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* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Walter White sets up a bomb that [[spoiler:blows up Hector Salamanca, Tyrus Kitt, and Gus Fring]]. Given that the bomb blasts a door off it's hinges [[spoiler:Gus Fring would never survive the blast even for a few seconds]].

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* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Walter White sets up a bomb that [[spoiler:blows up Hector Salamanca, Tyrus Kitt, and Gus Fring]]. Given that the bomb blasts a door off it's its hinges [[spoiler:Gus Fring would never survive the blast even for a few seconds]].

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* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'' features a scene where a ThreateningShark is defeated [[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters by detonating ten flares' worth of gunpowder]], said to equal 'Two and a half sticks of dynamite' - not only does ten flares not contain gunpowder enough to rival the explosion of two and a half sticks of dynamite, [[RidiculouslyPotentExplosive the explosion shown is far too big for even two and a half sticks of dynamite]]. Busted by Series/{{Mythbusters}}.

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* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'' features a scene where a ''Film/DeepBlueSea'': A ThreateningShark is defeated [[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters by detonating ten flares' worth of gunpowder]], said to equal 'Two and a half sticks of dynamite' - not dynamite'--not only does ten flares not contain gunpowder enough to rival the explosion of two and a half sticks of dynamite, [[RidiculouslyPotentExplosive the explosion shown is far too big for even two and a half sticks of dynamite]]. Busted by Series/{{Mythbusters}}.






* {{Dystopia}}n AlternateHistory ''Literature/ForAllTime'' has North Korea building "The Glorious People's Hammer", a nuclear bomb with a blast yield of [[BigBulkyBomb 250.000]] [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale Megatons]]. For context, in RealLife, the largest nuclear bomb ever built, The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba Tsar Bomba]], had a yield of 50 megatons, and could have possibly reached 100 megatons with a different construction.

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* {{Dystopia}}n AlternateHistory ''Literature/ForAllTime'' has ''Literature/ForAllTime'': North Korea building builds "The Glorious People's Hammer", a nuclear bomb with a blast yield of [[BigBulkyBomb 250.000]] [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale Megatons]]. For context, in RealLife, the largest nuclear bomb ever built, The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba Tsar Bomba]], had a yield of 50 megatons, megatons and could have possibly reached 100 megatons with a different construction.



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!!Subtropes

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!!Subtropes----
!![[SubTrope Sub-tropes]]:



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[[folder: Film]]Films -- Live-Action]]

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* HairTriggerExplosive: While examples do exist (Just check the Real Life section), many modern explosives are specifically designed to only explode when intended. C4, TNT, and Dynamite won't just explode by being dropped.

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* HairTriggerExplosive: While examples do exist (Just check the Real Life section), many modern explosives are specifically designed to only explode when intended. C4, TNT, and Dynamite won't just explode by being dropped.dropped, to say nothing of nukes.



* SlapOnTheWristNuke: Basically the opposite of a RidiculouslyPotentExplosive, when the explosion is ''smaller'' than it should be.



* WireDilemma: It is a rare bomb in real life that has accesible wires, it's an even rarer bomb that has differently coloured wires, and it's ''even rarer'' bomb for which cutting a wire won't immediately cause it to explode. Thus, we reiterate: ''don't'' start defusing bombs and get the hell out of dodge instead!

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* WireDilemma: It is a rare bomb in real life that has accesible accessible wires, it's an even rarer bomb that has differently coloured wires, and it's ''even rarer'' bomb for which cutting a wire won't immediately cause it to explode. Thus, we reiterate: ''don't'' start defusing bombs and get the hell out of dodge instead!

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* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Walter White sets up a bomb that [[spoiler:blows up Hector Salamanca, Tyrus Kitt, and Gus Fring]]. Given that the bomb blasts a door off it's hinges [[spoiler:Gus Fring would never survive the blast even for a few seconds]].

to:

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Walter White sets up a bomb that [[spoiler:blows up Hector Salamanca, Tyrus Kitt, and Gus Fring]]. Given that the bomb blasts a door off it's hinges [[spoiler:Gus Fring would never survive the blast even for for a few seconds]].seconds]].
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[[/folder]][[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Walter White sets up a bomb that [[spoiler:blows up Hector Salamanca, Tyrus Kitt, and Gus Fring]]. Given that the bomb blasts a door off it's hinges [[spoiler:Gus Fring would never survive the blast even for a few seconds]].
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* WireDilemma: It is a rare bomb in real life that has accesible wires, it's an even rarer bomb that has differently coloured wires, and it's ''even rarer'' bomb for which cutting a wire won't immediately cause it to explode. Thus, we reiterate: ''don't'' start defusing bombs and get the hell out of dodge instead!
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merge with Wire Dilemma


* WrongWire: We reiterate; ''Don't'' start defusing bombs! In case you cut the WrongWire, it's going to blow up, not just speed up a countdown!
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* ''Film/{{Steel}}'': At the climax, the hero is shut inside of a room with a hand grenade. A hand grenade that lasts almost a whole minute to go off as John Henry Irons [[CrisisMakesPerfect finally makes a good free throw (through a small opening in a grate) to save his life]]. Grenade fuses only take between 5 to 10 seconds to go off.
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But why let ''that'' get in the way of the story? If you make it [[{{Spectacle}} spectacular]] enough, people will be too awestruck by the explosion that they will hold onto their WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief because of it.


