Following the huge nuclear-like explosion in Beirut today,
My tuppenceworth is that a diesel tank and ammonium nitrate storage facility next door to each other at the port - were responsible for this explosion, rather than “Terrorists”, including any black ops by Israel.
In other words, I’m going ANTI Conspiracy on this one folks.
I reckon this was an ANFO explosion - Ammonium Nitrate Oxidant (fertilizer powder) coming into contact with Fuel Oil (Diesel) and then the mixture set ablaze by what upto that point was a relatively low-level fireworks conflageration… Any other TNUK CSI theories welcome on this thread.
Note what looks like the Under-explosion leading from the underneath fireworks fire, undermining the building on the lext of the secondary explosion, when viewed from that side…
A lot of people have died in this explosion, but It was a tragic accident I believe, down to inadeqate safety precautions, and dockside negligence.
RIP to those who died, in particular those on Tower Block Balconies - of which many have been said to have collapsed following the visible shockwave from the secondary explosion. 
It is said not one window pane has been left intact, and the explosion could be heard from Nicosea, hundreds of miles away across the Sea on Cyprus.
Oh no.
Its happening again,
Please make it stop.
Could it be a secret factory producing land mines disguised as prayer mats? I hear business is booming.
Seriously though, something went badly wrong here. I’m with the lax safety regime idea.
Curiously this happened on the very same day that a Lebanese man set a new Guinness world record for the most Mentos into a bottle of coke!
Coincidence? I think not.
I thought long and hard before posting that as some might think that such jokes are in bad taste. With hindsight I’d probably be better off waiting for the dust to settle first!
My invitation was for other theories, rather than for people to take the ■■■■ actually. 
Death toll now over 100 and still rising.
No laughing matter.
Winseer:
My invitation was for other theories
Nothing like a nuke.
Amonium Nitrate cache being blamed.Nasty stuff.
youtube.com/watch?v=O-d6cqhCJNE
youtube.com/watch?v=HkzwYlWiGzI
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Cit … e_disaster
If not possibly rocket fuel stores and factory ready for another assault on the neighbours.
Nope, searched high and low, even looked behind the fridge and under the settee and still can’t find a single F to give!
Looks like “Inadequate safety precautions” was the correct call then.
There only needed to be “dust” of some kind mixed in with the long-time standing Ammonium Nitrate to turn it into a truly explosive mixture, that even had a rather dangerous source of ignition nearby with that fireworks blaze…
Heads will roll over who decided to store “confiscated bomb making kit” in an urban area.
Winseer:
Heads will roll over who decided to store “confiscated bomb making kit” in an urban area.
Probably the only true part of all that are the words bomb making kit and maybe or maybe not store.
There’s a lot more going on there than the Arabs will ever admit to.
Ammonium nitrate will explode without any fuel added to it once its temperature is raised above about 250 degrees C: the original fire (fireworks?) started a few minutes earlier would have easily provided heat to do that.
Bulk quantities of AN can also generate some heat through partial decomposition, Beirut ambient was about 30 C so conditions helpful in heating to detonation temperature.
For those interested, ANFO mixed in correct proportions gives 3891 Joules, slight excess of fuel 3389 Joules, excess of oxidiser (AN) 2510 Joules for the same weight of mixture.
So mixed with diesel the bang would have been even bigger, sensitised with Aluminium powder bigger still.
Buckstones:
Ammonium nitrate will explode without any fuel added to it once its temperature is raised above about 250 degrees C: the original fire (fireworks?) started a few minutes earlier would have easily provided heat to do that.
Bulk quantities of AN can also generate some heat through partial decomposition, Beirut ambient was about 30 C so conditions helpful in heating to detonation temperature.
For those interested, ANFO mixed in correct proportions gives 3891 Joules, slight excess of fuel 3389 Joules, excess of oxidiser (AN) 2510 Joules for the same weight of mixture.
So mixed with diesel the bang would have been even bigger, sensitised with Aluminium powder bigger still.
You are correct, but I think the sheer size of the apparent “Chain Reaction” which seem to jump from the sparking fire on the RHS to underneath the building on the left of the fireworks fire - caught everyone off-guard.
Thermal decomposition of Ammonium Nitrate would lead to a release of Ammonia, which burns when supplied with enough Oxygen, and Nitrogen Dixide (Brown Gas) - which just happens to be an oxidant in that it too decomposes into Nitrogen and Oxygen upon being heated.
That a solid has become not one gas but FOUR in quick succession Ammonia, Nitrogen Dioxide, Nitrogen, Oxygen then becoming nitrogen and super-heated steam, with enough unused NO2 left to make the red-brown cloud of unreacted NO2 - which fortunately didn’t fall upon the rest of the city, but moved out to sea, or thousands more would have perished from being gassed by this deadly cloud like in Bhopal India back in the 80’s.
Loads and loads of gas, Heat, a source of ignition nearby, and poor old firefighters probably not being aware of what they were up against, and the need to keep all doors closed.
If a “Crime” has been committed here, it is the storing of such a notoriously dodgy fertilizer where it couldn’t likely be used on any actual local farms, and had no purposes being there other than being literally a powder keg waiting for someone to strike a light…
Winseer:
If a “Crime” has been committed here, it is the storing of such a notoriously dodgy fertilizer where it couldn’t likely be used on any actual local farms, and had no purposes being there other than being literally a powder keg waiting for someone to strike a light…
The crime is more serious if a victim and a motive and intent can be identified.
