Donnerite. High explosive employed by German army in grenades.
Dynamite. See Nitro-glycerine.
Fulminate of Mercury. See Mercury.
Guncotton, or nitro-cellulose consists of cotton waste, purified, dried, and heated with mixture of concentrated nitric and sulphuric acid. Washed and reduced to a pulp and moulded into 1 oz. primers and 15 oz. slabs for service use. Is considered inferior to lyddite.
- Size of wet slab of G.C., 6 × 3 × 1⅜ in.
- Wet guncotton will not explode if hit by a bullet.
- Wet guncotton can be sawn by a wet saw.
- Requires dry primer, detonator and fuse to explode.
- Dry guncotton will explode if hit by a bullet.
- Dry primer of guncotton 1.35 in. diam., 1.15 in. diam. at ends, and 1.25 in. high.
- Strength, 2½ times stronger than gunpowder, unconfined.
- Strength, 7 to 8 times stronger than gunpowder, confined.
- Invented by Schombein in 1846.
Gunpowder. A mechanical mixture.
Saltpeter 75 per cent, plus charcoal 15 per cent, plus sulphur 10 per cent. Rate of burning depends upon firmness of powder.
Lyddite, or picric acid. Consists of melted and solidified picric acid. Vaseline is used to melt it. (See Picric Acid.)
Mercury Fulminate. Is made by dissolving three parts mercury in 36 parts nitric acid, keeping mixture at low temperature, and when dissolved adding 17 parts of alcohol.
A small quantity of F. of M. placed on top of T.N.T. forms an excellent detonating mixture. A great many German detonators consist of this. Discovered by Howard in 1800.