D I CT I O N A RY O F EXPLOSIVES ARTH UR M AR SHALL F . I . C . F . C . S. CHEM I CAL I NSP ECTOR I N DI AN OR DNANCE DEPARTM ENT PHILADELPHIA ’ P . BLAKI STON S S ON 8: CO . 1 0 1 2 WALNUT STREET I N TR ODUCTION I T is a generation since a dictionary of explosives has been and published, , in the meantime, many new explosives have v been introduced . It is hoped, therefore, that this small olume , giving concise information about these special materials , i may prove useful to those who have to deal w th them . ’ ” Cu ll In ndi and Thomson s Dictionary of Explosives , 1 8 95 e of issued in , there are many entri s the names of inventors and of mixtures which had been proposed but have “ As never been used commercially , nor are likely to be . modern explosives were then in their infancy , it was no doubt wise to insert all the available information whether it appe ared to be important or not ; but now it seems to me better to restrict the scope o f the dictionary so as to keep its size within moderate limits . Practically only explosives with special or proprietary names are therefore dealt with here . For information concerning chemical substances , such - - o as the nitro toluenes and other nitro c mpounds , reference should be made to the text - books on explosives and A a r few words may, however, be s id here about the nit o celluloses . These are made by treating cellulose with a mix ture of nitric and sulphuric acids , and then purifying the product by washing it thoroughly with hot water . The of variety cellulose most used for this purpose is cotton , and f the product obtained rom it is frequently called nitrocotton , of c o three special varieties which are ollodion c tton , pyro collodion and guncotton (q . The only other form of cellulose which is nitrated on a commercial scale is chemical a cellulose obt ined by the treatment of wood or straw . v M1 645 9 3 vi INTRODUCTION Nitrated wood cellulose has long been used fo r the manu f - acture of smokeless powders for shot guns , and during the - War the Germans made powders for rifled fire arms from it . No trouble has been spared to make the dictionary com le t e p and accurate, but there must inevitably be omissions of and errors in it , especially as regards the explosives foreign f countries . The author will be grate ul for any additional information that may be sent him . E d xplosives may be classifie d in various ways , accor ing to of bu of the purpose the classification , t the great majority them fall naturally into two main divisions propellants and high explosives . Propellants explode comparatively slowly , fir - and are used to propel projectiles from e arms . High c explosives are mu h more rapid in their action , and are used b o for ursting and shattering . Propellants are f two sorts , according as they are intended for use in shot -guns or rifled fire - for - arms . Those shot guns burn more rapidly than those for the latter, but both practically always contain a consider i oi able proport on nitrocellulose , gelatinised by means of such - of solvents as acetone or ether alcohol, according as it is high S or low nitration . ome contain also nitroglycerine, and are s then called nitroglycerine powders , wherea those that do not contain this substance are termed nitrocellulose powders . Many powders also contain other ingredients , as may be seen from the compositions given in this dictionary . Of high explosives an impo rtant class is used for charging b A shells and ombs . s a rule, but not necessarily, these are not the same as the explosives use d for mining operations A and other general blasting purposes . nother important of a - w class is that the co l mine explosives , hich are designed to give only a short and comparatively cool flame so as to fi - - diminish the danger of igniting re damp and coal dust . - Nearly half the explosives in this dictionary are . coal mine explosives . The reason for this large number is that no finality has yet been reached as to the best and safest W explosives to use in coal mines . hen more experience has been gained it is probable that the numbe r of these explosives INTRODUCTION vu E an the t d on the market will be reduced . In ngl d Permi te List has re ce ntly b e e n cut down considerably . In Great B ritain these coal -mine explosives have to be e E l submitted to th Inspectors of xp osives , and are subj ected o If to tests f r safety and strength . they pass they are placed ” of s on the list Permitted Explo ives , and the compositions C M are published in the Explosives in oal ines Orders . In these Orders the upper and lower limits of the percentage of int e rme each constituent are given , but in this dictionary diate percentages are given so that the sum for any explosive 1 00 Co M amounts to . In the Explosives in al ines Orders the percentage of such a substance as wood, meal or starch , is given in the dried condition , but here it is given in the air-dry state on the assumption that it then contains about 1 0 per cent . of moisture . In France and B elgium also the compositions of the coal ul mine explosives are published, but in Germany, as a r e, only a list of the constituents is given , and sometimes an upper or lower limit for one or more of the principal constituents . Moreover, it is not stated explicitly whether the explosives are intended for use in coal mines or for general blasting in purposes . In the United States of America , explosives tended for use in coal mines are examined by the B ureau of M the ines , which , however, has no power to prevent use of others because regulations on this matter are made by the i i ind v dual states . If they pass they are placed on the list ” s E of Permis ible xplosives . The compositions are not f published , but the class o composition is stated . f of Until the second hal the nineteenth century, gunpowder was practically the only explosive used on a considerable for C scale, and it was employed all purposes . onsequently of it does not fall into any the classes mentioned, or rather it could be placed in several of them . Another class of explosives that has not yet been men tione d u is that of the primary igniters , of which f l minate of of mercury may be taken as typical . The characteristic these is that they can be exploded or ignited by a spark or moderate INTR ODUCTION n friction , and conseque tly they can be employed to fire other , n less se sitive explosives . There are, however, practically no explosives of this class which possess special or proprietary t names , and consequently they are not deal with in this dictionary . C LASSIF I CATION COAL -M INE EXPLOSIVES Ame rican P e rmissible Explosive s . Aetna Coal Mine Powder . Guardian . B e ntal . 2 . Coal Powder . Hecla No H ra B i uminit de . t e . yg Coal Powder ' K amt e Black Diamond . Lo mit e Cameron Mine Powder . Lo wi i n t e . t . Coali e . Meteor ’ Coal Special . Miners Friend . -it e Collier Powder . Min . M onobe l Cronit e . D o e t - e t nit . Ni ro Low Flame R e d . Du Pont Permissible . H E ureka . Trojan Coal Powder . t For Pitt Mine Powder . - it e Fuel . i Giant Coal M ne Powder . Austrian S P B e lgian Explosifs . G. Alsilit e Gri ou . s tit e . de S fire t é In éli e Antigel . g t . B a l ni e e t e . M ine rit e . Colinit e a nti ri o u g s ute se . D i v e ns t e . Pul e rl t e . an i i a n i i t r sout e use . t r soute use Dynamite g Sabulite g . E s Se curO hore Favier xplo ives . p . Fla mmivore Wallonit e . a n i ri o Yon ki t ut c t e . Forcite g s e use . F ra ct ori e t . (There were also several s Gri outine II . plosives made in Germany. ) x CLASSIFICATION B ritish. * b i * l A bc t e H r u it . e c e * * e t . Ab li e . Kent Powder * Ajax Powder . * Albioni *K o a x t e . * * Amasit e K oi Su r . ax ( pe * "‘ a K narkite Ammon l . y *K i n t e . Ammonite . y * * Amvis . Melling Powder . * * Anchorite . Mersey Powder . * * A hosit e M init e . p . * t M onarkit e . Arki e . * M onobe l Barking Powder . * M onobe l . Bellite . Powder * Nationalit e Bobbinite . * B rit onit e . Negro Powder . * * u Ne onal . B ll Dog . * mb t - n i a rit De s t e . C e . Ni ro * * Carbonite . Nobel Ammonia Powder . * l * rma Ce t it e . No nit e . * * Cliflit Oa klit e . e . * Cliflit e O it e (Super d . * * Cl dit e . y . Permon Powder * * P e rmonit e Cornish Powder .