Definitions for "Blast Wave"
a pulse of air in which the pressure increases sharply at the front propagated by the explosion
a region of high pressure travelling through a gas at a high velocity; "the explosion created a shock wave"
This is the rapid change in air pressure that propagates away from the region of an explosion. A sharp jump in pressure is known as a shock wave and a slow rise is known as a compression wave. Weak pressure waves propagate with the speed of sound and shock waves always travel supersonically, faster than the speed of sound. A blast wave is produced by an explosion because the explosive event displaces the surrounding air rapidly.