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Published online 27 February 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news040223-11

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Shattered eggs reveal secrets of explosions

Blast size determines how many pieces are left behind.

Exploding eggs might help investigators work out the causes of industrial explosions or airline disasters, according to researchers who have been smashing egg-shells.

The distribution of sizes of fragments left after a blast can be used to work out the pressure of the explosion, say Ferenc Kun of the University of Debrecen in Hungary and his co-workers1.

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