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But why let ''that'' get in the way of the story? If you make it [[{{Spectacle}} spectacular]] enough, people will be too awestruck by the explosion that they will hold onto to break their WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief because of it.

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* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'' features a scene where a ThreateningShark is defeated [[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters by detonating ten flares' worth of gunpowder]], said to equal 'Two and a half sticks of dynamite' - not only does ten flares not contain gunpowder enough to rival the explosion of two and a half sticks of dynamite, [[RidiculouslyPotentExplosive the explosion shown is far too big for even two and a half sticks of dynamite]]. Busted by Series/Mythbusters.

to:

* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'' features a scene where a ThreateningShark is defeated [[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters by detonating ten flares' worth of gunpowder]], said to equal 'Two and a half sticks of dynamite' - not only does ten flares not contain gunpowder enough to rival the explosion of two and a half sticks of dynamite, [[RidiculouslyPotentExplosive the explosion shown is far too big for even two and a half sticks of dynamite]]. Busted by Series/Mythbusters.Series/{{Mythbusters}}.
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* ShootTheFuelTank: ''Series/MythBusters'' proved that it takes ''ridiculously'' specific circumstances ''and'' ammunition for this to get any sort of fireball.

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* ShootTheFuelTank: ''Series/MythBusters'' ''Series/{{MythBusters}}'' proved that it takes ''ridiculously'' specific circumstances ''and'' ammunition for this to get any sort of fireball.
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* ''Film/{{Gettysburg}}'' had many cannons used in filming... and many horses, too. Since they were not ''really'' war horses trained for battlefield conditions, the blank charges used in the artillery scenes were cut down to 1/4, and the sounds were added in post-production. It can be spotted by watching how far the guns recoil when fired.
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* ShootTheFuelTank: Series/{{Mythbusters}} proved that it takes ''ridiculously'' specific circumstances ''and'' ammunition for this to get any sort of fireball.

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* ShootTheFuelTank: Series/{{Mythbusters}} ''Series/MythBusters'' proved that it takes ''ridiculously'' specific circumstances ''and'' ammunition for this to get any sort of fireball.
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None


* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'' features a scene where a ThreateningShark is defeated by detonating ten flares' worth of gunpowder, said to equal 'Two and a half sticks of dynamite' - not only does ten flares not contain gunpowder enough to rival the explosion of two and a half sticks of dynamite, [[RidiculouslyPotentExplosive the explosion shown is far too big for even two and a half sticks of dynamite]].
* ''Film/DemolitionMan'': At the start, Simon Pheonix prepares to explode a building by puncturing drums of gasoline with his knife, to which he starts a fire which reaches 55-gallon drums labelled "C-4" [[StuffBlowingUp which explode the building most satisfactorily.]] C-4 is a ''plastic'' explosive, and so storing it in 55-gallon drums would be inefficient at best. Also, C-4 is renowned for its stability, only exploding under very specific circumstances (it can even catch fire and burn safely, it's been known to be used as emergency cooking fuel in a pinch).

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* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'' features a scene where a ThreateningShark is defeated [[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters by detonating ten flares' worth of gunpowder, gunpowder]], said to equal 'Two and a half sticks of dynamite' - not only does ten flares not contain gunpowder enough to rival the explosion of two and a half sticks of dynamite, [[RidiculouslyPotentExplosive the explosion shown is far too big for even two and a half sticks of dynamite]].
dynamite]]. Busted by Series/Mythbusters.
* ''Film/DemolitionMan'': At the start, Simon Pheonix prepares to explode a building by puncturing drums of gasoline with his knife, to which he starts a fire which reaches 55-gallon drums labelled "C-4" [[StuffBlowingUp which explode the building most satisfactorily.]] C-4 is a ''plastic'' explosive, and so storing it in 55-gallon drums would be inefficient at best. Also, C-4 is renowned for its stability, only exploding [[HairTriggerExplosive under very specific circumstances circumstances]] (it can even catch fire and burn safely, it's been known to be used as emergency cooking fuel in a pinch).



