New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-04-08
DYNAMITE.
WHAT 1T IS AND HOW 1T rs MADE.
PROFESSOR CHANDLER ON THIS AND OTHER Xxx
prOGyyra

The discovery of O nitro-glycerine factory
in Birmingham England few days ago has excited not
little curiosity touching the manufacture OF the terri
bic explosives which have into prominence a.
agents of political agitation among tho lawless and rec
less classes OF Russia and Ireland That dynamite can
be made in sufficient quantities to all the Gov
eminent buildings in Europe by man with inoonsider-
able chemical knowledge and BY the aid OF tho simplest
household utensilsa few pitchers and ars-it will
prise many to know. And yet the process is OF the
simplest imaginable kind. ITS good deal easier and
quicker than to make griddle cakes" said Professor
Doremus day or two ago.
"The general principle that underes all explosive
agents used for firearms and blasting said Dr. O. r.
Chandler to TRIBUNE reporter yesterday, sis comb-
nation OF combusble matter with something rich IN
oxygen TO support combustion nsuch quantities that
burn without the immediate aid Of the atmosphere
Gunpowder which is the oldest OF al is mixture Of
sapetre sulphur and charcoal and the most interesting
fact about it is that they say that doesn't explode
The agents. such gun cotton nitro-gycerine and
others like them, explode so much more quickly thatit
has become necessary either limit the definition Of
plode' or to substitute two words TO indicate the
difference Either gunpowder does not explode or IL
defagrates, while nitro-glycerne detonates Why, .
man can walk eighty times fast as gunpowder ex-
plodes. II you to fire piece Of gunpowder eight
feet diameter all its exterior 1t would takeua
minute to burn up. This comparatively slow COM
bustion is exactly that which adapts It to Use In fire
arms If were to explode instantaneously everything
would have to give way before IT, but as 1t burns grad
uay 1t pushes the bullet faster and faster until II
attans ts maximum speed SO they can and do regu-
late the size OF powder grains to the size OF the
charge and the length OF the gun. large charge OF
rifle powder In a cannon would blow IL TO pieces For
blasting and torpedo work, however, and tho
deyillsh results which the Socialists and Nihists
In Europe aiming at, the most powerful explosives
are wanted, that maximum results may be attained
with minimum quantities From the time Of Frfar Bacon
to the present there been great many substitutes
for gunpowder invented for blasting purposes such As
pyroit, composed Of potash saltpere, soda satpetr
flowers of sulphur sawdust and charcoal; pyronone.
composed of soda salpetre sulphur aud spent bark
saxragn composed OF nitrate OF bayta, charcoal and
potash sapetre; scbultzes powder, which attracted
great deal of attention when appeared composed OK
sawdust that had been treated with solution OF nitro
and suphuric acids, to convert ft into sort d
gunpowder, and then soaked In o saltpetre solvent;
haloxylin, mixture Of charcoal saltpetre and prus
state OF potash Augendre's white powder, composed
Of chorate Of potash, sugar. and prussiate of possh
Gallons POWDER consisting Of chlorate Of potash and
yellow suphurate OF arsenic Ehrhardts powder made
by combining chorae OF potash nitrate OF potash char
coal and tannin; and Hahn's powder, composed OF
ehIorate potash suphide OF anthony, charcoal and
spermacet In these mixtures the agents that support
tho combustion are sapetre cblorate OF potash and
nitrate Of baryta.
TERRIBLE AGENTS OF DESTRUCTION.
