Nitro-Explosives: A Practical TreatiseSanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)
Science
Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise
Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)
Celluloid; Explosives
Various experiments and trials have been made with this explosive by
Professor P.T. Cleve, M.P.F. Chalon, C.N. Hake, and by a committee of
officers of the Swedish Royal Artillery. It is claimed that it is a very
powerful and extremely safe explosive; that it cannot be made to explode
by friction, shock, or pressure, nor by electricity, fire, lightning, &c.,
and that it is specially adapted for use in coal mines, &c.; that it can
only be exploded by means of a fulminate detonator, and is perfectly safe
to handle and manufacture; that it does not freeze, can be used as a
filling for shells, and lastly, can be cheaply manufactured.
~Securite~ consists of 26 parts of meta-di-nitro-benzol and 74 parts of
ammonium nitrate. It is a yellow powder, with an odour of nitro-benzol. It
was licensed in 1886. It sometimes contains tri-nitro-benzol, and
tri-nitro-naphthalene. The equation of its combustion is given as
C_{6}H_{4}(NO_{2})_{2} + 10(NH_{4}NO_{3}) = 6CO_{2} + 22H_{2}O + 11N_{2}
and, like bellite and roburite, it is claimed to be perfectly safe to use
in the presence of fire damp and coal dust.[A] The variety known as
Flameless Securite consists of a mixture of nitrate and oxalate of ammonia
and di-nitro-benzol.
[Footnote A: See paper by S.B. Coxon, _North of Eng. Inst. Mining and
Mech. Eng._, 11, 2, 87.]
~Kinetite.~--A few years ago an explosive called "Kinetite"[A] was
introduced, but is not manufactured in England. It was the patent of
Messrs Petry and Fallenstein, and consisted of nitro-benzol, thickened or
gelatinised by the addition of some collodion-cotton, incorporated with
finely ground chlorate of potash and precipitated sulphide of antimony. An
analysis gave the following percentages:--
Nitro-benzol, 19.4 per cent.
Chlorate of potash, 76.9 per cent.
Sulphide of antimony nitro-cotton, 3.7 per cent.
[Footnote A: V. Watson Smith, _Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind._, January 1887.]
It requires a very high temperature to ignite it, and cannot, under
ordinary circumstances, when unconfined, be exploded by the application of
heat. It is little affected by immersion in water, unless prolonged, when
the chlorate dissolves out, leaving a practical inexplosive residue.[A] It
was found to be very sensitive to combined friction and percussion, and to
be readily ignited by a glancing blow of wood upon wood. It was also
deficient in chemical stability, and has been known to ignite
spontaneously both in the laboratory and in a magazine. It is an orange-
coloured plastic mass, and smells of nitro-benzol.
[Footnote A: Col. Cundill, R.A., "Dict. of Explosives," says: "If,
however, it be exposed to moist and dry air alternately, the chlorate
crystallises out on the surfaces, and renders the explosive very
sensitive."]
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