The Portland daily press., 1898-05-06

AV"ueT 10 Ih1s EXpiO6lve-Ine Metnou
of Manufacture-Its Constituents and
High Ballistic Power.
New York SUM-.
since the advent of the speedy torpedo
boat and since rapid-firing guns have
been placed on battleships and cruisers,
an explosive that would allow to the Off
GERS and gunners an unobstr Il ,ted view
of an enemy under all conditions has
been sought and thousands of dollars
have been expended In the effort to OBJ
tain satisfactory substitute for black
gunpowder. Cordite, the latest explosive.
is said to be the most satisfactory propel-
liant OF modern times for naval warfare,
| and the general expert opinion seems to
be that in few years gunpowder MS now
| understood will have vanished.
The earliest records of established now
der mills show that thsre was only one in
operation In 1890, this one being in Eng
land. During the year 17S7 the WaIthaIn
Abbey Powder Mills were purchased by
| the English government. They are still
| conducted by it. The Faversham Mills.
which up to that date were the larees. in
| the world, passed into the hands of a
| private corporation in 1916. The manu-
| facture of powder was con tinued without
much improvement, except in the eff
cheney of the grinding and mixing ma:
| chinery, until about thirty-five years ago,
the formula for black powder being salt
petre rs parts, charcoal Is parts, and sui
phur 10 parts, the whole forming a me.
chanical mixture and not chemical
compound.
The actual chemical result of the explo-
sion of charge of gunpowder cannot be
told with accuracy. The general idea of
what happens is that when the Temporal
ture of the igniting agent reaches 1852 de-
grees Fahrenheit the sulphur bursts into
| fame; the saltpetre, acted upon by the
heat, frees the oxygen with which it is
highly charged, and, combining with the
charcoal, forms carbonio acid and oxide,
while the nitrogen is liberated. The pro-
ducts of combustion are approximately 81
per cent of solid matter and 43 per cent
Of permanent gases.
In earlier days of ordnance only small
grains of powder were used, but as the
guns increased the size of the grains
was also increased to pebble size and af
terward to the various prismatic sizes and
forms that were popular decade ago.
The reason for increasing the size of the
powder grains was that the small grain
powder gave graet igniting surface,
and at times the charge was consumed
before the projectile was fairly in mo-
tlOn producing initial wave pressures in
the breach of the gun that were of a
highly dangerous character. With a
larger grain there is less burning surface
exposed, which naturally exerts contin-
uous force on the projectile until it
reaches the muzzle of the gun. The re-
suits obtained were satisfactory to de-
gree, but there was some of the charge
that was not consumed and left the muz-
zle of the gun along with the projectile.
With the prism powders came an alter
alton in the proportions of the explosive
which. from its brown color, was named
cocoa powder. 1t contained saltpetre
70 parts; charcoal, Is parts; sulphur, 5
parts, the charcoal used being made from
straw carbonized by steam. The carbon
thus produced retained the amount of
moisture required for pressing it into
shape. With the Introduction Of quick
gave way gradually to smokeless explo-
sives, which up to that time had been a
dream of naval gunners Smokeless DOW
der b, came ab'o!utely a necessity, for
the reason thai smoke producing pow
ders masked the object aimed at, and the
torpedo boat, which was becoming a rec
ognlzed feature of naval warfare, could
dash up and discharge one or more dead
iy missiles under cover of the smoke
Smokeless powders were first produced
IN France, and for some tins the secret
OF the manufacture was guarded jealous
~. AS soon as the necessity for this
KIND OF powder became apparent, how
ever, q number of manufacturers devoted
attention to it, and as a result various
brands of smokeless explosives were
placed on the market.
Inc most satisfactory results eventual
~ made their appearance in cordite,
winch was produced through experiments
MADE py Prof. DeWar and Sir Frederick
A bel Cordite is composed of nitro-glyc
erlne % per cent, gun cotton 81 per
cent, and vaseline per cent. Nitro glyc-
crime is an oily, colorless liquid, and an
active poison. 1t is produced by mixing
quantity of sulphurio acid with almost
uouple the amount of nitric acid and al
lowing 1t to cool; about one-eigth of the
total weight of glycerine is then added
gradually, the mixture being kept below
| - WA. o1"ouiO VI ~ uoSfoeS j stuE6uNelU Dy
passing air and cold water through it.
Alter the mixture has stood a sufficient
time the acids are drawn off and the resi-
due intro glycerine) is washed and i'll
tered.
Nitro glycerine cannot be ignited east
~ by a flame, and a lighted match or ta-
per plunged into it would be extin-
gulshed. 1t is sensitive to friction or per-
cusslon, either of which will detonate it.
| Another popularity ia that the higher the
temperature the more sensitive it he.
comes. 1t will solidify at temperature
OF ~ degrees, and its explosive force is es-
tlmated to be about twelve times that OF
gunpowder
One of the most approved methods used
In the manufacture Of gun cotton is this.
Inc raw cotton is torn into shreds, dried
and dipped in mixture of sulphuric and
nitric acids. 1t is then placed in stream
, o. running water and washed thoroughly
{ Inc cotton is then wrung out, usually
IN centrifugal machine.
1t Is afterw arda boiled, dried. cut into
; pulp, .and pressed into disks. When the
gtlnCOttOn is finished there ShOulQ he ne