AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE POWDER OR COMPOUND, AND THE MODE OF PRE- PARING THE SAME
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hunter Henry Murdoch, of No. 7, Staple Inn,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
" AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE POWDER OR COMPOUND, AND THE MODE OF PRE-
PARING THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by Baron Victor
de Rutenberg. of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hunter Henry Murdoch
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 30th January 1873.
I, HUNTER HENRY MURDOCH, of No. 7, Staple Inn, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE POWDER OR COMPOUND, AND THE MODE
OF PREPARING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in making an explosive powder by mixing
with nitroglycerine the substance called randanite, duly prepared for the
purpose.

page_text: The substance called randanite, which was first discovered at Randanne,
in the department of Puy de Dôme, in France, is a hydrated silica of
_volcanic origin, very light, and having a resemblance to kaolin earth.
According to this Invention the randanite, after being dried in the
open air, is roasted at a light red heat, care being however taken so to
regulate the heat as not to injure the randanite. The said randanite is
then reduced to powder, and sifted in a fine silk sieve.
Should the randanite to be operated upon be too impure, as is frc-
quently the case, it must be washed in an acid solution before being
treated as herein-before described. Hydrochloric acid is more suitable for
this purpose than any other acid. Before being used the said acid should
be diluted with a sufficient quantity of water. When prepared, as herein.
before described, the randanite is ready for use as an absorbent for nitro-
glycerine.
In manufacturing the improved powder the randanite is mixed with a ;
quantity of nitroglycerine, which quantity varies according to the
explosive force it is desired to give to the powder. The least explosive
mixture or powder should contain equal parts or quantities by weight of
nitroglycerine and randanite. The most explosive compound or powder
may contain as much as three parts by weight of nitroglycerine to one
part of randanite. Between these limits for the composition of the
mixture or compound of nitroglycerine and randanite the proportions of
cach of the said substances usod vary according to the explosive force of
the powder it is intended to produce, and in some particular cases, such
as tho charging of hollow projectiles, it may be advantageous to mix a
proportion of only forty or fifty parts per centum of nitroglycerine with
every sixty or fifty parts per centum respectively of prepared randanite.
The mixture is effected, whatever be the proportions of the ingredients
used, by pouring the nitroglycerine gradually upon the powdered ran-
danite, and stirring the mixture with a spoon or slice made of wood,
horn, or other suitable material.
The table or surface on which the mixing operation takes place should
be lined or coated with guitta perchia or soft metal.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Hunter Henry Murdoch in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 30th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HUNTER
HENRY MURDOсп, of No. 7, Staple Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, Her special
license that I, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Hunter
Henry Murdoch, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, usc, excrcise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE POWDER OR COMPOUND, AND THE MODE
OF PREPARING THE SAME," a communication to me from abroad by Baron
Victor de Rutenberg, of Paris, France, upon the condition (amongst
others), that I, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, my executors or ad-
minstrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to
say:
-
This Invention consists in making an explosive powder by mixing
with nitroglycerine the substance called randanite, duly prepared for the
purpose.

page_text: •
The substance called randanite, which was first discovered at Randanno,
in the department of Puy de Dôme, in France, is a hydrated silica of
volcanic origin, very light, and having a resemblance to kaolin carth.
According to this Invention the randanite, after being dried in the
open air, is roasted at a light red heat, care being taken so to regulate
the heat as not to injure the randanite. The said randanite is then
reduced to powder, and sifted in a fine silk sieve.
Should the randanite to be operated upon be too impure, as is frequently
the case, it must be washed in an acid solution before being treated as
herein-before described. Hydrochloric acid is more suitable for this
purpose than any other acid. Before being used the said acid should be
diluted with a sufficient quantity of water. When prepared, as hercin-
before described, the randanite is ready for use as an absorbent for nitro-
glycerinc.
In manufacturing the improved powder the randanite is mixed with
a quantity of nitroglycerine, which quantity varies according to the
explosive force it is desired to give to the powder. The least explosive
mixture or powder should contain equal parts or quantitics by weight of
nitroglycerine and randanite. The most explosive compound or powder
may contain as much as threo parts by weight of nitroglycerine to ono
part of randanite. Between these limits for the composition of the
mixture or compound of nitroglycerine and randanite the proportions of
cach of the said substances used vary according to the explosive force of
the powder it is intended to produce; and in some particular cases, such
as the charging of hollow projectiles, it may be advantageous to mix a
proportion of only 40 or 50 parts per centum of nitroglycerine with every
60 or 50 parts per centum respectively of prepared randanite.
The mixture is effected, whatever be the proportions of the ingredients
used, by pouring the nitroglycerine gradually upon the powdered ran-
danite, and stirring the mixture with a spoon or slice made of wood, horn,
or other suitable material.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and the means of
carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be well understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein-before described,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of the said
Invention; but what I claim as of the Invention is,―
Firstly. The improved explosive powder or compound herein-before
described, that is to say, an explosive powder or compound made by
mixing randanite with nitroglycerine, essentially as described.
Secondly. The adaptation and application of randanite to the absorp-
tion of nitroglycerine, essentially as herein-before described, for the purpose
of producing an explosive powder.
'
In witness whercof, I, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, have
hcrcunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
threc.
)
Witness,
W. T. WHITEMAN,
7, Staple Inn,
London.
H. H. MURDOCH. (L.S.)

