Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1898-08-15

ton and Vaseline-The Interesting Proc.
 ess by Which Its Dangerous Elements
 Are Combined.
 Since the advent of the speedy torpe- do boat and since rapid firing guns hayo been placed on battleships and cruisers an explosive that would allow to the officers and gumners all unobstruoted view of an enemy under all conditions has been sought, and thousands of dol lars have been expended in the effort to obtain q satisfactory substitute for black gunpowder. Cordite, the latest explo- siye, is said to be the most satisfactory propellant of modern times for naval warfare, and the expert opinion seems to be that in few years gunpowder as now understood will have vanished.
 The earliest records of established powder mills show that there was only one in operation in 1890, this one being in England. During the year 1787 the Waltham Abbey Powder mills were purchased by the English government They are still conducted by it. The Fla yersham mills, which up to that date were the largest in the world, passed into the hands of private corporation in 1915. The manufacture of powder was continued without much improve ment, except i'll the efficiency of the grinding and mixing machinery, until about 35 years ago, the formula for black powder being saltpeter 75 parts, charcoal 15 parts and sulphur 10 parts. the whole forming mechanical mix ture and not a chemical compound.
 Smokeless powder, however, became absolutely a necessity, for the reason that smoke producing powders masked the object aimed at, and the torpedo boat, which was becoming a recognized feature of naval warfare, could dash up and discharge one or more deadly mis. siles under cover of the smoke.
 Smokeless powders were first pro- duced in France, and for some time the secret of the manufacture was guarded 1ealously. As soon IS the necessity for 5his kind of powder became apparent, however, 8 number of manufacturers devoted attention to it, and as a result various brands of smokeless explosives were placed on the market.
 The most satisfactory results eventu. ally made their appearance in cordite, which was produced through experi- ments made by Professor Dewar and Sir Frederick Abel. Cordite is composed of nitroglycerin 58 per cent, gun cotton 37 per cent and vaseline per cent Nitro glycerin is an oily, colorless liquid and an active poison. It is produced by mix ing quantity of sulphuric acid with almost double the amount of nitric acid and allowing it to cool About one- eighth of the total weight of glycerin is then added gradually, the mixture be- ing kept below temperature ef 70 de- grees F. by passing air and cold water through it. After the mixture has stood 8 sufficient time the acids are drawn of, and the residue (nitroglycerin) iswash. ed and filtered.
 Nitroglyeerin cannot bo ignited easily by flame, and a lighted match or ta per plunged into itwould be extinguish- ed. It is sensitive to friction or porous sion, either of which will detonate it. Another peculiarity is that the higher the temperature the more sensitive it becomes. It will solidify at temper ature of 40 degrees, and its explosive force is estimated to be about twelve times that of gunpowder.
 One of the most approved methods used in the manufacture of gun cotton is this: The raw cotton is torn into shreds, dried and dipped in mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids. It is then placed ill stream of running water and washed thoroughly. The cotton is then wrung out, usually in centrifugal ma chine.
 It is afterward boiled, dried, cut into pulp and pressed into disks. When the gun cotton is finished, there should be no trace of the acids remaining. Vase line, the other component part of cor. dite, is the we'll known extract from pe- troleum, and it's usefulness is chiefly to lubricate the bore of the gun and thus lessen the friction between it and the projectile. It also has q tendency to inn part q waterproof nature to eordite.
 A colorless liquid prepared from ace- tate of lime, called acetone, is used as 8 solvent in the manufacture of cordite. The method of preparing the explosive is: The required proportion of nitro glycerin is poured over the gun cotton. and the two, with the addition of ace- tone, are kneaded together into stiff paste. Vaseline is then added, and the whole compound, after being thorough ly mixed, is put into machine and the cordite pressed out and cut into lengths, after which it is dried.
 To the artillerist the nature of cordite is represented by fraction whose nu- merator gives in hundredths of an inch the diameter of the die through which the cordite has been pressed, its denom- inator being the length of the stick in inches. The cordite known as 30-12, which is the size used for the inch quick firing guns, signifies that it's di- ameter is three-tenths of an inch, and it is 12 inches long.