Today’s news has been dominated by the terrible explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. The blame for the explosion has been directed at 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that was being stored in a warehouse in Beirut’s port. What is ammonium nitrate, why can it explode, and what happens when it does? This graphic takes a look.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.compoundchem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Ammonium-nitrate-explosion.png?resize=370%2C208&ssl=1)