Tonite (explosive)

Tonite is an explosive ^[1] sometimes used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It consists of a mixture of equal weights of barium nitrate and guncotton. ^[2] The explosive was patented in 1874 ^[3] by Samuel Joseph Mackie, Camille Alphonse Faure, and George French. ^[4] Its name was taken from the Latin verb tonat = "it thunders", and is pronounced "toe-nite", not "tonight".

The high gas pressures generated by the detonation of tonite resulted in it being used as a bursting charge in some hand grenades used early in World War I.^{[ citation needed ]}

Nitrocellulose is an oxygen-negative low explosive, so its decomposition is incomplete combustion:${\displaystyle {\ce {2C12H14O4(NO3)6 -> 18CO + 6CO2 + 14H2O + 12N}}}$

Because nitrocellulose was used in mining, carbon monoxide could build up and pose a danger to miners. To remedy that problem, nitrates (potassium nitrate, barium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, etc.) were added into the nitrocellulose to achieve a better oxygen balance.

References

1. New Scientist. Reed Business Information. 12 April 1973. pp. 112–. ISSN   0262-4079.^{[ dead link ]}
2. Gardner, William; Cooke, Edward I.; Cooke, Richard W. I. (23 July 2019). Handbook of Chemical Synonyms and Trade Names. CRC Press. pp. 1442–. ISBN   978-1-351-08978-4.
3. Trotter, Robert (1938). The history of Nobel's Explosives Company Limited and Nobel Industries Limited, 1871-1926. Imperial Chemical Industries Limited.
4. "Improvement in explosive compounds". Google Patents. Retrieved 23 July 2024.