What happens to matter when it's blown up?

Question

lets say that i had a bunch of stuff, and piled it in a field, then i blew all of it up with such a powerful explosion that there was only a hole in the ground. no more pile of stuff and less ground. what would have happened to the matter that was there before the explosion? did it go somewhere? does obliterated apply here? and if so, is it possible for matter to just dissappear? i am thinking more about what happens to people when they are bombed since their bodies, or even parts can rarely be found (i just did a report on WW2). thank you!

Answer 1

Everything that's blown up becomes smaller parts.  So it may take some searching but all the parts can be accounted for in some form or another.  A blown up tank becomes pieces of scrap metal.  Likewise, a person becomes bits of flesh.

Answer 2

Your question "what happens to matter when it s blown up?"

Answer  "It becomes little matter".

Answer 3

our current understanding of physics dictates that matter cannot be destroyed, so it isn't possible for matter to just 'disappear' - i think the informal term "vaporise" probably applies to your explosion situation; the objects and earth are blown up into small pieces which gives the dust, smoke, debris, etc from an explosion.

Answer 4

Matter and energy can not be destroyed, only change forms. The matter most likely disipates as fine particles and gasses. In really, really, big explosions (nothing that humans have ever done) you could turn mass into energy. That is what E=MC^2 is for, where e is energy, c is the speed of light and m is mass. Energy could also be transformed back into matter in extreme conditions.