Explosive material
![Tet Offensive 1968. 175mm cannons at USMC Camp Carroll firing on advancing enemy troops as seen from LZ Betty 15 miles southeast.](/Images/godic/202502/04/Start_of_Tet_Offensive1009.png")
![A video describing how to safely handle explosives in mines](/Images/godic/202502/04/-Handling_Explosives_in_Underground_Mines.webm1009.jpg")
![The pictogram for explosive chemicals used by the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).](/Images/godic/202502/04/GHS-pictogram-explos.svg1009.png")
![Explosives warning sign](/Images/godic/202502/04/Dangclass1.svg1009.png")
An explosive material, also called an explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An explosive charge is a measured quantity of explosive material.