Science in Industry

Abstract

LECTURES AT THE BRITISH SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS EXHIBITION. IN the course of his lecture on “Explosives” at the British Scientific Products Exhibition on July 18, Mr. James Young, Royal Military Academy, said that during the war ammonal was found to be very suitable for use in military mines and in trench-warfare weapons, being safe and powerful, and having a moderate velocity of detonation. It is equally suitable for industrial use, and the expensive constituent—aluminium—can be reduced to 3 per cent. Blastine was also much used for the same purposes, and as the main constituent, ammonium perchlorate, is now made by electrolytic processes, it has a promising future in industry. It is much more sensitive than ammonal, and therefore not so safe to the users. The invention of amatol, a mixture of T.N.T. and ammonium nitrate, was of great value, and doubled our resources of shell high explosives. As compared with picric acid' (lyddite), it is safer to handle, costs about one-third, but is not so shattering, owing to the lower velocity of detonation. It is also suitable for industrial use, and mixtures with as little as 10 per cent, of T.N.T. are effective.