Explosions are really important to scientific breakthroughs. So, researchers assembled a global coalition to set up an entire laboratory dedicated to making stuff go boom. In a recent statement , Texas A&M University announced the launch of the Detonation Research Test Facility (DRTF), the largest lab in the world for experimenting with controlled explosions. According to the university, the lab will “turn raw energy into physical breakthroughs” across a variety of scientific disciplines. In addition to exploring the physics of combustion across engineering, astrophysics, and more, DRTF’s facilities will allow experts to examine how explosions can lead to industrial disasters. “The DRTF is a large engineering facility that we’ve designed to be able to create explosions and control them at scales [unattainable] in a regularly sized laboratory or a plant,” technical director Scott Jackson said in a video on the lab.…