The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives - Sciencemadness Dot Org

446 PRIMARY EXPLOSIVES, DETONATORS, AND PRIMERS
that diazodinitrophenol in the sand test has about the same
strength as tetryl and hexanitrodiphenylamine.
Clark found that the initiatory power of diazodinitrophenol is
about twice that of mercury fulminate and slightly less than that
of lead aside. His experiments were made with 0.5-gram charges
of the high explosives in No. 8 detonator capsules, with reenforcing
caps, and with charges compressed under a pressure of 3400
pounds per square inch. He reported the results which are tabulated
below.
MINIMUM INITIATING CHARGE
(GRAMS) OP
Mercury Diazo-
HIGH EXPLOSIVE Fulminate dinitrophenol Lead Azide
Picric acid 0.225 0115 0.12
Trinitrotoluene 0240 0.163 0.16
Tetryl 0.165 0075 0.03
Trinitroresorcinol 0225 0.110 0.075
Trinitrobenzaldehyde 0165 0075 0 05
Tetranitroaniline 0.175 0.085 0 05
Hexanitrodiphenylamine 0.165 0.075 005
One gram of diazodinitrophenol in a No. 8 detonator capsule,
compressed under a reenforcing cap at a pressure of 3400 pounds
per square inch, and fired in a small Trauzl block, caused an
expansion of 25 cc. Mercury fulminate under the same conditions
caused an expansion of 8.1 cc, and lead azide one of 7.2 cc.
Clark determined the ignition temperature of diazodinitrophenol
by dropping 0.02-gram portions of the material onto a
heated bath of molten metal and noting the times which elapsed
between the contacts with the hot metal and the explosions: 1
second at 200°, 2.5 seconds at 190°, 5 seconds at 185°, and 10.0
seconds at 180°. At 177° the material decomposed without an
explosion.
Tetracene
l-Guanyl-4-nitrosoaminoguanyltetrazene, called tetracene for
short, was first prepared by Hoffmann and Roth. 58 Hoffmann and
his co-workers 59 studied its chemical reactions and determined
Ber., 43, 682 (1910).
59 Hoffmann, Hock, and Roth, ibid., 43, 1087 (1910); Hoffmann and
Hock, ibid., 43, 1866 (1910), 44, 2946 (1911); Hoffmann, Hock, and Kirmreuther,
Ann., 380, 131 (1911).