* {{Dystopia}}n AlternateHistory ''Literature/ForAllTime'' has North Korea building "The Glorious People's Hammer", a nuclear bomb with a blast yield of 250.000 Megatons. For context, in RealLife, the largest nuclear bomb ever built, The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba Tsar Bomba]], had a yield of 50 megatons, and could have possibly reached 100 megatons with a different construction.

to:

* {{Dystopia}}n AlternateHistory ''Literature/ForAllTime'' has North Korea building "The Glorious People's Hammer", a nuclear bomb with a blast yield of [[BigBulkyBomb 250.000 Megatons.000]] [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale Megatons]]. For context, in RealLife, the largest nuclear bomb ever built, The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba Tsar Bomba]], had a yield of 50 megatons, and could have possibly reached 100 megatons with a different construction.
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* ContainTheKaboom: Trying to contain an explosion of indeterminate force is likely to get you killed.

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* ContainTheKaboom: Trying to contain an explosion of indeterminate force is likely to get you killed.killed or deeply injured. Why do you think it's a bad choice to ever hold a firecracker?
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* ContainTheKaboom: Trying to contain an explosion of indeterminate force is likely to get you killed.
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But why let that get in the way of the story? If you make it [[{{Spectacle}} spectacular]] enough, people will be too awestruck by the explosion that they will hold onto their WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief because of it.


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But why let that ''that'' get in the way of the story? If you make it [[{{Spectacle}} spectacular]] enough, people will be too awestruck by the explosion that they will hold onto their WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief because of it.




* ExplosiveInstrumentation: No, your computer is not going to start sparking just because excess power is routed to it. Failsafes in its components will kick in quickly, shutting the thing down instead.

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* ExplosiveInstrumentation: No, your computer is not going to start sparking just because excess power is routed to it. Failsafes Failsafe in its components will kick in quickly, shutting the thing down instead.



* UnflinchingWalk: While it is standard procedure for those who work with timed explosives to walk, not run, away after setting the charges, so as to not risk tripping and injuring their leg while still inside the blast zone, the way it's shown in media more often than not leaves the walker still inside the blast zone with debris raining down around them.

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* UnflinchingWalk: While it is standard procedure for those who work with timed explosives to walk, walk not run, run away after setting the charges, so as to not risk tripping and injuring their leg while still inside the blast zone, the way it's shown in media more often than not leaves the walker still inside the blast zone with debris raining down around them.
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* BombproofAppliance: While it is true that appliances will at least somewhat shield you, and any cover is better than none. Fiction takes this way too far.

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* BombproofAppliance: While it is true that appliances will at least somewhat shield you, and any cover is better than none. Fiction none, fiction takes this way too far.
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* ConcussionFrags: Not all grenades are equal.
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* StrappedToARocket: Most straps wouldn't survive the forces necessary to launch a rocket.

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* StrappedToARocket: Most straps wouldn't survive the forces necessary to launch a rocket. And the acceleration of the rocket would exert forces on your body more than sufficient to kill you, long before the rocket exploded/hit something.
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Explosions are cool, really cool. So cool, in fact, that it's easy to forget that things don't just explode in the way you want them to. They are governed by physics just as everything else in the real world.

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[[EverythingIsBetterWithExplosions Explosions are cool, really cool.cool]]. So cool, in fact, that it's easy to forget that things don't just explode in the way you want them to. They are governed by physics just as everything else in the real world.
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Created from YKTTW

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Explosions are cool, really cool. So cool, in fact, that it's easy to forget that things don't just explode in the way you want them to. They are governed by physics just as everything else in the real world.

But why let that get in the way of the story? If you make it [[{{Spectacle}} spectacular]] enough, people will be too awestruck by the explosion that they will hold onto their WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief because of it.


