system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: In an explosion, what exactly is the concussive force you feel?
gpt
A pressure wave. Typically, an explosive releases a lot of really hot gas, which wants to expand outwards. This pushes on the air around it, which in turn pushes on the air around it, and so on. This propagating 'push' travels outwards and can scoop up things (like dangerous objects or, if big enough, people) not to mention do damage itself by transmitting the pressure wave to the tissues of the body.