RDX is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a nitramide, chemically similar to HMX. A more energetic explosive than TNT, it was used widely in World War II and remains common in military applications.
An explosive is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An explosive charge is a measured quantity of explosive material, which may either be composed solely of one ingredient or be a mixture containing at least two substances.
Paraffin wax is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal or shale oil that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between twenty and forty carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and begins to melt above approximately 37 °C (99 °F), and its boiling point is above 370 °C (698 °F). Common applications for paraffin wax include lubrication, electrical insulation, and candles; dyed paraffin wax can be made into crayons. It is distinct from kerosene and other petroleum products that are sometimes called paraffin.
Mercury(II) fulminate, or Hg(CNO)2, is a primary explosive. It is highly sensitive to friction, heat and shock and is mainly used as a trigger for other explosives in percussion caps and blasting caps. Mercury(II) cyanate, though its empirical formula is identical, has a different atomic arrangement; the cyanate and fulminate anions are isomers.
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matches are packaged in matchboxes, and paper matches are partially cut into rows and stapled into matchbooks. The coated end of a match, known as the match "head", consists of a bead of active ingredients and binder; often colored for easier inspection. There are two main types of matches: safety matches, which can be struck only against a specially prepared surface, and strike-anywhere matches, for which any suitably frictional surface can be used.
Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from the Greek word πικρός (pikros), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic phenols. Like other strongly nitrated organic compounds, picric acid is an explosive, hence its primary use. It has also been used as medicine (antiseptic, burn treatments) and dyes.
The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzleloader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise to the caplock mechanism or percussion lock system using percussion caps struck by the hammer to set off the gunpowder charge in percussion guns including percussion rifles and cap and ball firearms. Any firearm using a caplock mechanism is a percussion gun. Any long gun with a caplock mechanism and rifled barrel is a percussion rifle. Cap and ball describes caplock firearms discharging a single bore-diameter spherical bullet with each shot.
Potassium chlorate is a compound containing potassium, chlorine and oxygen, with the molecular formula KClO3. In its pure form, it is a white crystalline substance. It is the most common chlorate in industrial use. It is used,
A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the centerfire primer is typically a separate component seated into a recessed cavity in the case head, and is replaceable by reloading.
Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces lower amounts of smoke when fired, unlike the historical black powder it replaced. The term is unique to the United States and is generally not used in other English-speaking countries, which initially used proprietary names such as "Ballistite" and "Cordite" but gradually shifted to "propellant" as the generic term.
Sprengel explosives are a generic class of materials invented by Hermann Sprengel in the 1870s. They consist of stoichiometric mixtures of strong oxidisers and reactive fuels, mixed just prior to use in order to enhance safety. Either the oxidiser or the fuel, or both, should be a liquid to facilitate mixing, and intimate contact between the materials for a fast reaction rate.
Flash powder is a pyrotechnic composition, a mixture of oxidizer and metallic fuel, which burns quickly and if confined produces a loud noise. It is widely used in theatrical pyrotechnics and fireworks and was once used for flashes in photography.
Composition B, colloquially "Comp B", is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades and various other munitions. It was also used for the explosive lenses in the first implosion-type nuclear weapons developed by the United States.
Armstrong's mixture is a highly sensitive primary explosive. Its primary ingredients are red phosphorus and strong oxidizer, such as potassium chlorate and potassium perchlorate. Sulfur is used to substitute for some or all of the phosphorus to slightly decrease sensitivity and lower costs; calcium carbonate may also be present in small proportions. Commercially, Armstrong's mixture is used in milligram quantities on the paper caps in toy cap guns and in party poppers. An improvised version can be made with match-heads, ground up into a fine powder, and mixed with another fine powder, this time made of the striker strip found on the side of match boxes.
Sodium perchlorate is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaClO4. It is a white crystalline, hygroscopic solid that is highly soluble in water and in alcohol. It is usually encountered as the monohydrate. The compound is noteworthy as the most water-soluble of the common perchlorate salts.
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division —also known as Naval Support Facility Indian Head—is a United States naval military installation in Charles County, Maryland, that is a NAVSEA Warfare Center (WFC) enterprise dedicated to energetics. NSWC IHD began as the Naval Proving Ground, Indian Head during World War I.
A pyrotechnic composition is a substance or mixture of substances designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas/smoke or a combination of these, as a result of non-detonative self-sustaining exothermic chemical reactions. Pyrotechnic substances do not rely on oxygen from external sources to sustain the reaction.
Calcium chlorate is the calcium salt of chloric acid, with the chemical formula Ca(ClO3)2. Like other chlorates, it is a strong oxidizer.
Potassium picrate, or potassium 2,4,6-trinitrophenolate, is an organic chemical, a picrate of potassium. It is a reddish yellow or green crystalline material. It is a primary explosive. Anhydrous potassium picrate forms orthorhombic crystals.
The Poudrerie nationale de Vonges is a French powder mill established in 1691 in Vonges, Côte-d'Or. It manufactured explosives for use in quarries, mines and fireworks. During World War I (1914–18) it manufactured munitions. It expanded after the war, producing explosives for civil use. During World War II (1939–45) production was scaled back drastically, but expanded again after the war. The powder mill was fully privatized in 2008.
