brisance means the shattering effect of the energy released in an explosion. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 78 out of 100.
Why this word is great
BRISANCE — [Noun] The shattering or crushing effect of the energy released in an explosion. From French brisant (present participle of briser "to break"). Unlike "volatility," which suggests a nervous predisposition to vaporize, or "blast," which denotes the general, flattening pressure wave, brisance is the sharp, localized grammar of fragmentation. It is the crystalline web of a shattered windshield, the iron-hard petals of a rent steel casing, and the catastrophic pulverization of a porcelain cup into a constellation of sharp, white stars—a sudden and irreversible argument against the integrity of matter.
noun
- The shattering effect of the energy released in an explosion.“He thought he knew being aflame. But this was sustained explosion, reaching now and then a quite unendurable brisance.”