The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1903-02-23
LIABLE TO FXPLOg z.
HARMLESS HOUSEHOLD GOODS T'4AT
ARE REALLY DANGEROUS.

Wicked Combination, and E1uus
Dust snd Dry Air l. FrauEht wan
DanEer-odditics of Guncotton.
At the premises OF an English com
pany there occurred some time ago &
disastrous fire which completely guttet
III enormous building and caused losse'
aggregating 100000. The fire was at
tributed 10 an explosion Of malt.
Any hne inaammable dust wher
mixed with a certain proportion Of dry
air will explode. There was a previou.
similar accident I'm New York candy
mandatory. A terrific explosion
which wrecked the entire building was
discovered to be due TO the fact that
particles of fine icing sugar had been
allowed 10 invade the room where the
furnaces were.
An eminent authority on explosives
declares that many of those accidents
I'm coal mines usually attributed 20 Gre
damp have been cJuscd ly jry coal
dust suspended ,n the CALLER. having
been accidental. hred Even su appar.
emily as innocent a substance ns 1our
becomes fearfully explosive when
mixed IN suitable proportions with dry
air.
Another substance that has proved 90
be extremely dangerous when stored In
large quantities is chloratc of potash.
A disaster some years ago iu hig Lon
don factory proved the .ructive
powers OF this simple rem tlr colds
Sugar and chlorate OF r. mixed
form an explosive which has ueen tried
for blasting purposes. but so dangerous
compound is it that any explosive
containing these ingredients is not like.
ly to pass the government tests In this
country.
A good many years ago IL was dis
covered that cellulose soaked In strong
nitric acid changed from substance
no more harmful than paper to a fierce
explosive. The number Of materials on
which nitric acid will work a similar
transformation IS almost endless
Wood. paper, straw, coal. peat, pitch.
starch, sugar. tea tan. phosphorus. iron.
zinc, copper and magnesium are only o
few that could be named
One Of the best known and most ter
rible OF these mixtures is uitroglycerin.
which is simply nitric acid and com.
mon glycerin mixed together and al
lowed TO fall into a stream Of water
Dynamite is nothing more than nitro
glycerin absorbed by some spongy sub
stance. Alum. asbestus, plaster of par.
Is, sawdust. bran. neal even dried and
pounded potatoes. have been employed
for this purpose. but the substance
most commonly employed is what IL
known as "kiescl guhr," or spongy
earth. This is the kind Of clay formed
of minute fossil shells. great beds Of
which are found in Germany and 9th
er parts of the world.
Guncotton. which was first made I'm
1916, is the form OF nitro compound
usually employed in war. 1t is manu-.
featured from ordinary cotton waste
treated with mixture OF nitric and
sulphuric acids.
There is one very curious point about
guncotton. 1t cannot be made from
raw cotton in the bale; waste cotton Is |
necessary for its manufacture. 1t seems |
as II the bleaching 10 which manufac. |
tured cotton has been subjected has |
to do with fitting the waste |
for becoming explosive material. Oily |
waste is, however, completely useless |
for making guncotton, and II even a
little is carelessly used n whole batch |
Of the manufactured product may be
spoiled.
Guncotton is so extraordinarily sud |
len In its action that a small quantity |
has been exploded in contact with a |
heap of gunpowder and has failed to
yet fire TO IT,
The great advantage which guncot.
on possesses over all other explosives
s that damp does not injure it. In
act. wet guncotton explodes with just
Is great violence as dry. but is of
,ourse much harder TO fire. Conse-
luently II is one OF the safest explo-
lives to carry. as it can be thoroughly
yetted before packing and kept wet
Turing transport. For mining purposes
II for use in war guncotton is usually
into hard cakes.
The cordite which is now used IN
British military rifles is a rather more
substance. being composed
4 thirty seven parts OF guncotton
mixed with fifty-eight OF nltroglycerln
nd FIVE parts Of mineral jelly. 1t Is
ormed into little cords each three
ighths Of an inch in diameter These
re made up into little fagots which
re placed In the cartridges.
What seems very odd substance
rom which 10 make an explosive Is
utta percha. 1ut by the action OF nj
ric acid IT can be turned1nto a formi
able detonator.
Each country has its pet powder. The
lnited States uses picrate OF ammonia;
be French have a beautiful, semi
chestnut colored powder
iade OF the nitrates OF potassium and
arium. Besides these there are dozens
explosives with fancy names such
$ balllstite. cannonlte. rifeite, randite.
lastOmenite. These vary iu size and