ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

TNT equivalent

Have you ever seen fireworks? And have you seen how they make big booming sounds and bright flashes of light? Well, TNT is a type of explosive that is used to make big loud noises and blow things up, just like fireworks.

When people talk about the "TNT equivalent," they are comparing the power of different explosives to TNT. It's basically like saying, "If we had a certain amount of TNT, how much of another explosive would we need to create the same amount of energy or explosion?"

So, let's say we have a certain amount of dynamite, which is another type of explosive. If we want to know how much TNT would create the same amount of energy as the dynamite, we can compare their "TNT equivalents." If the dynamite has a TNT equivalent of 0.5, that means we would need half as much TNT as dynamite to create the same amount of energy or explosion.

Scientists and engineers use the TNT equivalent to compare different explosives and figure out how much of each one they need to achieve their desired results. It's an important measurement for making sure that explosives are used safely and effectively.