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Originally Posted by raketenjagdpanzer
With thermobaric weapons don't you have to create an ignition medium first though, e.g., spread a gas or slurry vapor? I'm asking.
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The weapon itself contains the ignition medium. The first stage of detonation spreads the fuel and gets that magic ratio of 8% fuel to air mix. The second stage ignites it. The explosion can last for several tenths of a second (making the blast wave perceptible to the human eye) and causes burn damage as well as "overpressure blast" damage.
The Thermobaric's "cousin" the Hyperbaric Munition uses a different method. It spreads reactive metal like Aluminum Oxide, Cesium & Aluminum, Lithium, or Magnesium into the blast radius. The dust ignites almost instantaneously, causing a huge overpressure blast but extinguishing almost as fast. More BANG, less BURN.
If you want to see a fair representation of a Thermobaric Warhead explosion, just Youtube the movie Alex Cross for The Attack on City Hall. The hitman uses an RPG with a Thermobaric Warhead. It is done pretty well.