IN gun-eotton, nitro ycerine and similar bodies
these agents represented by the ntry which is de-
rived nitric acid and with which the cotton, gycer
inc, etc., are treated great variety Of sub
stances can be nitrated and made explosive, SUCH
as cotton, starch, the different kinds OF sugar.
gycerine and bolic acid. These are the pitro snb
stances which do the terrible work Of which We
hear so much The chemical OF vegetable hbre 10
celulose and you have many kinds OF nItro-ce
uose as you lind OF vegetable fibre. Cotton Is CON-
posed of Is parts carbon 80 parts hydrogen and Is
parts oxygen. Il burns slowly because the ID para
oxygen which it contains only sufficient to burn tho
30 parts hydrogen In 1916 Schoenbein discovered that
by treating cotton with nitric parts Of the hydro
gen could be replaced by nftfyseach containing paru
Of oxygen thus adding sufficient oxygen 70 burn not
only the hydrogen but also tue carbon instananeousy
without the aid OF the atmosphere This substance 10
gin cotton. The chemical formulas OF the two
| substances are as follows: Cotton CIs HsO o,s;
guncoton Crs H.. NOa)e Ors. Glycerne Is body which
have its hydrogen replaced with oxygen In similar
way and the effect OF nitrlting glycerne is to make
nitrogyceripe. This invented In 1s47 by soorera
I'm Paris and proved be the most violent explosive
discovered that could be handled With SAFETY, but II
remained merely chemical curiosity until Alfred Nobel
began its manufacture in sweden in 1882 Its peculiar.
y Is that its explosion is instantaneous throughout
its entire mass that produces the most violent shock
Gunpowder starts q rifle ball slowly at first, but nitro
glycerlne acts like baseball bat against ball II gives
| only one sharp shock and all is over. The OBJ
which which ronaers il troublesome to handle aud in usihs
for blasting it is liable TO be wasted by leaking INTO ceg
was TO convert 1t into solid for convenience aud safety
sodfying il by mixing It with some absorbent and in
casting for the best IL occurred To him tla wh
is called nfusoria silica would be the most enectSe
| agent. 49, .,,...u.. oo,,Do..a q, spsl.,ons q,
minute plants that live water and after death settle 70
the bottom In layers they are meroseopc m ou'
when examined look Ike hollow glass poiss ~ ~ Sss
absorb great deal more OF the nir n.
sycerine than any other substance stan ,,, 02s
of nitro gycerine and make solid substance which can
be dried and Is then dynamite or giant powder a.
used in the powder mandatory there IL IA tee bottom
Of dredp lake a1a sd eSgsf s
nothing but line kind OF the nfusoal silica brought
| from the West.
WHAT DYNAMITE Is.
Dynamite, therefore, is nitro-glycerne with Jn's
enough OF the silica added to convert it into powder
| that can be handled with comparative safety Nobel
obtained a patent for his discovery and, In order
! TO evade II, various manufacturers have SUBJ
sututed otLor substances for the mfusora
| silica, and this accounts for the variety
OF names for what is essentially the same thing snch
as Jupiter wder rendrock etc Among the substitute IS
| are mica gunpowder and magnesla The Ditmar
Powder Company mixed sugar with the gycerne oefor'
nitrating it thus obtained mixture Of nitrosgaf
| and nitro-glycerne which was called gnkodme ien
mixed with an absorbent gave powder possessing al
the explosive power Of dynamite. One OF the most 10
| cent improvements-if it is an improyement-in ths
class is an explosive geatine or gum, which Is made "
dissolyng soluble gun-cotton in nitroglycerine ana
| adding q small percentage OF camphor. -.
| by nitrating car6oc acid pcric acid Is produceas
which by itself not particularly explosive but by Soa.
binng it with potash or baryts most explosive pToauo
result; but they have not proved successful
OF the nitrog ycerine preparations totally dlnetens
class ofexplosves those In which the illuminate
mercury Is used The illuminate chiefly used ID PEI
cussion CAPE though at time they filled the hcaas ~
harpoons with and killed whales by nsteaa
of sabbing them to death aborOusly IL Is so dange
Gus to handle however that 1t ia hardly ayalaoie ~
any purpose except percussion caps. Then there as
some substances which too dangerous to handle
| all, such as the liquid chloride Of nitrogen anc
the solid iodde or nitrogen; they DO ~
| explode by combustion but by dissertation TneC
are hundreds OF different explosive preparations Isss
any combustibe substance and mix it with something
rich in oxygen and you have an explosive Or taxs n