Cold explosion

A cold explosion is a violent chain chemical reaction that occurs when cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero. The effect was discovered in 1980 at the Institute of Chemical Physics, USSR Academy of Sciences . Initially, the reaction was found for a mixture of methylcyclohexane and chlorine cooled to a temperature of ~ 10 K. The reaction is initiated by a laser beam that breaks down chlorine molecules into active radicals . Subsequently, the mixture was rapidly cooled, turning into a glassy mass. In the temperature range from 60 to 10 K, an explosion occurs. Reducing the concentration of reagents leads to lower temperatures of the onset of the reaction.

The reaction mechanism is explained by the presence in the sample of compression deformations arising upon rapid cooling and during the reaction itself. With a decrease in temperature, the deformations do not have time to relax , and their number increases like an avalanche, which leads to an explosion. Particle interaction occurs due to the tunnel effect .