234 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
234 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßÛßßßßßÛÛÜ ÜÜßßßßÜÜÜÜ ÜÛÜ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÛßß ßÛÛ
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ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜ ßÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜÛÛÝ Ûß
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ßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÞÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßÛÜÞÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÞß
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Mo.iMP ÜÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ßÛß
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ß ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÛÛÜÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛ Ü ÛÝÛÛÛÛÛ Ü
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ÜÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ßÛÜ ßÛÛÛÜÜ ÜÜÛÛÛß ÞÛ ÞÛÛÛÝ ÜÜÛÛ
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ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÜÜß ÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛß
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ßÛÜ ÜÛÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÜÜ ßßÜÛÛßß ßÛÛÜ ßßßÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ßßßßß ßßÛÛß ßßßßß ßßßßßßßßßßßßß
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ARRoGANT CoURiERS WiTH ESSaYS
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Grade Level: Type of Work Subject/Topic is on:
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[ ]6-8 [ ]Class Notes [Technical Explanation ]
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[ ]9-10 [ ]Cliff Notes [of different types of ]
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[ ]11-12 [x]Essay/Report [explosives ]
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[x]College [ ]Misc [ ]
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Dizzed: 09/94 # of Words:1607 School: ? State: ?
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>Chop Here>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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SCICAN INVESTIGATION REPORT
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Purpose:
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To learn about the different areas of explosives and the separate
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explosives related to each group.
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Explosive adj. 1. of, involving, or characterized by an explosion
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or explosions.
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2. capable of exploding or tending to explode.
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3. potentially violent or hazardous; dangerous: an explosive situation.
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4. Phonetics. another word for plosive.
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5. a substance that decomposes rapidly under certain conditions with the
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production of gases, which expand by the heat of the reaction. The energy
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released is used in firearms, blasting, and rocket propulsion.
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The context of explosive that I am dealing with in my investigation is
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the fifth context mentioned above. I chose to do explosives because I am
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very interested in them and their abilities.
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Basic Description of Explosives
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Explosives are substances that produces a rapid, violent reaction when
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exposed to heat, a strong blow or a special detonator. During the
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reaction, explosives give off large amounts of gases at high pressure. The
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powerful blast of energy released during an explosion gives explosives many
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commercial and military uses. Explosives let construction workers clear
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land away for building roads or buildings with little effort. They are
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used in digging mines and to loosen the flow of oil deep beneath rock in
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oil wells. They blow away tunnels through mountains and send rockets into
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space. In war, explosives are used to damage cities, destroy ships and
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airplanes, and kill enemy troops. As you see, explosives aren't always
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used as harmless substances.
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Explosives may be solids, liquids, or gases. However, all explosives
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consist of a fuel and an oxidizer--a substance that supplies the oxygen
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needed to make the fuel burn. When the most powerful explosives detonate,
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a chemical reaction takes place very quickly (usually in less than a
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millionth of a second). Liquids and solids change to hot gases that expand
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with a large blast of heat and pressure. The higher the pressure, the more
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powerful the explosion is.
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There are four main types of chemical explosives--primary explosives,
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high explosives, blasting agents, and low explosives.
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Primary Explosives should be handled in small quantities. They are
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very sensitive to heat, and even a spark of static electricity can cause
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them to explode. A few primary explosives include lead azide, lead
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styphnate, and mercury fulminate. They are usually used in detonators to
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set off other explosives.
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High Explosives detonate with greater power than primary explosives but
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are less sensitive. They usually require a detonator to set them off.
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Common types of high explosives include nitroglycerin; RDX; TNT; PETN; and
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pentolite, a combination of TNT and PETN. Most high explosives are used
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commercially for blasting and excavating, but they also are used by the
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military in grenades, bombs, and artillery shells. High explosives can be
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mixed with substances called plasticizers to produce plastic explosives.
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Plasticizers, like such as oil and wax, make it easy to shape explosives
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into various forms. Plastic explosives have been used mostly by terrorists
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because of the ease of concealment but it has been used in bombs and by the
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armed forces in land mines.
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Blasting Agents are the safest and least expensive explosives used in
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industry. They are usually used to blast away rock in excavating and
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mining operations. Common blasting agents include dynamite and mixtures of
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ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.
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Low Explosives burn rapidly rather than detonate. The most common type
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of low explosive is gunpowder. It serves as a propellant to shoot
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ammunition from guns and other weapons. Fireworks are also low explosives.
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Below, I will talk about high explosives, low explosives, and blasting
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agents. I will talk about the explosives in each group separately.
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High Explosives
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Nitroglycerin
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Nitroglycerin, also called Nitroglycerol, is a powerful explosive. It
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is the principal explosive ingredient of dynamite. Pure nitroglycerin is a
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heavy liquid that is clear and has the consistency of motor oil. The
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commercial product is usually a yellowish or brownish colour. When
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nitroglycerin explodes, it expands to form gases that take up more than
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1,000 times as much space as the liquid. That would mean that if you had
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10 ml of nitroglycerin, the gases created from the explosion would be close
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to 10,000 ml. The explosion of nitroglycerin is about three times as
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powerful as that of an equal amount of gunpowder, and the explosion speed
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is 25 times as fast as that of gunpowder. Although its explosive
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capabilities are very great, it is not often used as an explosive. Doctors
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use nitroglycerin to treat certain heart and blood-circulation diseases.
