The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1881-03-31
THE czAR's BOMB.
Easy and Cheap Enough to concoct
An Infallible Internal Machine.

New York Sun.
"How was the bomb made which
Was used for the assassination OF
the CZarY
This question was asked of a
gentleman who is connected With
one of the great powder companies
of the city, and who understands
thoroughly the subject of explosives.
"It might have been filed with
anv one of a number of compounds.
l read yesterday that it was filled
with sulphur and chlorate of potas
sa. That is com mon combination
with which every school boy who
has undertaken the elements OF
chemistry is familiar. The mixture.
rubbed with a hammer or a stone,
will flash readily. doubt if it was
this, because there are Eliminates
which are much more certain and
forcible.'
"The explosion is reported to
have torn deep hole in the pave
ment four feet in diameter. Mustn't
it have required a very powerful
agent to accomplish such an effect?"
"Certainly, but not al unfamiliar
one. What are known as the deto-
mating powders have been familiar
for at least fifty years, and nothing
could have been selected that would
have been more certain in It's result.
Simple chlorate of potash and sui
phur make terrific explosive. II
it had been dynamite that had been
contained in the glass bombs it is
probable that on being thrown it
would not have exploded"
"Supposing the bombs were pro-
vided with percussion capsW
"Then the bombs would have to
be thrown accurately. A shell
thrown from a gun strikes accu
rately point Cd, so that the cap is
exploded, but glass balls thrown by
hand would not surely retain any
given position, and a cap at any one
point would not necessarily be
touched or exploded. The whole
mass would have to be highly eX
plosive for the certain success Of
such a process. If the balls were
filed with nitro-glycerine l may
say that 1 would not like to have
one of them strike at my feet; STILL
the chances are that it would not
explode.
How much more effective such a
ball would be if it were filled with
the illuminate of mercury or the full
| 90 nfl IN fro 81
Iercury constitutes the percussion
in ordinary caps. The assassins
having that. had an agent more pow
erful than nitro-glycerine, and it
has been known since the beginning
of the century. Dynamite, nitro
glycerine, glucodine, and gun cot
ton are all forms Of the same thing,
and the effort has been to maze
these harmless under ordinary
shock and fire. Why should the
conspirators have used tn seq They
had known agent, effective and
certain, and there was no need to
look for an internal novelty"
"Wbat Eliminates are common,
and what would have been their ef-
fect?"
"The illuminate of mercury would
have done. An ounce of 1t eXplo-
ded on this desk would tear a hole
through it. 1t costs only $3.50 Il
pound. A glass ball, such as those
the marksmen shoot at, about the
size of a hens egg, if filled with full
inmate of mercury and exploded as
the bombs were exploded which
killed the Gear, would rend the
ground asunder and produce effects
Identical with those which have been
reported. The effect of these full
inmates is the same as that of dS-
Mantle. Dynamite is only weaker,
Il less\susceptible form of them.
They operate instantaneously. Gun
powder works gradually and moves
the bullet from a gun. illuminate
of mercury exploded in a gun
would act instantly, and before the
inertia of the bullet was overcome
the gun would be shattered. If
you put your shoulder To a wagon
and applied your force gradually you
would move the wagon. If you ran
your shoulder full tilt against q
wagon the wagon would not move
and you would hurt your shoulder.
That Is the difference in the opera
tions OF gunpowder and illuminate.
"There is no reason why the as
sassIns shouldn't have been con-
tented with the illuminate of mer.
curry. 1t is cheap and common.
When it is wet it cal be transported
with lmpunity, and when it is dry
1t can DE exploded by slight con-
cussion. and its effects are disas-
trous. A supply for those glass
bombs could have been got from
number of ordinary percussion caps
or cartridges. The bigger the
bomb the more disastrous the ex
plpsion, of course; but a ball the
size of a hens egg, as 1 have said,
would have contained enough OF
this substance to produce the effect
reported. illuminate of silver
might have been used. 1t is more
highly explosive than illuminate of
mercury. illuminate of gold is
more explosive still. Probably
they did not Use that; it is too dan
gerous, too tickle. The chloride of
nitrogen is another facile high ex-
plosIve; they could not have han