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squib

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squib

1. a firework, usually having a tube filled with gunpowder, that burns with a hissing noise and culminates in a small explosion
2. a firework that does not explode because of a fault; dud
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

squib

[skwib]
(engineering)
A small tube filled with fine-grained black powder; upon the lighting and burning of the ignition match, the squib assumes a rocket effect and darts back into the hole to ignite the powder charge.
(ordnance)
A small explosive device, similar in appearance to a detonator, but loaded with low explosive, so that its output is primarily heat (flash); usually electrically initiated, and provided to initiate action of pyrotechnic devices and rocket propellants.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

electric squib

An electrically actuated device used to ignite a charge in blasting operations.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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