Chemical boosterism

In the postwar years a spirit of "chemical boosterism," to use a term coined in a recent historical study, emerged in the United States. A group of chemists, chemical journalists and science popularizers acted as propagandists for the chemical profession and industry. Their message, delivered with conviction to the public through a variety of popular publications, was that chemistry was vital to the national defense and to economic progress. One of the more active of these chemical boosters was Charles Holmes Herty, and his efforts to establish a national institute for drug research must be viewed within this context (11). 

Ireco Chemicals Boosters for Relatively Insensitive High Ammonium Nitrate Explosives... 

The rapid development of the chemical industry dominated impressions of the American chemical community between World Wars I and II A cadre of chemical boosters publicized chemistry as the key to economic progress and a guarantee of national security. 

Francis P. Garvan s activities as head of the Chemical Foundation provided the most visible evidence of chemical boosterism during these decades. 

On civic boosterism in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America, see III, Boorstin, 1965, 113-168. Sinclair Lewis Babbitt presents a satirical view of an enterprising booster. The shift from island communities to a national urban culture in the early twentieth century, and the associated importance of professional groups in preserving a sense of community (see III, Wiebe, 1967), suggest the concept of chemical boosterism discussed below. 

Statements that chemistry is basic to all manufacturing processes - a recurrent theme of chemical boosterism (see Section 4.4) - are easily gleaned from the popular scientific and trade literature of the period. As one enthusiastic commentator wrote just after World War I ... 

Examples of uses foi amine oxides include detergent and personal care areas as a foam booster and stabilizer, as a dispersant for glass fibers, and as a foaming component in gas recovery systems. Commercial suppliers of fatty amine oxides include Akzo Chemicals Inc. (Aromox) (73), Jordan Chemical Company (PPG Industries) (fordamox) (78), and Lonza (Badox) (79). 

Continuous-Flow Compressors Continuous-flow compressors are machines where the flow is continuous, unlike positive displacement machines where the flow is fluctuating. Continuous-flow compressors are also classified as turbomachines. These types of machines are widely used in the chemical and petroleum industiy for many services. They are also used extensively in many other industries such as the iron and steel industry, pipeKne boosters, and on offshore platforms for reinjection compressors. Continuous-flow machines are usually much smaller in size and produce much less vibration than their counterpart, positive displacement units. 

Modern composite solid propellant is a mechanical mixture of the powder-like chemicals and a binding resin. The propellant used for the Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters (SRBs) is a typical example of such mixture ... 

In addition to the above chemical reactivity and dimensional stability problems, Minol 11 exhibits borderline initiatability at —65°F with small boosters, but initiates reliably at low temps with standard larger boosters (Ref 43)... 

Chemical treatment programs are often individually designed for particular boiler plant systems but usually contain oxygen scavengers, pH boosters, and corrosion inhibitors. In addition, the formulations employ materials specifically designed to limit the degree of deposition and control the mechanisms of deposition. 

In many of the largest boiler plants around the world AYT programs are often employed that commonly provide for hydrazine (as an oxygen scavenger) and a volatile amine such as morpholine (to boost the pH level). Where funds are limited, however, some facilities instead use ammonia as a pH booster because it is a low-cost item with a low equivalent weight and a high DR. Unfortunately, this approach may lead to downstream problems as ammonia becomes less chemically bound with increases in FW pH and a weaker base as temperatures rise. Consequently, a point is reached when ammonia ceases to further influence the pH level upward. 

Chemicals such as magnesium and lead oxides, calcium hydroxide, antimony tri- and pentasulphide can be used as boosters for organic accelerators for some products, such as thick walled large volume articles, e.g., rollers. 

Uses Denaturant for ethyl alcohol manufacturing flavors, perfumes (artificial musk), flotation agents solvent paint removers octane booster for unleaded gasoline dehydrating agent chemical intermediate. 

The functional components of a bomb are a control system, detonator, booster, and a main charge. Such threats can often be recognized from their shape. These can be viewed as bulk detection issues, historically addressed by imaging techniques such as sight or touch. Other threats may take no particular physical form and can only be recognized by their chemical composition. These are often trace detection issues, historically detected by the sense of taste or smell. 

Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) (3) is a powerful explosive which exhibits considerable brisance on detonation (VOD 8310 m/s at = 1.77 g/cm ). It is the most stable and least reactive of the common nitrate ester explosives. The relatively high sensitivity of PETN to friction and impact means that it is usually desensitized with phlegmatizers like wax and the product is used in detonation cord, boosters and as a base charge in detonators. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate can be mixed with synthetic polymers to form plastic bonded explosives (PBXs) like detasheet and Semtex-IA. A cast mixture of PETN and TNT in equal proportions is known as pentolite and has seen wide use as a military explosive and in booster charges. The physical, chemical and explosive properties of PETN commend its use as a high explosive. 

Everyone has observed chemical reactions involving pyrotechnic mixtures. Beautiful 4th of July fireworks, highway distress signals, solid fuel boosters for the Space Shuttle, and the black powder used by muzzle-loading rifle enthusiasts all have a common technical background. 

In examining the process of initiation of expls, ic is of importance to determine not only the critical density, p, and critical diameter, dc, of a detonator (or booster), but also its critical length, lc, which is the shortest length required for steady state detonation. It is known that if the initial velocity of shock wave of an initiator is equal to or lower than the velocity of sound, C0, in the charge to be initiated, no detonation can take place even with a large initiator. This means that the critical detonation velocity of an initiator, Dc, must be higher than a certain value which is different for each explosive to be initiated. Another requirement for successful detonation is that pressure at the front of a detonation wave produced by initiator at the expense of chemical energy, must be maintained at a certain minimum level... 

Warhead. That portion of a rocket, guided missile or torpedo designated to contain the load which the vehicle is to deliver. The load may consist of HE s, atomic bomb, chemicals, instruments or inert materials, as well as booster, fuze(s), adaption kits, and/or burster. Excludes items which contain atomic weapon components (Ref 40a, p 143)... 

These consist of microorganisms killed by heat or chemicals. Killed vaccines usually require a primary series of two-three doses of vaccine to produce an adequate antibody response and generally booster dose is required. The duration of immunity varies from months to years, (e.g. in case of polio vaccine) The examples are ... 

Type 3 Mark 1 Aircraft Mine Model 1 was cylinder 53 inches long and 24 inches diam, provided with a parachute and four chemical horns. It was filled with 240 lbs of Type 98 Explosive.. The detonator and booster were located in a tube running transversely thru the mine case. It was dropped from an aircraft or surface moored (p 42, Figs 11 12)... 

All this was purely physical action and no chemical reaction took place and no gas evolved, unless alcohol had been used. When alcohol was used, as in shellac for the booster cavity or for washing the threads, in the nose of the shell, some chemical reaction took place and not only exudate was formed but gas as well- This gas has proved to be Ethyl Nitrite. By laboratory experiments, it was determined that TNT and alcohol do react and give the same gas and tarry mater ial as that found in the shells... 

Civil explosives are also known as commercial or blasting explosives and are typically used for mining, quarrying, construction and tunnel building. They are chemical compositions, which detonate when initiated by high explosive primers or boosters or directly by detonators. They are relatively insensitive to shock, friction or impact... 

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