondetonationofallthefusablefuelinastarofabout1.4solarmasses
withinafewseconds,andisastandardcandleusedforintergalacticdistance
measurements.
2.4 10304.8 1030

Thelargestsupernovaexplosionswitnessed,socalledgammaraybursts(GRBs)
releasedmorethan1046joulesofenergy.[21]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent

4/6

12/19/2016

1.3 1038

TNTequivalentWikipedia

Amergeroftwoblackholes,firstobservationofgravitationalwaves,released5.31047
joules

Formore,seeOrdersofmagnitude(energy).

Seealso
Nuclearweaponyield
Nucleararmsrace
Ordersofmagnitude(energy)
Relativeeffectivenessfactor
Ton
Tonne
Tonneofoilequivalent,aunitofenergyalmostexactly10tonnesofTNT
Tableofexplosivedetonationvelocities

References
1."Tons(Explosives)toGigajoulesConversionCalculator".unitconversion.org.
2."JoulestoMegatonsConversionCalculator".unitconversion.org.
3.Blasteffectsofexternalexplosions(Section4.8.LimitationsoftheTNTequivalentmethod)(http://hal.archivesouve
rtes.fr/hal00629253/document)
4."AppendixB8FactorsforUnitsListedAlphabetically".InNISTSIGuide2008
5.Cooper,PaulW.(1996).ExplosivesEngineering.NewYork:WileyVCH.p.406.ISBN0471186368.
6.Muller,RichardA.(20012002)."Chapter1.Energy,Power,andExplosions".PhysicsforFuturePresidents,a
textbook.ISBN9781426624599.
7.SorinBastea,LaurenceE.Fried,KurtR.Glaesemann,W.MichaelHoward,P.ClarkSouers,PeterA.Vitello,
Cheetah5.0User'sManual,LawrenceLivermoreNationalLaboratory,2007.
8.Maienschein,JonL.(2002).Estimatingequivalencyofexplosivesthroughathermochemicalapproach(PDF)
(Technicalreport).LawrenceLivermoreNationalLaboratory.UCRLJC147683.
9.Maienschein,JonL.(2002).Tntequivalencyofdifferentexplosivesestimationforcalculatingloadlimitsinheaf
firingtanks(Technicalreport).LawrenceLivermoreNationalLaboratory.EMPE0222.
10.Cunningham,BruceJ.(2001).C4/tntequivalency(Technicalreport).LawrenceLivermoreNationalLaboratory.
EMPE0181.
11."ArcblastTriNitroTolueneTNTTrotylequivalentARCADINC.".arcblasts.com.
12."Localmedia:BlastatCairocathedralkillsatleast25".CNN.Retrieved11December2016.
13."TheIngenuityGap:FacingtheEconomic,Environmental,andOtherChallenges"(https://books.google.com/books?i
d=syAvfwornA0C&pg=PA248&lpg=PA248&dq=battleship+shell+tnt+equivalent&source=bl&ots=vK0iNbcrzb&sig=
GF_S1KatjU6ka7XWSjMw5xMtE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBmZHS5pHKAhUY3mMKHWpZDFYQ6AEI
MjAE#v=onepage&q=10%20meter%20accuracy&f=false),ThomasF.HomerDixon,p.249.
14.TECHREPSINCALBUQUERQUENM(1986)."MinorScaleEvent,TestExecutionReport"(PDF).
15."FrequentlyAskedQuestionsElectricity".UnitedStatesDepartmentofEnergy.20091006.Retrieved20091021.
(Calculatedfrom2007valueof936kWhmonthlyusage)
16."CountryComparison::Electricityconsumption".TheWorldFactbook.CIA.Retrieved20091022.(Calculated
from2007valueof3,892,000,000,000kWhannualusage)
17."NOAAFAQ:Howmuchenergydoesahurricanerelease?".NationalOceanic&AtmosphericAdministration.August
2001.Retrieved20090630.cites6e14wattscontinuous.
18.Borowski,StanleyK.(March1996).ComparisonofFusion/AntiprotonPropulsionsystems(PDF).23rdJoint
PropulsionConference.NASAGlennResearchCenter.doi:10.2514/6.19871814.hdl:2060/19960020441.
19.SeeCurrentlydeployedU.S.nuclearweaponyields(http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Wpngall.html),
CompleteListofAllU.S.NuclearWeapons(http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html),Tsar
Bomba(http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Russia/TsarBomba.html),allfromCareySublette'sNuclearWeapon
Archive.
20."USGS.gov:USGSWPhaseMomentSolution".Earthquake.usgs.gov.Archivedfromtheoriginalon13March2011.
Retrieved13March2011.
21.Maselli,A.Melandri,A.Nava,L.Mundell,C.G.Kawai,N.Campana,S.Covino,S.Cummings,J.R.
Cusumano,G.Evans,P.A.Ghirlanda,G.Ghisellini,G.Guidorzi,C.Kobayashi,S.Kuin,P.LaParola,V.
Mangano,V.Oates,S.Sakamoto,T.Serino,M.Virgili,F.Zhang,B.B.Barthelmy,S.Beardmore,A.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent

5/6

12/19/2016

TNTequivalentWikipedia

Bernardini,M.G.Bersier,D.Burrows,D.Calderone,G.Capalbi,M.Chiang,J.(2013)."GRB130427A:A
NearbyOrdinaryMonster".Science.343(6166):4851.doi:10.1126/science.1242279.PMID24263134.

Thompson,A.Taylor,B.N.(July2008).GuidefortheUseoftheInternationalSystemofUnits(SI).
NISTSpecialPublication.811.NationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology.Version3.2.
NuclearWeaponsFAQPart1.3(http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Nwfaq/Nfaq1.html#nfaq1.3)
Rhodes,Richard(2012).TheMakingoftheAtomicBomb(25thAnniversaryed.).Simon&Schuster.
ISBN9781451677614.
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=TNT_equivalent&oldid=754910114"
Categories: Explosives Unitsofenergy
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon15December2016,at04:53.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
apply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisaregistered
trademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent

6/6