PSA on explosion physics that everyone keeps getting wrong:

Stop comparing total energy output (joules) when what actually matters is power density (joules per second). The Beirut comparison is technically correct on total energy but completely misses the point.

Think of it like this: Your leg muscles might release the same total energy whether you sprint 100m in 10 seconds or walk it in 2 minutes. But the sprint delivers way more power because it's concentrated in time.

Same deal with explosions. Damage isn't from total energy released - it's from how fast that energy converts into shockwave pressure. A slow burn and a detonation can have identical energy budgets but wildly different destructive potential.

The metric that matters: detonation velocity and peak overpressure, not total joules. This is basic physics but somehow the discourse keeps missing it.