The Evening critic., 1883-04-10
DEADLY DYNAMITE.
what IL is and How II II Mnde--Iden.
ticaI With Giant POwder-Ofher er
Powerful ExplOsiyps.

ticaI With Giant POwder-Other
Powerful Explosives.
The discovery of nitro-glycerlne factory In
birmingham, England, a few days ago has ex-
cited not little curiosity touching the manu-.
facturo of the terrible explosives which have
come Into prominence as agents OF political
agitation in Russia and England. That dyna-
mite can be made in sufIiclent quantities 10
overturn all the Government buildings In Eu.
rope, by n man with inconsiderable chemical
knowledge, and by the aid of the simplest
household utensils-a few pitchers and Jars
IL Will surprise many to know. And yet the
process is of the simplest imaginable kind.
Tho general principle that underlies all
explosive agents used for firearms and
blasting, Is a combination Of cOmbustible
matter with something rich in oxygen to sup
port combustion In such quantities thatft can
burn without the immediate aid of the atmos-
phere. Gunpowder, which Is tho Oldest OF all,
is mixture OF saltpotre, sulphur aud char
coal. For blasting and torpedo work, how
ever, and the results which the Socialists and
Nihillsts IN Europe arc aiming at, tho most
powerful explosives are wanted, SO that maxi
mum results may DO attained with minimum
quantities.
Terrible Agents OF Destruction.
In gun.cotton, nltro-glycerino aud similar
bodice, the agents that support combustion In
gunpowder and similar explosives are repre-
sented by the nltryl, which is derived from
nitric acid, and with which the cotton, gly-
cerine, etc, arc treated. great variety OF
substances can be nitrated and made explo-
sive, such as cotton, starch, the different kinds
of sugar, giycerlno and carbolic acid These
are the nitro substances which do the terrible
work Of which we hear 30 much. The chemi-
cal n1me of vegetable fibre Is cellulose and
there can be as many kinds of nitro cellulose
as are vegetable flbres. Cotton Is composed OF
1S parts carbon, 80 parts hydrogen and 15
parts oxygen. II burns slowly because the Is
parts oxygen which 1t contains arc only
suf1lcient to burn the 80 parts. .hy.
drogen. In 1916 Schoenbein discovered that
by treating cotton with nitric acid parts OF
the hydrogen could be replaced by 0 nltryls,
each containing parts OF oxygen, thus add.
Ing sunicient oxygen to burn not only the
hydrogen, but also the carbon instantaneously
without the aid OF the atmosphere. This sub
stance is gun cotton. Glycerine Is a body
which can have Its hydrogen replaced with
oxygen In q similar way, and the effect OF
initiating glycerine is to make nitro glycerine.
This was invented in 1S47 by Sobrere In
Paris, and proved to be the most violent ex-
ploslve discovered that could be handled with
safety, but It re emained nearly chemical
curiosity until Alfred Noble began Its manu-
facture in Sweden in 1862. Its popularity is
that its explosion is SO instantaneous through
out Its entiro mass that 1t produces the most
violent shock. Gunpowder starts ride ball
slowly at first, but nitro-glycerine acts like
baseball bat against q bali 1t gives only one
sharp shock and all Is over. The objection to
its use is that 1t is liquid, which renders 1t
troublesome to handle, and In using II for
blasting It is liable to be wasted by leaking
Into crevices, besides being spilled. The great
desideratum was to conyertit into solid for
therefore, conceived the idea OF solldifying 1t
by mixing 1t with some absorbent, and In cast
ling about for the best, II occurred to him that
what is called infusorlal silica would be the
most effective agent.
This is a clayey substance composed OF
skeletons OF minute plants that live In water,
and after death settle to the bottom In layers.
They are microscopic grains, but when exam
fned look like hollow glass boxes. In fact,
they are hollow, and by virtue Of being so
glycerine than any other substance. One
pound of the infusorial silica Will absorb three
pounds OF nitro nitro ,glycerine and and make solid
dynamite or giant powder. AT Drakesville, N.
j., there is q bed OF this silica, which is used
h,, IN me powder manuiactory there; it Is the
enough, the electro silicon that is sold in the
shops for polishing silverware is nothing but q
fine kind of the infusorial silica brought from
the West.
What Dynamite is.
Dynamite, therefore, is nitro.glycerine with
Just enough OF the silica added to convert 1t
into powder that can be handled with COM
parative safety. Nobel obtained q patent for
his discovery, and, IN order to evade 1t, vari.
Gus manufacturers have substituted other
substances for the infusorial silica, and this
accounts for the variety OF names for what is
essentially the same thing; such as Jupiter
powder, rendrock, etc.
totally different class OF explosives are
those in which the illuminate OF mercury is
used. The illuminate is chiefly used In per-
cussion caps, though at one time they flled
the heads OF harpoons with 1t and killed
whales by Its explosion instead OF stabbing
them to death laboriously. 1t is so danger
Gus TO handle, however, that II is hardly
available for any purpose except percussion
caps. Then there are some substances which
are too dangerous to handle at all, such as the
liquid chloride OF nitrogen and the solid
fodide OF nitrogen; they DO not explode by
combustion but by dissertation. There are
hundreds OF different explosive preparations.
| Take any combustible substance and mix
| 1t with something rich In oxygen and
| you have an explosive. Or take any
vegetable substance which admits OF being
nitrated, and make nitro compound by mix
| ing 1t with sulphuric and nitric acids aud you
| have a terrible explosive. 1t is the extreme
| simplicity OF the process OF making dyna-
| mite which adds to the danger from the des.
| perate men across the water. 1t will be very
difficnlt for England to control the manufac-
ture. 1t can only be done by. regulating the
regulated, or by taking in hand itself the ex-
elusive right to manufacture all explosives.
| The agents are so generally harmless In them.
| selves that their sale could hardly be regu.
lated. II oil of yitriol and saltpetre can be got
| nitric acid can be made. Nitric acid itself is
used by builders, saltpetre for curing meat,
| glycerine IA q simple, harmless substance
when left alone, oil OF vitrlol must be had for
manufactures; and 30 It is that to
restrict all these would be very
| sary to the manufacture OF enough dynamite
| to blow up all the Government houses In
| Europe. 1t must be made In small quantities,
| and the whole process consists OF mixing sui.
phuric and nitric acids, and adding glycerine
slowly while the acid is agitated, and the
| vessel In which the mixtureis.made is kept cold
| by surrounding 1t with ice-water. The CHIEF
| danger comes from the necessity of having
1t thoroughly washed to get the acid out after
| ward, or 1t is liable to undergo spontaneous
| any of the agents to England, for they are as
| easily made there as here.