Exploding Bridge-Wire EBW Detonators

When this method started to be investigated after WWII in USA, it was found that it had great possibilities. Not only could the electrical safety of detonators be improved but also the handling of sensitive primary expls could be eliminated 

Medium Energy EBW Detonator w/Wolla-ston Wire Bridge, shown in Fig 72. Wollaston wire is a coaxial bimetallic material made by inserting a wire of one material (usually gold or platinum) in a tube of another (.usually silver) after which the combination of tube and core is drawn thru dies to a smaller size. The outer tube may be dissolved by an acid leaving the core, which may be much smaller than a wire could be drawn by any other process. High temperature double-bore thermo- 

The design shown in Fig 72 proved to be unsuitable for initiating expls less sensitive than RDX because they require higher voltages than can be achieved by the device shown. Such insensitive HE s are TNT and Ammonium Picrate. Modifications shown in Figs 73 and 74 proved to be more or less suitable for such expls 

These less sensitive expls also made the design shown in Fig 75 even more suitable. 

In this detonator, the diameter of explosive column is in gradually increasing steps, because the charge diameters are so much 

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Exploding Bridge Wire (EBW) Detonators in Vol 4, pp D807 to D810-L... 

Accdg to Dunkle (Refs 19 20), plasmas come into play in the detonation head and are very important in EBW s (exploding bridge wires) (Ref 18) (See also Addnl Refs A, B, C, D E)... 

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