Body, Vickers & Daniels
Electric initiator for blasting caps
 In an electric detonator or blasting cap of the type including a base charge of high explosive material, an initiator means or initiator for creating an abrupt eruption in response to application of a selected voltage across the igniter and means for detonating the base charge upon creation of the abrupt eruption of the initiator, there is provided an improvement comprising forming the initiator as a junction of energetic material, such as a PN junction of an LED chip, encapsulated in a plastic or glass confinement housing. The housing has a directional controlling partition means facing in a selected direction. This partition has an effective spacing from the junction substantially less than the remainder of the confinement housing whereby application of a voltage pulse of over about 500 volts causes the junction to form an electric arc to create a plasma by a confined, high temperature, high pressure exothermic reaction. The effective spacing of the aforementioned partition at the junction is thick enough to confine the exothermic reaction until creation of the plastic and thin enough to allow the plasma to rupture the controlled partition and penetrate through the partition a given distance in the selected direction. The base charge is located in the selected direction and spaced from the partition a distance less than the given distance of plasma penetration whereby the plasma impacts against the base charge, thus, detonating the base charge. 
F
F42B
inventional
Richard E.
Walker