Plasma isn't quite correct. It's more like a jet of metal (usually copper) travelling so fast it behaves closer to a liquid
theroastedtoaster
joined 4 days ago
Plasma isn't quite correct. It's more like a jet of metal (usually copper) travelling so fast it behaves closer to a liquid
The jet being hot isn't what penetrates the armor plate - that's a very common misconception probably stemming from the fact that shaped charges are also known as HEAT (high explosive anti tank) charges.
The copper liner doesn't actually ever get hot enough to turn into a plasma. Instead, through some clever shaping and sequencing of the explosives in the shaped charges, the copper gets compressed and pushed forward by the explosion so fast that it turns into something akin to hypersonic dust. This jet of very angry copper dust has an enormous amount of kinetic energy focused on a small point. That kinetic energy is then expended forcing its way through the armour plate.