Liquid air explosive

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A liquid air explosive ( English Liquid Oxygen Explosive ) is a mixed explosive of liquid oxygen or liquid air and a mostly organic reducing agent . The explosives were known under the trade names Oxyliquit , Marsit and Kowastit , especially at the beginning of the 20th century.

history

Under the name Oxyliquit , Carl von Linde developed an explosive in 1895 from the mixture of oxygen and nitrogen in a ratio of 1: 1 obtained using the " Linde process " . After initial tests and blasting operations, for example during the construction of the Simplon Tunnel in 1899 and 1900 in the Penzberg mine , the industrial use of liquid air explosives was initially suspended. After the oxygen content of the liquid air could be increased and the production costs could be reduced, German and French researchers were again concerned with liquid air explosives from 1912/13.

Oxyliquit found a market for civil and military purposes, especially in Germany. Liquid air explosives were not only used in mining, but also - because of the difficult import conditions during the First World War , e.g. B. for nitroglycerin - also given increased attention for military use. Among other things, the then Marsit Society in Berlin-Charlottenburg registered German and foreign patents for the liquid-air blasting process Marsit and Kowatsch and Baldus for Kowastit . In France, Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval and Georges Claude were researching liquid air explosives.

properties

Various porous , absorbent substances can be used as reducing agents , for example coal powder or wood flour , but also kieselguhr impregnated with hydrocarbons . The separate components can be transported relatively safely and are not subject to explosives law . Liquid air explosives are usually mixed shortly before use. When the oxygen evaporates, they become harmless again relatively quickly. However, this fact makes it difficult at the same time to store and transport liquid air explosives and thus to use them economically on a larger scale.

The detonation speed is between 3 and 5 km · s −1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Arthur Marshall: Dictionary of explosives. 1920, p. 70.
  2. ↑ a b Dietrich Schäfer: The War 1914/16. Becoming and essence of world war. Bibliographisches Institut, 1920, p. 174 ( Google Books )
  3. ↑ Linde AG commemorative publication: 125 years of Linde. A chronicle. 2004, p. 29 (PDF; 3.0 MB).
  4. ^ A b Johannes Horowitz: Oxyliquit, A New Explosive. In: New York Times . April 29, 1900 (digitized version)
  5. ↑ a b H. Kast: Shooting and explosive devices. In: Encyclopaedic Handbook of Technical Chemistry. Volume 1, Part 2, 1921, p. 930ff ( Google eBook )
  6. ↑ a b Wuester: Liquid air as an explosive in mining. In: Polytechnisches Journal . 330, 1915, pp. 201-203.
  7. ↑ a b c Review Liquid Air as an explosive. In: ASRE Journal. Volume 2, American Society of Refrigerating Engineers, 1915, p. 53 ( Google Books )
  8. ^ H. Kast: Guns and explosives. In: Encyclopaedic Handbook of Technical Chemistry. Volume 1, Part 2, 1921, p. 930ff ( Google eBook )
  9. ^ J. Hausen: Newer work and tasks of the Chemisch-Technische Reichsanstalt. In: Polytechnisches Journal . 342, 1927, pp. 26-29.