Deflagration
A
deflagration is a relatively slow
explosion, generating only
subsonic pressure waves. This sort of explosion is usually produced by rapid chemical
combustion reactions, for instance of
gunpowder in a firearm, or
fuel in an
internal combustion engine. Contrast
detonation, where the pressure waves are
supersonic.
Deflagrations are easier to control than detonations, and better suited when the goal is to move an object (a bullet in a gun, or a piston in an engine) with the force of the expanding gas.
This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by fixing it.