The New Gresham Encyclopedia Part 16

_French._

Favier Explosives. See under _Belgian_ explosives.

Grisounite. As above.

Grisoutine or Grisou Dynamite. It is a mixture of ammonium nitrate and blasting gelatine. It is the only explosive except Grisounite allowed in the more dangerous French mines.

Naphthalite (Grisou): pota.s.sium chlorate 80 per cent, aryl hydrocarbons, 12 per cent nitrocompounds not trinitro-bodies, paraffin, fatty oils, flour and other organic substances. May contain alkali chlorides and up to 4 per cent blasting gelatine.

_German._

Albit (Wetter): a chlorate explosive replacing nitrates; scarce during the war.

Astralit (Wetter): ammonium nitrate explosive containing some blasting gelatine. Many varieties, which may also contain rape-oil and potato-meal. Has been used in trench howitzers.

Carbonit. Numerous compositions come under this name and are made in different countries. Consists chiefly of nitroglycerine and metallic nitrates. Arctic carbonite, a low-freezing mixture, contains 15.5 per cent nitroglycerine, 10.5 per cent nitrohydrocarbon, 42 per cent pota.s.sium nitrate, 31.7 per cent wood-meal, and 0.3 per cent calcium carbonate.

Chloratzit: pota.s.sium chlorate or perchlorate, aryl nitro-bodies, resins, and carbohydrates. For coal-mines add cooling agents.

Detonit: ammonium nitrate, charcoal, meal, 4 per cent blasting gelatine, neutral salts.

Donarit: ammonium nitrate 80 per cent, trinitrotoluene 12 per cent, rye-flour 4 per cent, nitroglycerine 4 per cent. The standard in Germany for sensitiveness of ammonium nitrate explosives.

Dorfit: ammonium nitrate, trinitrotoluene, flour, salt, alkali nitrate.

Dynamit: nitroglycerine 75 per cent, Kieselguhr 25 per cent.

Gehlingerit: ammonium nitrate, trinitrotoluene, flour.

Permonit: a perchlorate explosive.

Tremonit: contains gelatinized dinitroglycerine, pea-flour, and salt.

SOME BLASTING EXPLOSIVES

Ammonal: ammonium nitrate 80 to 90 per cent, aluminium 4 to 18 per cent, charcoal 2 to 6 per cent. The more violent mixtures contain some trinitrotoluene in addition. Has been used in grenades and by Austrians in trench-howitzer bombs. Not suitable in underground workings owing to poisonous gases evolved.

Astralit: a mixture of ammonium nitrate and blasting gelatine. May contain wood-meal, trinitrotoluene, paraffin-oil. Has been used for projectiles.

Carbodynamite: nitroglycerine absorbed in cork charcoal instead of guhr.

Gelignite: nitroglycerine 56 to 63 per cent, nitrocotton 4 per cent, wood-meal 7 per cent, pota.s.sium nitrate 27 per cent, calcium carbonate 0.2 per cent.

Oxyliquit: liquid oxygen absorbed in a porous combustible material.

Used in construction of Simplon Tunnel. Very cheap; safe after misfire because oxygen evaporates off.

Perdit: German mining, demolition, and rifle grenade explosive.

Ammonium nitrate 76 per cent, pota.s.sium perchlorate 6 per cent, wood-meal 2 per cent, dinitrotoluene 16 per cent.

Rendarock: a brand of American dynamite.

Sprengel Explosives: one or both of the substances to be liquid, and mixing to occur shortly before firing. Nitric acid, alkali chloride, nitrogen peroxide on nitrobenzene, nitronaphthalene, carbon bisulphide, petrol, picric acid. Panclast.i.te, Promethee, Rack-a-Rock, are examples of this cla.s.s.

Tonite: gun-cotton and barium nitrate.

SOME HIGH EXPLOSIVES

Alumtol: ammonium nitrate, trinitrotoluene, aluminium powder. Used for trench mortars, bombs, &c.

Amatol: a mixture of ammonium nitrate and trinitrotoluene, used for sh.e.l.l-filling. Called by Germans Fullpulver. The Germans did not develop this explosive as much as the Entente Powers, who effected great economy of trinitrotoluene.

Blastine: ammonium perchlorate, sodium nitrate, dinitrotoluene, paraffin-wax. It evolves hydrochloric acid gas.

Blasting gelatine contains 93 per cent nitroglycerine and 7 per cent nitrocotton. It is the most powerful explosive in common use.

Cresylite is a French explosive, and contains picric acid and nitrated cresol.

Fumyl is a smoke-producing explosive, and contains trinitrotoluene and ammonium chloride. It was used to open poison-gas sh.e.l.ls.

Granatfulling (Sh.e.l.l Filling): a term used by the Germans.

Granatfulling C/84 is picric acid.

Granatfulling C/02 is trinitrotoluene.

Other substances were used by them for sh.e.l.l filling, such as trinitroanisole, dinitrobenzene, hexanitrodiphenylamine, and hexanitrophenylsulphide.

Lyddite: a term for picric acid formerly used in sh.e.l.ls.

T.N.T. is trinitrotoluene or trotyl.

Toxol is a mixture of trinitrotoluene and trinitroxylene.

Triplast.i.te is a plastic high explosive containing 70 per cent nitrotoluenes, 8 per cent nitrocotton, 29 per cent lead nitrate. Used for sh.e.l.l filling.

SOME MISCELLANEOUS EXPLOSIVES

Anilite: Sprengel type. French liquid explosive used in aerial bombs.

Centralite: not an explosive but a stabilizer and regulator. It is dimethyldiphenylurea.

Collodion Cotton: low nitralion nitrocotton, soluble in a mixture of ether and alcohol. It dissolves in nitroglycerine and liquid nitro-body, preventing their exudation.

Gelatine Dynamite: a mixture of blasting gelatine with pota.s.sium nitrate and wood-meal. It may also contain calcium and magnesium carbonate and mineral jelly.

Gelignite is similar to Gelatine Dynamite, but contains less Blasting Gelatine.

Halakite: contains pota.s.sium chlorate, ammonium nitrate, trinitrotoluene or other nitro-body; may contain nitrocotton, sodium nitrate, and wood-meal.