Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-07-01
POWER OF CORDITE.
THE so-cALLED sMoKELEss POWDER
NOW USED IN BIG GUNS.

-stnpes in Invention from the
Black Powder to This Explosive
The Method of Manufacture.
Since the adveRtef the speedy torpedo
boat and since rapid-fring guns have
been placed on battleships and cruisers,
an explosive that would allow to the
officers and gunners an unobstructed
view of an enemy under all conditions
has been sought and thousands of dol
lars have been expended in the effort to
obtain a satisfactory substitute for
black gunpowder. Cordite, the latest
explosive is said to be the most salts
factory propellant of modern times for
naval warfare, and the general expert
opinion seems to be that in few years
gunpowder as now understood will
have vanished.
Smokeless powders were first pro-
duced in France, and for some time the
secret of it's manufacture was guarded
jealously. As soon as the necessity for
this kind of powder became apparent,
however, a number of manufacturers
devoted attention to it, and as a result
various brands of smOkeless explosives
were placed on the market
The most satisfactory results eventu-
ally made their appearance in cordite,
which was produced through expert
ments made by Prof. Dewar and Sir
Frederick Abel. Cordite is composed
of nitro-glycerine 5S per cent, guncot-
ton 81 per cent, and vaseline per
cent Nitro-glycerine is an oily, col
orless liquid, and an active poison. 1t
is produced by mixing a quantity Of
sulphuric acid with almost double the
amount of nitric acid and allowing it
to cool; about One-eighth of the total
weight of glycerine is then added
| gradually, the mixture being kept be-
| low a temperature of 20 degrees Fab
renheit by passing air and cold water
through it. After the mixture has
stood a sufficient time the acids are
drawn off and the residue intro
glycerine) is washed and filtered.
Nitro-glycerine cannot be ignited
easily by a flame, and a lighted match
or taper plunged into it would be ex-
tingushed. 1t is sensitive to friction
or percussion, either of which will de-
tomato it, Another popularity is that
the higher the temperature, the more
sensitive it becomes. 1t will solidify at
temperature of 40 degrees, and its
explosive force is estimated to be about
twelve times that of gungOwder.
One of the most approved methods
used in the manufacture of guncotton
is this. The raw cotton is torn into
shreds, dried and dipped in a mixture
of sulphuric and nitric acids. 1t is
then placed in a stream of running
water and washed thoroughly. The
cotton is then wrung out, usually in 6
centrifugal machine
1t is afterward boiled, dried, cut into
pulp, and pressed into disks. When the
guncotton is finished there should be nc
trace of the acids remaining. Vaseline
the other component part of cordite
is the well-known extract from petrole
um, and its usefulness is chiefly to lubri
cate the bore of the gun and thus lesser
the friction between it an the projec
tile. 1t also has a tendency to impair
waterproof nature to cordite.
A colorless liquid prepared from
acetate of lime, called acetone, is uset
as a solvent in the manufacture of cor
dite. The method of preparing the ex
plosive is: The required proportion o
nitro-glycerine is poured over the gun
cotton, and the two with the addition
of acetone, are kneaded together int
a stiff paste. Vaseline is then adde
and the whole compound after bein
thoroughly mixed is put into a machin
and the cordite pressed out and GU
Into lengths, after which it is dried.
To the artillerist the nature of tn
cordite is represented by a fractio
whose numerator gives in hundredth
, of an inch the diameter of the di
through which the cordite has bee
pressed, its denominator being tn
length of the stick in inches. TIL
cordite known as aO-12, which is tn
size used for the 6-inch quiek-firin
guns, signifies that its diameter
, three-tenths Of an inch and it is twelv
( inches long.
t 1t is necessary to use a fine graf
powder to ignite a charge of cordite,
5 being secured in such a manner that
= flash from the tube firing the gun wi
= cause the explosion of the charge.
2 full charge of powder 70. a 12-inc
= gun is 29j pounds, while the cordit
= charge having the same efficiency
+ only 1912 pounds.
The wonderful strides made in IL
= science of gunnery since 1910 is show
r by the fact that at that period a G.
r pound projectile fired with a charge
o is pounds of powder gave a muzz
i velocity of between 1000 and LOO fe
o a second, while at the present day
100 pound shell, fired with 14A pount
e of cordite, gives a muzzle velocity
:, $3.50 feet a second
COrditp ic ono nj tho co fact