El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-24
sMoKELEss CANNON POWDER.

All modern smokeless powders con-
Sist either of nitro-celluloSe of some
special degre of nitration. or of a mix
ture of different grades, either with or
without the addition of nitro glycerin.
rri-nitro-cellulose. or guncotton of the
highest nitration. is so difficult to
work and 3hrinKs too badly to per-
NIT of its being used alone. Mixed.
4 however. with ten per cent of the more
soluble gelatin-guncOtton, the resulting
| compound may be worked with but
very little solvent. Upon this COM
pound a slight rise of temperature has
the peculiar effect of increasing its
| Elasticity which enables perfect granu-
lation with an exceedingly small
/ amount of solvent. When ten per cent
of nitro-glyeerin is employed. there
should be used at first, in the material
in the Incorporating machine, about
twice the quantity of solvent that will
be required in granulation, the excess
being removed by working between
steel rolls, such Ss those used in the
manufacture of celluloid. Powder
made by this formula does not warp
or crack in drying. and internal stress
is reduced to a minimum
yro-nitro-cellulose is now used eX-
clusively by the government in the
manufacture of smokeless powder: and
while it shrinks considerably in drying
still the grains are so tough, hard, and
hornlike that. in spite of any internal
stress. they are capable of standing
higher pressure than when made of
more brittle compound. even though
greater care be exercised to avoid
shrinkage. No nitro-glycerin is used
in the present service powder. and the
compound is sc poor in oxygen that
grain burned in the air leaves a large
quantity of unconsumed carbon. Burn
ed in a gun however. under service
pressure. most of the carbon combines
with the oxygen to produce carbon1c
oxide instead of carbonic acid. The
product sof combustion of this mater
ial are practically all gaseous. and
therefore smokeless, and consist main
yof carbonic oxide, free nitrogen. and
free hydrogen. The immense volume
of the products of combustion of this
powder, owing to tie exceeding light
ness of these gases. gives it very high
ballistic value. while at the same time
the Temperature is much lower and the
erosive action upon the gun is less
than with smokeless powders rich in
nitro-glycerin. which owe their high
balIistic value to the great expansive
powder due to high temperature.
The high explosive quality of picric
acid. which contains too little oxygen
for it's complete combustion, is anOth-
er example where the larger volume of
lighter gases composites for the great
er expansive value of heavier gases at
a higher temperature produced with
explosives rich in oxygen. which yield
carbonic acid in place of carponic OK
:de If all of the carbon present in
yro-nitro-cellulose smokeless powder
were to combine to form oarbonic OK
ide with a minimum production of car
bonic acid and aqueous vGpor, to sat
isfy an ideal equation, still higher bal
listic results would be attained. But
the pressure in guns is not sufficiently
high to effect this: whereas, in the de-
tonation of the picric acid a pressure
from fifteen to twenty times as high
is instntly produced. under which the
density and temperature Of the gases
are such as to cause practically all of
the carbon to combine with the oxygen
forming the lowest oxide of carbon at
the expense of the hydrogen present. |
Consequently. we get as the products |
of combustion the maximum of car |
bonic oxide. with free nitrogen and |
free hydrogen. and with g minimum of
carponic acid and aqueous vapor. IN |
der high pressures and temperatures !,
the chemical affinity of carbon is es-
peciallv intensified.-By Hudson Max |
i'm in the aJnuary Forum.
IN h 10. To-. <l<~r& y.