So this isn’t the most substantial of posts, but I thought the video was worth sharing. Poor lighting aside, this piece from the BBC demonstrates just how volatile nitroglycerin really is. The scientists in the video take a few drops of the stuff and smack it with a hammer with explosive results. Even in 600x slow motion, the ignition happens in the blink of an eye, and even seems to start even before the hammer comes into full contact with the striking surface.

It’s just plain good fun, so enjoy!

[via Gizmodo]