When used in explosive devices, the main cause of damage from a detonation is the supersonic blast front (a powerful shock wave) in the surrounding area. This is a significant distinction from deflagrations where the exothermic wave is subsonic and maximum pressures are at most one eighth[citation needed] as great. Therefore, detonation is a feature for destructive purpose while deflagration is favored for the acceleration of firearms' projectiles. However, detonation waves may also be used for less destructive purposes, including deposition of coatings to a surface[25] or cleaning of equipment (e.g. slag removal[26]) and even explosively welding together metals that would otherwise fail to fuse. Pulse detonation engines use the detonation wave for aerospace propulsion.[27] The first flight of an aircraft powered by a pulse detonation engine took place at the Mojave Air & Space Port on January 31, 2008.[28]
So very often we hear a very rapid Deflagration described as a Detonation, but they are Horses of Two different colors or Apples & Oranges, however, one prefers to put it. Purely & simply the charge in this gun in question did not detonate.
OK. So a pipe bomb loaded with Green Dot doesnt actually detonate?
Not in the same sense as a high explosive would detonate, John. The difference is burn rate, high explosive usually considered to burn at a minimum of 3,000 meters per second. The deflagration you typically get from a propellant, like smokeless powder, is the result of a slower burn rate. Typically slower than the speed of sound. So while a pipe bomb appropriately packed with smokeless powder, especially if ignited by something that will give it a significant jolt (like a primer in a shell, or a blasting cap in a pipe bomb) will make a pretty impressive "boom!", it will be a much less violent blast than if the pipe bomb contained even a smaller quantity of a high explosive, like C-4--which burns at a much faster rate. As Miller points out, detonation (high explosive) vs deflagration (low explosive).
