Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-07-05
MODERN EXPLOSIVES

MODERN EXPLOSIVES
| st.aeos Now In Use.
| Few would imagine. . thcy watch
the coal quietly glow and consume
away in the gratr. that there are pres
emit all the materials necessary for pro-
ducing an explosions; yet such is the
case. and it has been found that the
ignition Of coal-dust laden air is a not
infrrquent source Of disastrous expl0-
siOns IN coal mines.
VIVA. has occurred with coal may
. occur with any cOm5ustible solid
which is finely pulverizsd and sus-
pended in air. and in this manner the
explosions of flour which destroyed
several flour mills in Minneapolis in
1873 are accounted for The explo-
sions Of sawdust in tho Pullman Car
shops aud at Geldowsky's furniture
factory. the explosions of starch in 3
New York candy factory. of rice in
ricc.mills. and of dust in breweries
aud spicc-miils. are among the many
examples of the action of a similar
cause; but perhaps the most unusual
case Of this class of explosions was
that of finely-powtiered zinc. which,
occurred in 1854 ut the Bethlehem
nc Works
The modern high explosives are
bodies which contain within their
molecules the elements necessary for
ordinary combustion. while ut the
same time they are more or less
endothcrmous; and the hest example.
and perhaps the most important Of
these is the mercury illuminate. This
substance was discovered by Howard
in 1900 and was mado by dissolving
mercury in strong nitric acid. and
pouring the solution into alcohol Its
discovery aroused the liveliest inter-
est. and it was Immediately tested by
firing in musket. but. though it inn
parted very little velocity to the
projectile. and produced only slight
recoil and report, it burst the barrel
Of the piece completely open; and
hence 1t was relegated to the position
Of a chemical curiosity until recalled
TOR use as a printing for percussion
caps.
Its adaptation to modern uses began
in 1868 when Nobel discovered that
by the explosion of few grains Of
this substance nitro-glycerine might
he detona,ed. and was extended in
1868. when Mr.. l. o. Brown discov.
cred that not only could dry gun-cot-
Ton be detonated by this means. but
that if small initial mass of dry
gun-cotton was detOnatcd in contact
with mass of wet gun-cotton. the
latter would he also detonated. even
though it were completely saturated
with water
Baron Won Lenk, of Austria. took up
the study of this material in 1858. and
his efforts to perfect the methods of
manufacture and 10 moderate the VIC.
lcnce of the gun charges were attend
ed with such apparent success that u
special battery of twelve-psunders was
c instructed for use with it. and the
position Of the explosive seemed as
sured. until 1865. when his magazines
blew mp spontaneously. and the ar
ticle Was intcrdicted by the govern
ment.
Gun-cottOn constitutes the best mill
tary explosive known. for. while its
explosive force vastly exceeds that OF
gunpowder and approaches that OF
nitro-glycerine. it is tn, safest and
most stable expl sire we possess. since
it can be stored and transported wet;
and. while in this state. though it luay
be dciOnated rs describ.d above, it
can not be exploded in any other way.
As much has 2 GOD pounds of wet
compressed gun.cotton have been
placed in fierce bonfire. where it has
gradually dried. layer by laver and
been consumed without exploiting.
Besides. gun. cotton is the only mil
itary explosive which can be detonated
with certainty when frozen In call
ing it a military explosive. l mean. Of
course. for use in torpeGoes and for
military mining. and not rs o sulssti-
tute for gunpOwder in guns; but il
may be. and has been. successfully
used as charge for shells fired from
guns. both in this country
and abroad. Shells containing as
much as one hundred aud ten pounds
of Sun-cotton have been repeatedly |
fired in Germany.
The most prominent rival of gun
cotton for military uses. and the best
explosive for Industrial purposes, is |
nitro glycerine and the mixtures OF |
which it forms part. This substance
was discovered By Sobrero in 1847.
while carryin out a series of expert
ments under Pelouze. Its liquid form
makes it difficult to store and trans.
Fort, and permits it to find its
way into unexpected places.
where it constitutes source
IF danger. Considerations such
rs these led Nobel. about 1867. to in.
vent dynamite. The name is now