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hunter Henry Murdoch, of No. 7, Staple Inn,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE POWDER OR COMPOUND, AND THE MODE OF PRE-
PARING THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by Baron Victor
de Rutenberg, of Paris, France.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hunter Henry Murdocli
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 30th January 1873.
I, HUNTER HENRY MURDOCH, of No. 7, Staple Inn, in the County of
› Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE POWDER OR COMPOUND, AND the Mode
OP PREPARING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in making an explosive powder by mixing

page_text: The substance called randanite, which was first discovered at Randanne,
in the department of Puy de Dôme, in France, is a hydrated silica of
volcanic origin, very light, and having a resemblance to kaolin cartlı.
According to this Invention the raudanite, after being dried in the
open air, is roasted at a light red heat, care being however taken so to i
regulate the heat as not to injure the randanite. The said randanite is
then reduced to powder, and sifted in a fine silk sieve.
Should the randanite to be operated upon be too impure, as is fre-
quently the case, it must be washed in an acid solution before being
treated as herein-before described. Hydrochloric acid is more suitable for
this purpose than any other acid. Before being used the said acid should
be diluted with a sufficient quantity of water. When prepared, as hercin-
before described, the randanite is ready for use as an absorbent for nitro-
glycerino.
In manufacturing the improved powder the randanite is mixed with a
quantity of nitroglycerine, which quantity varies according to the
explosive force it is desired to give to the powder. The least explosive
mixture or powder should contain equal parts or quantities by weight of
nitroglycerine and randanite. The most explosive compound or powder
may contain as much as three parts by weight of nitroglycerine to one
part of randanite. Between these limits for the composition of the
mixture or compound of nitroglycerine and randanite the proportions of
cach of the said substances used vary according to the explosive force of
the powder it is intended to produce, and in some particular cases, such
as the charging of hollow projectiles, it may be advantageous to mix a
proportion of only forty or fifty parts per centum of nitroglycerine with
every sixty or fifty parts per centum respectively of prepared randanite.
The mixture is effected, whatever be the proportions of the ingredients
used, by pouring the nitroglycerine gradually upon the powdered ran-
danite, and stirring the mixture with a spoon or slice made of wood,
horn, or other suitable material.
The table or surface on which the mixing operation takes place should
be lined or coated with guitta percha or soft metal.
iving might even be affected in a. mixing

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Hunter Henry Murdoch in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 30th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HUNTER
HENRY MURDOCH, of No. 7, Staple Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, Her special
license that I, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Hunter
Henry Murdoch, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no otliers, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "AN IMPROVED EXPLOSIVE POWDER OR COMPOUND, AND THE MODE
OF PREPARING THE SAME," a communication to me from abroad by Baron
Victor de Rutenberg, of Paris, France, upon the condition (amongst
others), that I, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, my exccutors or ad-
minstrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: The substance called randanite, which was first discovered at Randanne,
in the department of Puy de Dôme, in France, is a hydrated silica of
volcanic origin, very light, and having a resemblance to kaolin carth.
According to this Invention the randanite, after being dried in the
open air, is roasted at a light red licat, care being taken so to regulate
the heat as not to injure the randanite. The said randanite is then
reduced to powder, and sifted in a fine silk sieve.
Should the randanite to be operated upon be too impure, as is frequently
the case, it must be washed in an acid solution before being treated as
herein-before described. Hydrochloric acid is more suitable for this
purpose than any other acid. Before being used the said acid should bo
diluted with a sufficient quantity of water. When prepared, as herein-
before described, the randanite is ready for use as an absorbent for nitro-
glycerine.
In manufacturing the improved powder the randanite is mixed with
a quantity of nitroglycerine, which quantity varies according to the
explosive force it is desired to give to the powder. The least explosive
mixture or powder should contain equal parts or quantities by weight of
nitroglycerine and randanite. The most explosive compound or powder
may contain as much as three parts by weight of nitroglycerine to onc
part of randanite. Between these limits for the composition of the
mixture or compound of nitroglycerine and randanite the proportions of
cach of the said substances used vary according to the explosive force of
the powder it is intended to produce; and in some particular cases, such
as tho charging of hollow projectiles, it may be advantageous to mix a
proportion of only 40 or 50 parts per centum of nitroglycerine with every
60 or 50 parts per centum respectively of prepared randanite.
The mixture is effected, whatever be the proportions of the ingredients
used, by pouring the nitroglycerino gradually upon the powdered ran-
danite, and stirring the mixture with a spoon or slice made of wood, horn,
or other suitable material.
The table or surface on which tho mixing operation takes place should
be lined or coated with gutta percha or soft metal.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and the means of
carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be well understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein-before described,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of the said
Invention; but what I claim as of the Invention is,―
Firstly. The improved explosive powder or compound herein-before
described, that is to say, an explosive powder or compound made by
mixing randanite with nitroglycerine, essentially as described.
Secondly. The adaptation and application of randanite to the absorp-
tion of nitroglycerine, essentially as herein-before described, for the purpose
of producing an explosive powder.
In witness whereof, I,' the said Hunter Henry Murdoch, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-ninth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
threc.
Witness,
W. T. WHITEMAN,
7, Staple Inn,
London.
H. H. MURDOCH. (L.S.)