Commercial explosives development

The purpose of this monograph, the first to be dedicated exclusively to the analytics of additives in polymers, is to evaluate critically the extensive problemsolving experience in the polymer industry. Although this book is not intended to be a treatise on modem analytical tools in general or on polymer analysis en large, an outline of the principles and characteristics of relevant instrumental techniques (without hands-on details) was deemed necessary to clarify the current state-of-the-art of the analysis of additives in polymers and to accustom the reader to the unavoidable professional nomenclature. The book, which provides an in-depth overview of additive analysis by focusing on a wide array of applications in R D, production, quality control and technical service, reflects the recent explosive development of the field. Rather than being a compendium, cookery book or laboratory manual for qualitative and/or quantitative analysis of specific additives in a variety of commercial polymers, with no limits to impractical academic exoticism (analysis for its own sake), the book focuses on the fundamental characteristics of the arsenal of techniques utilised industrially in direct relation... 

From the days of Nobel to about 1950 the scientific basis of commercial explosives remained relatively unchanged, although continuous and numerous improvements in manufacturing methods occurred throughout the world. There were, however, many advances in military explosives, note of which will be made later. These advances were, of course, largely due to the two world wars, which occurred since the death of Alfred Nobel. There were also many advances in the development of permitted explosives designed for use in gassy coal mines. 

It was discovered by Sobrero in 1847, but was developed to a commercial scale by Nobel. It has for a long time been, and still is, the most important sensitiser for commercial explosives. 

Before nitrates and particularly ammonium nitrate were readily available commercially, explosives were developed based on chlorates and perchlorates. These also are still used in some countries. In general perchlorates are considered less dangerous than chlorates and therefore preferred. They are easily sensitised, so that in addition to explosives of this type based on nitroglycerine, others have been based on various organic liquids, particularly nitrobodies. History shows that chlorates and perchlorates must be regarded as temperamental substances, liable in bulk to lead to inexplicable accidents. Particularly when mixtures of chlorates and oxidising materials are allowed to become wet and then dry out, conditions can arise in which there is an appreciable sensitiveness to friction and impact. Explosives of this type have an unfortunate record of accidents. They are used, therefore, to a limited extent only, now that safer compositions are available. 

The identification taggants developed by 3M appear to survive the detonation of commercial explosives under ideal conditions. Confinement and fire may adversely affect survival, although test data is very limited, Recovery of the taggants appears to be a function of the specific incident conditions (weather, type of target, firefighting activities) as well as the training and... 

Swedish inventors Emmanuel Nobel and his son Alfred took an interest in this powerful liquid explosive and produced it commercially in 1862. However, its transportation and its handling were very hazardous, and eventually Alfred Nobel discovered that NG absorbed into a granular type of material (kieselguhr) was still explosive, but was much safer to handle and use than the straight liquid. This new invention, called dynamite, was difficult to ignite by the usual methods used for pure NG. Therefore, also in 1867, Alfred Nobel devised the blasting cap using mercury fulminate. With this development dynamite became the foundation of the commercial explosives industry. 

This very brief history relates the development in the commercial explosives industry of an explosive loading and initiation system that emphasized safety. An entire pattern of boreholes can now be loaded with an insensitive blasting agent primed with cast boosters... 

After the war Hercules returned to the production of commercial explosives as well as military propellants and continued to build on its cellulose and naval stores capabilities. In 1958 its explosives department created a chemical propulsion division to develop propellants for missiles and space vehicles. In 1959 it received contracts from the U.S. Air Force to develop new solid-fuel rocket motors and subsequently produced the motor for the third stage of the nation s first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Minuteman. Hercules played an even larger role in the development of the Navy s submarine-launched Polaris ICBM. With cellulose came new specialties, including synthetic resins and paper chemicals, as well as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), an intermediate used in the production of foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. From naval stores came other new specialty chemicals and an effective insecticide, toxaphene, and other agricultural chemicals.3... 

Although the AEC was nominally in charge of both peacetime and military atomic applications, the political realities of the cold war meant that the AEC emphasized weapons development and modernization. Commercial reactor development was a tertiary priority. With a deep commitment to its military mission, the AEC oversaw the detonation of the first thermonuclear fusion weapon in 1952. This new class of weapons demonstrated a 500x increase in explosive power over flie original fission weapons the initial thermonuclear weapons provided yields equivalent to ten million tons of TNT versus the approximately twenty thousand tons of TNT produced by the Little Boy and Fat Man fission bombs. 

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