The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-05-02
A HIGH EXPLOSIVE.
GUN COTTON COMPARATIVELY SAFE
IN NAVAL WARFARE.

"Gun cotton" said an ordnance office.
a few days ago, sis by far the safest Of an,
of the high explosives. That is the reason
it Is chosen instead of the nitroglyceriI
preparations, which. although they will
produce more powerful effects, are very
dangerous things TO have on shipboard
They can be exploded too easily by the APP
plicstion of heat, by shock and under
some conditions by spontaneous combus
ton. But the gun cotton, so long as is is
Kept wet, Is absolutely safe, and there 4:
mo trouble about preserving the necessary
degree Of moisture"
Precisely the same opinion regarding
gun cotton as an explosive for naval war
fare was expressed by the superintendent
of one Of the largest powder manufacture
Ing firms
"Not only is gun cotton absolutely inert
and harmless so long as IL is wet, )" he
said, but it does not necessarily follow
that it will explode even when dry. OF
course it is then much more liable TO do
so, but If IL is undisturbed in any way a
considerable quantity Of il might remain
dry without any accident. In our works
we are extremely careful about the way in
which we handle dry gun cotton, but
there is no need % any precautions when
it is wet On shipboard the disks Of dry
cotton which are used rs primers TO de-
tomato the wet are always kept away from
the magazine, either on deck or in one of
the cabins
1.-THE only danger from them would be
IN case they were dropped while being ham
died. The result then would not always
perhaps not usually-be an explosion, but
you never can tell with certainty. One of
the disks might be dropped half dozen
times and not explode, and the next time
under apparently the same conditions IL
would go of. AS far as heat is concerned,
II the dry gun cotton is exposed to a con-
tinued high temperature for long time,
s. Is likely TO decompose, undergoing
chemical changes which generate heat and
may go far enough TO cause spontaneous
combustion. But no such condition is
possible on ship, because the gun cotton
is always carried In the torpedo heads and
inspected regularly to see that it remains
wet The heads are practically alright,
but II any evaporation is noticed the cot
ton can be dampened again by regular
means arranged for that purpose"
The process by which so common and
harmless a substance as cotton is convert
ed into high explosive is comparatively
simple one. Pure raw cotton or ordinary
cotton waste is stepped in a solution of one
part of nitric acid and three parts of sui
phuric acid. The nitric acid Is the one
which renders the cotton explosive, the
presence of the sulphuric being required
only to absorb the water, thus allowing
the other acid to combine more readily
with the nearly pure oellulose of which
cotton consists. After tho cotton has
ya6 N ha aaiH for 4 10
taken from the pots and squeezed through
heavy rollers TO extract all the superfluous
acid which 1t has not absorbed. Then it
is washed carefully and thoroughly, still
with the same object of removing the free
acid. II any of this remained, its tendency
would be to cause chemical changes in the
gun cotton and decompose it. Formerly
this washing was the last process resorted
TO for the removal of the free acid, but q
few years ago Sir Frederick A bel found
that the cells in the cotton her so alb
sorbed and retained the acid by capillary
attraction that the washing failed TO ex-
tract it entirely. To remedy this and make
the gun cotton more pure, it is now after
being washed passed through machine
similar to that which grinds up the rags
in paper mill. Here it is crushed thor
oughly and afterward washed again until
the last trace of free acid disappears aud
the cotton comes out in the form of a soft
white pulp, closely resembling the pulp of
which paper is made
This concludes the process of actual
manufacture, and IL now remains only to
convert the gun cotton into the most con-
venient form for the use to which it is to
be put. If it is to be employed in making
powder, it is dried and stored away In
pulverized form, but If it is designed for
filling torpedoes ii must be compressed to
a certain density and nodded into the
shapes which will best enable IL 10 be
packed into the torpedo heads. These
shapes vary according to the design of the
torpedoes and the method Of packing.
Sometimes they are disks and sometimes
cylinders, fiat squares or cubes. II unoom-
pressed and dry, the gun cotton would be
extremely light, weighing no more than
ordinary cotton batting, but when made
into the above forms Ia is compressed 20
the density OF an equal amount OF wa
ter. The percentage Of moisture remain
ing In the gun cotton when IL is packed
into torpeioes varies between 10 and 80.
80 safe from explosion, unless detonated,
Is a, brick Il wet gun cotton that 10 may
be placed upon hot GOALS As the moisture
dries OF from the outside the cotton flakes
of and burns up quietly. Perfectly dry
gun cotton, when confined In a strong
case, will explode with great violence II
exposed TO temperature OF about 320 de-
grees 4.
Detonation, or the firing Of explosives by
intense shock, Is a modern method, for
until 30 years ago the application of heat
was always used 10 bring about an explo-
sion. It bas now besn discovered that de-
tonation produces n more powerful effect
than explosion by means OF heat. In de-
toDating the wet gun cotton in the toyrsdo
heads the primer Of dry gun cotton which
is used weighs only pound or thereabout.
It IL placed In contact with the wet mass.
which In a Whitehead torpedo consists
usually Of about 300 pounds Tbsn, by
means or fuse and fuls tnase OF mercury
cap. haine is shot through the disk of
dry gun cotton. This explodos instantly,
and with IL tho entire mass OF the wet cot
ton, preiuciDg tSernendous pesulss. New
York Trpbuna
The judge Paid.
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