The record-union., 1898-05-07
SAFETY OF HIGH EXPLOSIVES.
How Guncotton is Made and How
Used on WAR Vessels.

"Guncotton," said an ordnance Off
Ger, when asked about the qualities of
this substance, which is used by the
torpedoes carried by the ships of the
navy, "is by far the safest of any of
the high explosives That is the reason
it is chosen instead of o-glycerine
preparations. which, although they will
produce more powerful effects, are very
dangerous things to have on shipobard.
They can be exploded too easily by the
application of heat, by shock, and,
under some conditions, by spontaneous
combustion. But the guncotton, as long
as it is wet, is absolutely safe, and
there is no trouble about preserving the
necessary degree of moisture"
Precisely the same opinion regarding
guncotton as an explosive for naval
warfare was expressed by the Super
intendent of one of the largest powder
manufacturing firms, man who has
had much experience in the making
of gunpowder and guncotton.
Not only is guncotton absolutely
inert and harmless so long as it 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 it is undisturbed
in anv way a considerable quantity of
it might remain dry without any acci-
dent. In our works we are extremely
careful about the way in which we
handle dry guncotton. but there is no
need of any precautions when it is
wet. On shipboard the disks of dry
cotton which are used as primers to
detonate the wet are always kept away
from the magazine, either on deck or
in one of the cabins. The only danger
from them would be in case they were
dropped while being handled The re-
suit 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 con-
ditions, it would go off. AS far as
heat is concerned, if the dry guncot-
ton is exposed to continued high tenn
perature for q long time, it 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 a 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 if any evap-
oration is noticed the cotton can be
dampened again by a regular means
arranged for that purpose"
The process by which so common and
harmless a substance as cotton is con-
verted into a high explosive is COM
paratively simple one. Pure raw cotton
or ordinary cotton waste is stepped in
a solution Of one part of nitric acid and
three parts of sulphuric acid The nj
tric acid is the one which renders the
cotton explosive, the presence of the
suphuric being required only to absorb
the water, thus allowing the other acid
to combine more readily with the near
Iy pure ceIlulose of which cotton con-
sists. After the cotton has soaked in
the acids for several hours, it is taken
from the pots and squeezed through
heavy rollers to extract all the super
fiuous acid which it has not absorbed.
Then it is washed carefully and thor
ouehly, still with the same object of
removing the free acid. If 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 few years ago Sir
Frederick Abel found that the cells IN
the cotton fiber so absorbed and re-
tanned the acid by capillary attraction
that the washing failed to extract IL
entirely To remedy this and make
the guncotton more pure it is now,
after being washed, passed through a
| machine similar to that which grlnds
up the rags in a paper mill. Here 1t IS
crushed thoroughly and afterward
| washed again until the last trace OF
| free acid disappears, and the cotton
| comes out in the form of soft, white
pulp. closely resembling the pulp OF
which paper is made This concludes
| the process of actual manufacture, and
| it now remains only to convert the gun
cotton into the most convenient form
/ for the use to which it is to be put. II
| if is to be employed in making powder,
| it is dried and stored away in pulver-
/ lied form. but if it is designed for fill
ling torpedoes, it must be compressed to
| a certain density and nodded into the
/ shapes which will best enable it to be
packed into the torpedo heads. These
| shapes vary according to the design OF
l'the torpedoes and the method of pack
/ ing. Sometimes they are disks and