Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-05-01
SAFEST OF HIGH EXPLOSIVES.
How Guncotton is Made ana HOW
Used on Board of War Vessels

"Guncotton." said an ordnance oiticer'
when asked about tho qualities OF inns
substance, which is used in the torpedoes
carried by the ships OF the navy, rs oy
far the safest OF any Of the high explo-
sives. This is the reason 1t Is chosen IN
stead of nitro-glycerine 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 application
of heat. by a shock and, under some con-
ditions, by spontaneous combustion. But
the guncotton, as long as IL is wet, Is alb
solutey safe, and there Is no trouble about
preserving the necessary degree or
moisture"
Precisely the same opinion regarding
guncotton as an explosive for naval war
fare was expressed by the superintendent
of one of the largest powder-manu-
featuring firms a man who has had much
experience in the making OF gunpowder
and guncotton.
Not only is gun-cotton absolutely inert
and harmless SO long as It Is wet" he
said, but il does not necessarily follow
that 1t will explode even when dry. or
course, il Is then much more liable to do
so, but If It is undisturbed In any way,
n considerable quantity OF II might re-
main dry without any accident. In our
works We are extremely careful about
the way in which we handle dry gum
cotton. but there is no need Of any pre-
caution when IL is wet On shipboard
the disks of dry cotton which arc used
as primers 10 detonate the wet are al
ways kept away from the magazine,
either on deck or In one OF the cabins.
The only danger from them would DO
in case they were dropped while being
handled. The result then would not al
ways-perhaps not usually-be an explo-
sion, but you never can tell with GER
tainty one OF the disks might be drop
ped half a dozen times and not explode,
and the next time, under apparently the
same conditions, IL would go off, AS far
as heat is concerned, II the cry gun
cotton is exposed 70 a continued high
temperature for long time, II is likely
TO decompose, undergoing chemical
changes which generate heat. and may
go far enough to cause spontaneous COM
bustion. But no such condition Is pos
slble on a ship, because the gun-cotton
is always carried in the torpedo heads,
and inspected regularly 10 see that IL
remains wet. The heads are practically
alright but IL any evaporation is no.
ticed. 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
paratiyely simple one. Pure raw cotton
or ordinary cotton waste is stepped In q
solution OF one part OF nitric acid and
three parts Of sulphuric 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 cellu-
lose, OF which cotton consists. After the
cotton has soaked in the acids for seve-
raj hours, Il 81 taken from the pots and
squeezed through heavy rollers TO ex
tract all the superfiuous acid which II
has not absorbed. Then II 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. For
merly this washing was the last process
resorted to for the removal OF the free
acid, but a few years ago Sir Frederick
Abel found that the cells in the cotton
fibre so absorbed and retsined the acid
by capillary attraction that the washing
failed TO extract II 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 a paper-mill. Here
Il is crushed thoroughly and after
ward washed again until the last
trace OF free acid disappears. and
the cotton comes out In the form OF q
soft, white pulp, closely resembling the
pulp OF which paper Is made. This con-
ciudes the process OF actual m anufac-
ture, and II now remains only TO con-
vert the gun-cotton into the most con-