CHAPTER IPROPERTIES OF EXPLOSIVES

DefinitionAn explosive is a material, cither a pure single substance ora mixture of substances, which is capable of producing an ex-plosion by its own energy.It seems unnecessary to define an explosion, for everyoneknows what it is—a loud noise and the sudden going away ofthings from the place where they have been. Sometimes it mayonly be the air in the neighborhood of the material or the gasfrom the explosion which goes away. Our simple definition makesmention of the one single attribute which all explosives possess.It will be necessary to add other ideas to it if we wish to describethe explosive properties of any particular substance. For exam-

ple,

it is not proper to define an explosive as a substance, or amixture of substances, which is capable of undergoing a suddentransformation with the production of heat

and

gas. The pro-duction of heat alone by the inherent energy of the substancewhich produces it will be enough to constitute the substance anexplosive. Cuprous acetylide explodes by decomposing into cop-per and carbon and heat, no gas whatever, but the sudden heatcauses a sudden expansion of the air in the neighborhood, andthe result is an unequivocal explosion. All explosive substancesproduce heat; nearly all of them produce gas. The change is in-variably accompanied by the liberation of energy. The productsof the explosion represent a lower energy level than did the ex-plosive before it had produced the explosion. Explosives com-monly require some stimulus, like a blow or a spark, to provokethem to liberate their energy, that is, to undergo the changewhich produces the explosion, but the stimulus which "sets off

'the explosive does not contribute to the energy of the explosion.The various stimuli to which explosives respond and the mannci>°i their responses in producing explosions provide a convenientbasis for the classification of these interesting materials.1

2 PROPERTIES OF EXPLOSIVESSince we understand an explosive material to be one which iscapable of producing an explosion by its own energy, we haveopened the way to a consideration of diverse possibilities. Anexplosive perfectly capable of producing an explosion mayliberate its energy without producing one. Black powder, forexample, may burn in the open air. An explosion may occurwithout an explosive, that is, without any material which con-tains intrinsically the energy needful to produce the explosion.A steam boiler may explode because of the heat energy whichhas been put into the water which it contains. But the energy isnot intrinsic to water, and water is not an explosive. Also, wehave explosives which do not themselves explode. The explosionsconsist in the sudden ruptures of the containers which confinethem, as happens in a Chinese firecracker. Fire, traveling alongthe fuse (note the spelling) reaches the black powder—mixtureof potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal—which is wrappedtightly within many layers of paper; the powder burns rapidlyand produces gas. It burns very rapidly, for the heat resultingfrom the burning of the first portion cannot get away, but raisesthe temperature of the next portion of powder, and a rise of tem-perature of 10°C. more than doubles the velocity of a chemicalreaction. The temperature mounts rapidly; gas is producedsuddenly; an explosion ensues. The powder burns; the crackerexplodes. And in still other cases we have materials which them-selves explode. The molecules undergo such a sudden trans-formation with the liberation of heat, or of heat and gas, thatthe effect is an explosion.

Classification of ExplosivesI. Propellants

or low;

explosives

are combustible materials,containing within themselves all oxygen needful for their com-bustion, which burn but do not explode, and function by produc-ing gas which produces an explosion. Examples: black powder,smokeless powder. Explosives of this class differ widely amongthemselves in the rate at which they deliver their energy. Thereare slow powders and fast powders for different uses. The kickof a shotgun is quite different from the persistent push againstthe shoulder of a high-powered military rifle in which a slower-burning and more powerful powder is used.

II.

Primary explosives

initiators

explode or detonate when

HIGH EXPLOSIVES 3they are heated or subjected to shock. They do not burn; some-time? they do not even contain the elements necessary for com-bustion. The materials themselves explode, and the explosion re-sults whether they are confined or not. They differ considerablyin their sensitivity to heat, in the amount of heat which theygive off, and in their

brisance,

that is, in the shock which theyproduce when they explode. Not all of them are brisant enoughto initiate the explosion of a high explosive. Examples: mercuryfulminate, lead azide, the lead salts of picric acid and trinitro-resorcinol, m-nitrophenyldiazonium perchlorate, tetracene, nitro-gen sulfide, copper acetylide, fulminating gold, nitrosoguanidine,mixtures of potassium chlorate with red phosphorus or with vari-ous other substances, the tartarates and oxalates of mercury andsilver.

III.

High explosives

detonate

under the influence of theshock of the explosion of a suitable primary explosive. They donot function by burning; in fact, not all of them are combustible,but most of them can be ignited by a flame and in small amountgenerally burn tranquilly and can be extinguished easily. Ifheated to a high temperature by external heat or by their owncombustion, they sometimes explode. They differ from primaryexplosives in not being exploded readily by heat or by shock, andgenerally in being more brisant and powerful. They exert amechanical effect upon whatever is near them when they explode,whether they are confined or not. Examples: dynamite, trinitro-toluene, tetryl, picric acid, nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, liquidoxygen mixed with wood pulp, fuming nitric acid mixed withnitrobenzene, compressed acetylene and cyanogen, ammoniumnitrate and perchlorate, nitroguanidine.It is evident that we cannot describe a substance by sayingthat it is "very explosive." We must specify whether it is sensi-tive to fire and to shock, whether it is really powerful or merelybrisant, or both, whether it is fast or slow. Likewise, in the dis-cussions in the present book, we must distinguish carefully be-tween sensitivity, stability, and reactivity. A substance may beextremely reactive chemically but perfectly stable in the absence°f anything with which it may react. A substance may be ex-ploded readily by a slight shock, but it may be stable if left to

itself.

Another may require the shock of a powerful detonator