High explosives are unstable chemical compounds that are sensitive to shock. temperature, and their own detonative wave. High explosives [[detonate]] with a violent chemical reaction. The detonative wave velocity is a [[density]] phenomenon and is in the order of magnitude of 30,000 feet/second. [[Shaped charge|Shaped charges]] and [[Primacord|Primacords]] are high explosives. Compare [[low explosive|low explosives]].