A water-gel explosive is a fuel-sensitized explosive mixture consisting of an aqueous ammonium nitrate solution that acts as the oxidizer.[1] Water gels that are cap-insensitive are referred to under United States safety regulations as blasting agents. Water gel explosives have a jelly-like consistency and come in sausage-like packing stapled shut on both sides.[2]
Water-gel explosives have almost completely displaced dynamite,[citation needed] becoming the most-used civil blasting agents.