A Handbook on Modern Explosives
Manuel Eissler

Contents

I-Characteristics of Modern Explosives

II-Attempts at Substitutes for Gunpowder
III-Preparation of Nitro-glycerine
IV-Properties of Nitro-glycerine
V-Varieties of Dynamite
VI-Applications of Gun Cotton
VII-Manufacture of Gun-cotton
VIII-Properties of Gun-cotton
IX-Varieties of Gun-cotton and other Nitro-compounds
X-Collodion-cotton
XI-Various other Explosives
XII-Determination of the Relative Strength of Explosives
XIII-Conditions to which Modern Explosives should Respond
XIV-General Directions for Using Dynamite
XV-Explosives in Practical Application
XVI-Nitro-gelatine and Gelatine-dynamite in Practical Application
XVII-Application of Electricity in Firing Mines
XVIII-Use of Explosives in Fiery Mines
XIX-Application of Explosives in Submarine Engineering
XX-Application of Explosives for Military Purposes

Preface

For over four hundred years the science of Explosives remained in status quo. Chroniclers record the name of a Franciscan friar-one Berthold Schwartz, of Freiberg -as the inventor, in or about the year 1328, of what has since been known as Gunpowder; although many records are in existence which indicate that prior to that date the Arabs knew the use of an explosive mixture which they called Medfaa.To whom the credit really belongs of inventing gunpowder is so far not cleared up, but there is no doubt that explosive mixtures existed and were utilised by the Chinese as far back as the beginning of the Christian era.

The first advance leading to the introduction of the modern High Explosives was made in 1832 by the French chemist Barconnot, of Nancy, who discovered that "when starch, fibres, and analogous substances are acted upon by concentrated nitric acid, they are changed into highly combustible materials." In 1838 Pelouze continued these researches, and he ascertained that this new inflammable material-which he called Xyloidine- took fire at 1800 C. when submitted to strong pressure, such as a rapid blow. He also found that cotton, paper, and indeed all vegetable matters, could be employed in the preparation of similar substances. All these researches, however, were without any practical value until Schonbein, of...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windham Press is committed to bringing the lost cultural heritage of ages past into the 21st century through high-quality reproductions of original, classic printed works at affordable prices.

This book has been carefully crafted to utilize the original images of antique books rather than error-prone OCR text. This also preserves the work of the original typesetters of these classics, unknown craftsmen who laid out the text, often by hand, of each and every page you will read. Their subtle art involving judgment and interaction with the text is in many ways superior and more human than the mechanical methods utilized today, and gave each book a unique, hand-crafted feel in its text that connected the reader organically to the art of bindery and book-making.

We think these benefits are worth the occasional imperfection resulting from the age of these books at the time of scanning, and their vintage feel provides a connection to the past that goes beyond the mere words of the text.