If brains were gunpowder, how big would the explosion be?

Darren: Here’s one for you. If brains actually were gunpowder, how big would the explosion be?

Dr Mike: The average human brain weighs 1.3kg. But as to what sort of a bang you’d get from a gunpowder bomb of that size — well, there are a lot of variables. In essence, gunpowder is a lower order explosive. That means it does not detonate; the powder burns, undergoing oxidation when heated and producing gas. The rate at which the gas is produced determines the force of the explosion itself.

Everything, then, depends on the quality of the powder you use (the finer it is, the faster it burns and the more powerful the explosion), whether it is planted or packed, whether it’s surrounded by a container that will turn into shrapnel when the bomb explodes, and whether the bomb itself is placed in a confined space or in the open air. The amount of gunpowder needed to propel a bullet down the barrel of a gun at high speed is much less than that needed to create a large amount of damage in an open space.

At the end of the day, gunpowder is not nearly as powerful as more modern explosives, but we reckon the answer to your question is still: a pretty big one, enough to kill anyone within a 10– or 15–yard radius. To put things in some sort of context, the powder Guy Fawkes stored under the Houses of Parliament — which was reckoned sufficient to level the entire building — filled 36 barrels.

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