Detonation

Summary

A detonation is a combustion wave that travels through a reactive gas faster than sound. It is a shock wave coupled to a chemical reaction. The shock heats the fresh mixture, the mixture burns, and the energy released drives the shock. It differs from a deflagration, an ordinary flame, which moves slower than sound by conduction of heat. The Chapman–Jouguet condition and the ZND model are the classical theories of its speed and structure. See the definition.