An Ordinary Explosion

Q. R. Stuve

Nitroglycerin increases the flow of blood to the heart but it decomposes with explosive violence when jarred or heated. The mathematics which describe the energy released as the atoms seek other accommodations are well enough know for munitions designers to make a good living.

We know the results of love too, but no chemist has yet found equations that predict the outcome. Our math can barely count how much and how long and what happened. We’re atoms who only dimly see the molecules we’re part of. Add a little heat, excite us out of our orbit and oop! what happens next no one knows.