Molecular Combustion

Molecular Combustion (usually referred to on the show as blasting or blowing up) is the power to speed up molecules to the point that they explode. It is an advancement of Piper Halliwell's original Warren-witch power of molecular immobilization. ("Exit Strategy") It is an extremely rare power, and one of the strongest offensive power possessed by the Charmed Ones. Piper picked this up shortly before Prue's death, making Piper the most powerful of the Charmed Ones.

Piper channels this power through similar gestures to her freezing powers. Originally, this power was triggered through anger or frustration and Piper lacked any precision or control over it. Initially, Piper was afraid to use this power, as she never knew if the target would freeze or blow up. The first demon Piper vanquished with this power was Tarkin, but her actual intention had been to freeze him.

Being unsure of how to destroy the Banshee, Leo suggested Piper blow it up. She believed that she couldn't but ultimately did, making this the first time she's intentionally used this power (Look Who's Barking). She tried to use it on Shax, but he was too powerful to be vanquished by it and was merely repelled (All Hell Breaks Loose).

After years of practice, Piper is able to control the strength of this power, using it to knock Christy down without overly harming her (The Torn Identity).



This power is more tightly linked to Piper's emotions and dangerously so. During an argument with Leo, Piper was able to blow up an entire door and part of a wall in the manor. ("Cat House")

This is the last power used to vanquish a demon on the series: Piper uses it to blow up past and present Dumain, vanquishing both with one hit each.

Strength and Control
When Piper first received this power, it alternated unpredictably with her freezing power, making it difficult for her control. With more practice, Piper relied less on her emotional triggers to activate the ability and grew more confident in using it. She became more precise with it, being able to combust incoming projectiles or target individual body parts of a demon (Charmed Again, Centennial Charmed). Piper also learned to control the strength of her ability, varying between destroying a single target (such as the vase in Lost and Bound) or mutiple targets at once. Piper has also been shown to destroy multiple targets in quick succession (Something Wicca This Way Goes).&nbsp

Early on, this power was formidable enough to destroy exceptionally powerful upper-level demons. For instance, Tarkin, the first demon to fall victim to this power, was only slightly less powerful than Cole's demon half, Belthazor. Previously, it was thought he could only be vanquished with a potion that contained either his flesh or the flesh of another member of the Brotherhood Of The Thorn. Eventually, this power grew to the point that Piper could destroy upper-level demons that were thought to be practically unvanquishable, such as Jeric, a powerful ancient Egyptian demon. Jeric was so strong that his Egyptian foes could only mummify him, but Piper destroyed him with one hit (Y Tu Mummy Tambien). However, other beings have been shown to be immune to her power, being only knocked back a few feet, only have certain body parts destroyed or manage to reconstitute themselves - such as The Source of All Evil (Charmed and Dangerous), Kurzon, or Cole.

This ability can be difficult to control and takes much concentration. During the events of Siren Song, Wyatt switched Leo and Piper's powers. While Piper took to orbing easily, Leo struggled to control the power of molecular combustion. Being the only one with an offensive power, Leo was forced to battle the Siren and found it difficult trying to target her, missing her twice. With much concentration and effort, Leo finally managed to hit the Siren and vanquish her.

When Mabel Stillman stole Piper's powers, she quickly learned to use it even though she was a low-level witch trying to use an upper-level witch's powers. She was even able to channel it with one hand--something that Piper only mastered after several months. However, Mabel's aim was terrible; in contrast, by this time Piper almost never missed. (The Power of Three Blondes).

By season 8, Piper had grown powerful enough that she was able to blow up Baliel, a member of the Triad, with three hits to the chest. Previously, the Triad had been thought to be practically unvanquishable by witchcraft. However, Baliel's power had been significantly reduced when he accidentally vanquished one of his compatriots, thus weakening the collective.

When Piper gets emotional she loses control of the power, as seen when she and Leo were having marital difficulties, as the power is heavily tied to her emotions. When Leo walked away from her during an argument, she unintentionally destroyed the door he had just walked through. Though, the more emotional Piper gets, the stronger her power grows but also the more uncontrollable it is, when she blew up the door unintentionally she used one finger that shows the magnitude of power is greatly enhanced when she is overwhelmed with a lot of emotions.

Piper can also manipulate this power to create a telekinetic like effect to push demons away and knock them off their feet. She can create ripples in the air that thrusts the demon backwards like she did in season 7 after she blew up an energy ball. In the episode Still Charmed And Kicking, Piper, disguised as Wyatt, blew up an energy ball, and by continually combusting the air around it, guided it into another demon. In that same episode, she also froze an energy ball and by hitting the demon at a certain angle, made him get pushed into the energy ball, vanquishing him. She can also control how powerful she wants to make the power. She can move a person without harming him or her by controlling her molecular combustion power like she did to an Avatar in Charmageddon.

Piper can also manipulate this power in a form of Deviation, combusting the molecules surrounding a projectile and redirect it or reflect it back at an attacker (Still Charmed & Kicking). This appears to prevent Piper from being struck with the debris from her own attack.

thumb|300px|right|A video of Piper using her Molecular Combustion

List of Users

 * Piper Halliwell - An advancement from molecular immobilization (Exit Strategy, Forever Charmed).
 * Leo Wyatt - Switched powers with Piper (Siren Song).
 * The Source - Stole Piper's powers (Charmed and Dangerous).
 * Mabel Stillman - Temporarily stole Piper's powers (The Power of Three Blondes).
 * Pilar - Copied Piper's powers (Repo Manor).
 * Zankou - Stole Piper's powers (Something Wicca This Way Goes).
 * Denise - Absorbed Piper's powers (Ordinary Witches).
 * Tuatha - Through her wand (That Old Black Magic).
 * Kyle Gwydion - Through Tuatha's wand (That Old Black Magic).