Cordite
Kordit also Cordit , is an explosive , in the manufacture of cellulose nitrate (nitrocellulose ', guncotton') with nitroglycerin (glyceryl trinitrate) and petroleum jelly with the addition of acetone to gel , then through a press into cords (engl. Cords ) pressed and then back is dried. It is one of the two-base low-smoke gunpowders .
properties
Cordite originally consisted of 58% glycerol trinitrate, 37% cellulose nitrate and 5% petrolatum, but was modified in the early 20th century to contain 30% glycerol trinitrate , 65% cellulose nitrate and 5% petrolatum due to the damage to the gun barrels from the high combustion temperature .
Cordite is capable of explosive combustion. In contrast to black powder, it develops little or no smoke , but up to six times more pressure. Cordite was therefore often used as a propellant in rifle cartridges , e.g. B. 303 British .
history
Cordite was developed by James Dewar , but his patent was fiercely challenged by Alfred Nobel . This was due to the fact that Nobel, together with Dewar and Abel , had invented ballistite , which is similar to cordite . Dewar and Abel modified the composition and thus violated Nobel's trust. The Swede lost the patent dispute in all instances because he had described the nitrocellulose too imprecisely.
During the First World War, various sea powers used cordite as a propellant for ship grenades. However, the substance recently turned out to be too risky: various battleships of the time exploded without enemy action because the stored cordite exploded due to fire or impact, for example on the HMS Audacious , the HMS Vanguard or the Japanese battleship Kawachi .
Cordite has established itself in the vocabulary of crime literature. Often one comes across the phrase “it smelled of cordite” in films or books, although it has not been used or manufactured since around the end of the Second World War.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Susan Rose: The naval miscellany . Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008, ISBN 978-0-7546-6431-4 , pp. 385 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ↑ Jonas A. Zukas, William Walters, W. William P. Walters: Explosive effects and applications . Springer, 2002, ISBN 978-0-387-95558-2 , pp. 37 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Geoffrey Martin, William Barbour: Industrial Nitrogen Compounds and Explosives - Chemical Manufacture and Analysis . Watchmaker Publishing, 2003, ISBN 978-1-929148-27-1 , pp. 107 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ John Rowlinson: Sir James Dewar, 1842-1923: A Ruthless Chemist . Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2012, ISBN 978-1-4094-6116-6 , pp. 1 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Thomas G. Brodie: Bombs And Bombings: A Handbook To Protection, Security, Detection, Disposal ... Charles C Thomas Publisher, 2005, ISBN 978-0-398-07572-9 , pp. 263 ( limited preview in Google Book search).