Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-06-23
FIRING A BIG GUN.
THE FRlGHTFuL FORCE GENERATED
BY THE EXPLOSION.

vibrations which May Cause Deafness
Heart stoppage to Those In Close Prox-
Unity to the Monster Cannon.
Not one man in 10, 600 has a clear idea OF
Just what happens when big cannon Is
fired The physical manifestations. are
numerous. Even professors of chemistry
and physics are stumped when they want
to differcntiate all the gases set loose and
the peculiar effects they induce. The puff
of whitish smoke, the flash of fire, the dim
image of the flying projectile, the roar and
the recoil are all familiar but back of all
these is a complex mass of phenomena
most bewildering to the mind of any but
an artillery expert.
First, the cubes, disks, hexagons or ir-
regular Jumps of powder are chemically
transformed into a powerful, expanding
gas the instant firing takes place Then
there are innumerable byproducts that
even chemists do not understand
1t has been calculated that only about
43 per cent by weight of the powder is
converted by the explosion into gas. The
remaining 81 per cent becomes liquid
the moment of explosion and on solidify-
ing becomes potassium snlphate, potas-
sjI1m carbonate and potassium sulnhide.
great MANY other combinations take
nlace and varions solids ere formed which
have never been successfully analvzed
THE ordinary charges nlaced in the 10
inch puns of the United States warshins
during this complicated chemical trans
formation axart a rress,,re on the VALE nf
tba cannon of aho,,t "a TONS to tho souara
inch This force serves to start the nro
iectile and develops a sneed of O1e feet
nor second nv the fine the shot reaches the
m,,zzle of the cannon Hin To this stage af
the exnlosion the chemical action has gone
on in rerfect silence Tba tremenflo,iS ,o-
MORT which pIavs s1cb havoc with the
nerves of the yunners ia NOT caused Inv the
explosion itself But as the nroiectile
energies from the muzzle if leaves behind
If vacurm in the barrel Of the pun. and
the report is caused by the air in it's rush
to fill nm this empty SPACE.
The forces exerted by these gases in ex-
handing seem TO radiate in all directions
from the cannon. as ripples are caused by
dropninp a pebble in a nool of still water.
AS matter of fact. it has been discovered
that these lines of forces are exceedingly
complicated affairs and play very oueer
franks about the cannon. AS result.
few people know lust which is the safest
or the most dangerous position for gun
ner to take beside his gun. The center of
disturbance at the moment of explosion is
the mouth Of the gun. In the case of the
great 13 inch guns on our monitors posi-
ton back of the gun is much easier than
one nearer the muzzle.
In addition to this force there is an i'm
mense pressure exerted on the sides of the
cannon, SO that another distinct series Ct
shocks also radiates outward from the bar
rel of the gun. These are in turn more or
less compensated by the forces of the air
opposing them as it rushes into the mouth
of the cannon when the projcctile leaves
it, AS a result of all these forces the at
mosphere is. of course. violently disturbed.
Although no Droiectile strikes the gunner.
who must stand by. it will be seen that
the air is full of missiles in the form of in
visible lines of force or vibrations which
lombard, as it were. every part of the
gunner's body at the same time
An examination and ANALYSIS of the
effect nroduced upon the human system
and the mind by the firing of cannon is
most engrossing. Men generally account
ed courageous tremble violently in their
knees. others feel nauseated, some have
severe headaches, a few have had their ear
drums split or the action of their heart
affected
Take the vital organ. the heart. first. In
the space between the right auricle and
ventricle are a set; of fine. threadIike cords
called the tendinm. The concussion
makes them tremble like timbers in a
building when there is an earthquake In
a weak man the chamber of the heart is
left omen for an instant. the openinp and
closing springs lose their control. the
heart shakes. possibly the cbordae ten
din@ are snapped. contraction or dilation
of the organ ensues and in some Instances
death follows.
Deafness induced by an explosion may
be traced to the sudden pressure upon the
inner orifice of the ear and the tremendous
vibration set up The thin, transparent