Explosives, chemist

According to the late Mr W.H. Rinken-bach (1894-1965), who worked as explosives chemist for many years at USBurMines and at Picatinny Arsenal [Davis (1943), p 431] ... 

Many explosives chemists have for many years considered heat of detonation as the primary measure of effectiveness. Figures of merit of experimental explosives have most often been expressed in terms of... 

Figure 10. Charles Edward Munroe (1849-1938). Leader in the development of explosives in the United States. Invented indurite, a variety of smokeless powder, and discovered the Munroe effect. Professor of chemistry at the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, 1874-1886 chemist at the Naval Torpedo Station and Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, 1886-1892 professor of chemistry at George Washington University, 1892-1917 and chief explosives chemist of the U. S. Bureau of Mines in Washington, 1919-1933. Author and co-author of many very valuable publications of the Bureau of Mines. 

Figure 56. C. G. Storm. Author of numerous articles and government publications on the properties, testing, and analysis of smokeless powder and high explosives. Explosives Chemist at Navy Powder Works, 1901-1909, at U. S. Bureau of Mines, 1909-1915 Directing Chemist, Aetna Explosives Company, 1915-1917 Major and Lieutenant-Colonel, Ordnance Department, 1917-1919 Research Chemist, Trojan Powder Company, 1919 Chief Explosives Chemical Engineer, Office of the Chief of Ordnance, War Department, 1919-1942 since early in 1942, Technical Director, National Fireworks, Inc.

Ethylene adds hypochlorous acid more readily than it adds either moist chlorine or hydrogen chloride. Bubbled into chlorine water, it is converted completely into ethylene chlorohydrin, and by the hydrolysis of this substance glycol is obtained. Ethylene chlorohydrin is important also because of its reaction with ammonia whereby mono-, di-, and triethanolamine are formed, substances which are used in the arts and are not without interest for the explosives chemist. Ethylene may be oxidized catalytically in the gas phase to ethylene oxide which reacts with water to form glycol and with glycol to form diglycol which also is of interest to the dynamite maker. 

The sand test was devised in 1910 by Walter 0. Snelling, explosives chemist of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, who worked out the technique of its operation and designed the standard Bureau of Mines sand test bomb No. 1 which was used in his own investigations and in those of Storm and Cope.30 Munroe and Taylor31... 

Figure 99. Walter 0. Snelling. (Metzger Son.) Devised the sand test. Has worked extensively with nitrostarch explosives and has patented many improvements in military and in mining explosives. Chemist at the U. S. Bureau of Mines, 1908-1916 Director of Research, Trojan Powder Company, 1917—.

He served as explosives chemist at the Naval Powder Works (1901—1909) at the US BuMines (1909—1915) was directing chemist for Aetna Explosives Co (1915—1917) consulting expls chemist and Lt Colonel, US Ordn Dept (1917— 1919) research chemist, Trojan Powder Co (1919) prof of chemical engineering, Ordn School of Application, Aberdeen Proving Ground (1920—1921) chief of expls section, Office Chief of Ordnance (1921—1942) and technical director, National Fireworks Co (1942—1945). He retired in 1945... 

The principal ingredients of explosives are fuels, oxidizers, and special fuels (hat make it easier to initiate the material (often called sensitizers). Perhaps to an explosives chemist this would be too simplistic a statement, but for an explosives engineer it is accurate enough to explain the basic interaction of e.vplosive ingredients. 

The challenge now is to apply the techniques becoming available to the explosives chemist to the solution of the practical problems which we face. I believe we have the opportunity to radically improve our understanding of the chemistry of explosives and explosions and to use this knowledge. 

---