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Good question. You're right, the explosion is exothermic, giving off light and heat, but the compound itself is incredibly endothermic, as it absorbs a lot of heat from the surroundings. With it's very unstable bonds and the compound being highly endothermic means it has a huge amount of potential energy. When it is disturbed, all this potential energy is then released in an exothermic reaction.

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Daniel Ganninger
Daniel Ganninger

Written by Daniel Ganninger

The Writer, Editor, and Lackey of Knowledge Stew and Fact World, and I write about interesting things. Come along for the journey at knowledgestew.substack.com.

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