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RDX (Cyclonite or Hexogen)Ä Ä
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RDX is a powerful explosive also known as cyclonite and hexogen. It is
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commonly used as a war explosive, being the main explosive charge in bombs.
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It has wide use in detonators and fuses. RDX is made by the action of
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nitric acid on hexamethylene-tetramine, a product of formaldehyde and
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ammonia. When RDX is mixed with liquid TNT, an explosive called
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Composition B is formed. This explosive is more powerful than TNT, and has
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replaced it in most artillery shells.
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TNT (Trinitrotoluene)
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TNT is short for trinitrotoluene, a powerful solid explosive. TNT is
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made up of the elements nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. The
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explosive is made by nitrating the chemical compound toluene. The
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explosive made forms in pale yellow crystals that may darken to a darker
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brown colour. These crystals of TNT can be handled safely. TNT can be
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melted at low heat without igniting, and so can be molded to increase its
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usefulness. TNT is used alone and in mixtures with other explosives, such
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as PETN, RDX, and ammonium nitrate. It is mainly used as the explosive
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charge for shells and bombs.
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PETN (Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate)Ä Ä
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PETN is short for pentaerythritol tetranitrate, an explosive more
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powerful than TNT. It is used as the core of detonating caps and fuses
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because it is capable of exploding in small devices. The combination of
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PETN and TNT is called pentolite. Doctors also use PETN like they do
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nitroglycerin, in treating some heart disorders.
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Low Explosives
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Gunpowder
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Gunpowder is an explosive material that burns rapidly to form
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high-pressure gas. Expansion of this gas inside the barrel of a gun can
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accelerate a bullet to great speed. Gunpowder is therefore used as a
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propellant in a variety of ammunition. It is also used in explosives for
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blasting operations, in fireworks, and in fuses.
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There are several kinds of gunpowder. The first important substance
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used as gunpowder in guns and cannons was black powder. Black powder
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consists of a mixture of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), charcoal, and
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sulfur. These ingredients can be mixed together in the right proportions
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and be used as a powder. Sometimes, graphite is added. The texture of
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black powder can range from fine powder to larger pellets.
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The basic formula for black powder has been modified for special
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purposes. Sulfurless gunpowder contains saltpeter and charcoal but no
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sulfur. It is not as powerful as regular black powder, but it corrodes the
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gun barrel less. Another variation is the black powder used in fireworks
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and blasting agents. The saltpeter is sometimes replaced by less expensive
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sodium nitrate.
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Cordite
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Cordite was one of the original smokeless powders used to propel
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projectiles from guns. It replaced gunpowder in many cases because it
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burned with a lot less smoke. However, cordite damaged gun barrels much
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more than gunpowder did. The name cordite refers to the cordlike lengths
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in which it was made. Cordite is composed of 30 percent nitroglycerin, 65
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percent nitrocellulose, and 5 percent petrolatum.
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Blasting Agents
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Dynamite
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Dynamite is one of the most important industrial explosives. It is
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used to blast out damsites, canal beds, mines, quarries, and the
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foundations for large buildings. It also has been used for demolition in
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warfare.
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The main explosive in dynamite is nitroglycerin. It is mixed with
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other materials--some explosive and some nonexplosive--and packed in
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cylinders made of waxed paper or plastics. These cylinders, called
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cartridges, range from 7/8 to 8 inches (22 to 200 mm) in diameter and from
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4 to 30 inches (10 to 76 cm) in length.
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To use dynamite, workers insert an explosive device called a detonating
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cap or blasting cap into one end of the cartridge. They place the
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cartridge in a hole bored into the material to be blasted. Earth is packed
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around and behind the cartridge. After moving to safety, the workers set
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off the detonating cap--and the explosion--by means of a fuse or an
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electric current.
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There are four main types of dynamite. They are: straight dynamite,
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ammonia dynamite, straight gelatin, and ammonia gelatin.
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Straight dynamite contains nitroglycerin and an absorbent, chemically
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reactive mixture, such as wood pulp and sodium nitrate. It is the oldest
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type and has been replaced by ammonia dynamite for most uses.
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Ammonia dynamite is more powerful, safer, and less expensive than
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straight dynamite. It contains ammonium nitrate and produces fewer toxic
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fumes and cooler gases than other dynamites do. It is called a permissible
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explosive, which means that it can be used safely in mines where extreme
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heat could ignite dust or gas in the air.
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Straight gelatin is made from a stiff gel called blasting gelatin.
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Blasting gelatin consists of nitroglycerin mixed with a small amount of
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nitrocellulose. Sodium nitrate and other ingredients are added to make
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straight gelatin. Straight gelatin has been replaced by ammonia gelatin
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for most uses. Ammonia gelatin is made by adding ammonium nitrate and
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other ingredients to blasting gelatin. Ammonia gelatin is waterproof. It
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is used for underwater blasting.
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Conclusion: I have learned many new things that I did not know about
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explosives before I did my investigation. I learned that there are four
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main groups of explosives, and each group has different uses.
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