Detonating cord loses sensitivity when wet.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. It becomes more sensitive
• D. It becomes inert

Answer: (B)

Moisture affects how energy travels along a detonating cord. The core explosive inside the cord is designed to detonate in response to a strong initiation shock, but water on or inside the cord can absorb some of that energy and add mass, damping the shock that reaches the core. That energy loss makes it harder for the detonation front to propagate consistently, so a wet cord is less sensitive and more prone to misfires than a dry one. It doesn’t usually become completely inert, but reliability drops when moisture is present.