Further in Hatcher's Notebook he describes an explosion caused by shooting into a large container of smokeless powder. Whether detonation or really fast deflagration it must have been impressive! S.E.E. may well describe a detonation, I don't know, but I do know I don't want it (detonation being generally described as producing shock wave propagating faster than the speed of sound).
The point is that the rate of liberation of energy is often more important than the amount of energy. Ferinstance a rifle cartridge filled with a slow powder like 4831 may be just dandy. Fill it with Bullseye and it's a pipe bomb - Bullseye releases about the same amount of energy but a whole lot faster, but does not detonate.
