Even materials that are traditionally thought of as nonflammable, such as aluminum, or slow burning, such as wood, can produce a powerful explosion when finely divided, and can be ignited by even a small spark.
Ko se ta mešanica goriva in zraka vžge, še posebej v zaprtem prostoru kot je skladišče ali silos, se pomembno zviša pritisk, velikokrat bolj kot je zadostno za uničenje strukture.