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.
A pulse of air in which the pressure increases sharply at the front, accompanied by winds, propagated from an explosion.
A sharply defined wave of increased pressure rapidly propagated through a surrounding medium from a center of detonation or similar disturbance. 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. An explosion produces a blast wave because the explosive event displaces the surrounding air rapidly. Blast waves move air away from the point of detonation at velocities that reach up to 1,100 feet per second and pressure up to 1.5 million pounds per square inch. In an explosion, more damage is done by blast than by any other effect. See Blast, Explosion, Shock Wave.
A blast wave is a term from compressible fluid dynamics. It is normally understood to be the pressure and flow resulting from the deposition of a large amount of energy in a small very localised volume. The flow field can be approximated as a lead shock wave, followed by a 'self-similar' subsonic flow field.