SubTrope of ArtisticLicensePhysics. If the explosions are nuclear (or antimatter), you might also run into ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics.
!!Subtropes
[[index]]
* AshFace: Instead of terrible burns and having skin ripped open by shrapnel, victims of a NonFatalExplosion are simply covered in soot and may have some hair singed off.
* BombDisposal: If you find a bomb, do ''not'' attempt to disarm it like they do in television. Bomb disposal is a profession for a reason, and you're likely to set it off! Call emergency services and ''[[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs leave it to the professionals]]''.
* BombproofAppliance: While it is true that appliances will at least somewhat shield you, and any cover is better than none. Fiction takes this way too far.
* EatTheBomb: Even JumpingOnAGrenade is a safer and more efficient way to make a HeroicSacrifice
* EveryCarIsAPinto: Imagine the safety hazards if every car crash resulted in an explosion.
* EverythingMakesAMushroom: To make a mushroom cloud, you need an explosion which generates a lot of heat compared to the atmosphere around it - but the shape is distinctive, so fiction writers play fast and loose with what creates it.
* ExplodingBarrels: While true that barrels of fuel can explode, it requires ''very'' specific circumstances to do so, not to mention it's dependent on what you shoot it with.
* ExplosionsInSpace: Explosions act differently in a weightless vacuum and don't quite have the same visual effect you'd see from an explosion on Earth.
* ExplosiveCigar: If this doesn't end in injury/death, it's playing fast and loose with explosions.
* ExplosiveInstrumentation: No, your computer is not going to start sparking just because excess power is routed to it. Failsafes in its components will kick in quickly, shutting the thing down instead.
* ExplosiveStupidity: This trope is the reason that explosives are not just handed to the average joe schmuck - and if it is played for laughs, then you are squarely in the realm of artistic license.
* FlamethrowerBackfire: See ShootTheFuelTank and ExplodingBarrels
* HairTriggerExplosive: While examples do exist (Just check the Real Life section), many modern explosives are specifically designed to only explode when intended. C4, TNT, and Dynamite won't just explode by being dropped.
* IncrediblyObviousBomb: Don't assume that bombs are always obvious. This is why airports, subways, and the like constantly blare warnings about 'unattended baggage', rather than 'anything that looks like a bomb'.
* ImpressivePyrotechnics: It is seldom that explosions produce Hollywood-style fireballs.
* MadeOfExplodium: Explosions ''are'' an exact science requiring very specific circumstances to be achieved. Not so in fiction - just about anything explodes there.
* NonFatalExplosions: Explosions, by definition, are things expanding rapidly, such things create pressure, and changes in pressure ''destroys things.'' That's the ''entire'' point of the explosion in the first place. If an explosion is non-lethal it is either exceedingly weak and localised, or you are far enough away to be safe.
* OutrunTheFireball: The pressure wave of explosions, especially in confined spaces, move at a pace that's more than supersonic. Unless you are in a fighter jet or have one hell of a head start, you're not going to outrun it. Even if you don't aim to outrun the explosion, and will settle for the fireball, you are still looking at velocities in the 100 meters/second range.
* RelocatingTheExplosion: Instead of worrying about relocating the explosion, worry about relocating ''yourself'' and anyone in the vicinity.
* RidiculouslyPotentExplosive: Size matters, you can only pack so much explosive power into so small a package in the real world. But why let that stop you?
* RocketJump: In the real world, any explosion powerful enough to propel you upward would be powerful enough to kill you.
* ShootTheFuelTank: Series/{{Mythbusters}} proved that it takes ''ridiculously'' specific circumstances ''and'' ammunition for this to get any sort of fireball.
* StrappedToARocket: Most straps wouldn't survive the forces necessary to launch a rocket.
* StuffBlowingUp: Explosions are far less visually impressive than often depicted in media - but that undermines the core concept of using them as {{spectacle}}
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Explosives are ''specialist'' weapons for ''specific'' uses. Using them for any other means invoke AwesomeButImpractical.
* UnflinchingWalk: While it is standard procedure for those who work with timed explosives to walk, not run, away after setting the charges, so as to not risk tripping and injuring their leg while still inside the blast zone, the way it's shown in media more often than not leaves the walker still inside the blast zone with debris raining down around them.
* WrongWire: We reiterate; ''Don't'' start defusing bombs! In case you cut the WrongWire, it's going to blow up, not just speed up a countdown!
[[/index]]

!!Examples that don't fit into any of the above.

[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: Film]]
* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'' features a scene where a ThreateningShark is defeated by detonating ten flares' worth of gunpowder, said to equal 'Two and a half sticks of dynamite' - not only does ten flares not contain gunpowder enough to rival the explosion of two and a half sticks of dynamite, [[RidiculouslyPotentExplosive the explosion shown is far too big for even two and a half sticks of dynamite]].
* ''Film/DemolitionMan'': At the start, Simon Pheonix prepares to explode a building by puncturing drums of gasoline with his knife, to which he starts a fire which reaches 55-gallon drums labelled "C-4" [[StuffBlowingUp which explode the building most satisfactorily.]] C-4 is a ''plastic'' explosive, and so storing it in 55-gallon drums would be inefficient at best. Also, C-4 is renowned for its stability, only exploding under very specific circumstances (it can even catch fire and burn safely, it's been known to be used as emergency cooking fuel in a pinch).
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature]]
* {{Dystopia}}n AlternateHistory ''Literature/ForAllTime'' has North Korea building "The Glorious People's Hammer", a nuclear bomb with a blast yield of 250.000 Megatons. For context, in RealLife, the largest nuclear bomb ever built, The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba Tsar Bomba]], had a yield of 50 megatons, and could have possibly reached 100 megatons with a different construction.
[[/folder]]

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