Physics of the explosion

The very great dependence in temperature of the nuclear rates of reactions at temperatures about $10^{10 } \rm \, K$ confine the explosion on layers very fine which are propagated either by conduction (deflagration or flame), or by compressive shock (detonation).

The two types of propagation are unstable hydrodynamically with the space fluctuations. In the non-linear mode, the face of combustion is stabilized by the formation of structure in cell or becoming completely turbulent. In both cases, the burnup rate increases with the increase in the surface of the face of combustion.

When the temperature exceeds the critical temperature, combustion is quasi instantaneous compared to time characteristic of displacement of the fluid. A fine zone of reaction is formed with the interface between the materials flarings and not flarings which starts to be propagated according to one of the two mechanisms authorized by the conditions of jump of Rankine-Hugoniot: the deflagration or the detonation.