R. Meyer J. Köhler A. Homburg Explosives

Leg Wires
Leg Wires
Zünderdrähte; fils du défonaleur
The two single wires or one duplex wire extending out from an electric
blasting cap.
Linear Burning Rate
Linear Regression Rate; lineare Brenngeschwindigkeit;
velocité de combustion linéaire
Distance normal to any burning surface of pyrotechnic or propellant
burned through in unit time; W Burning Rate.
Liquid Explosives
202
flüssige Sprengstoffe; explosifs liquides
Numerous explosive materials are liquid. This applies primarily to
several nitric acid esters such as W Nitroglycerin, W Nitroglycol, W Diethyleneglycol
Dinitrate, W Triethyleneglycol Dinitrate, W Butanetriol Trinitrate
and many more. Most of them are so highly sensitive to impact
that they are converted to the less sensitive solid state, e.g., by
gelatinization with nitrocellulose; as is well known, such processes
formed the subject of the pioneering patents of Alfred Nobel. It was
shown by Roth that the impact sensitivity of explosive liquids is considerably
enhanced if they contain air bubbles. Nitrocellulose gelatinization
increases the minimum explosion-producing impact energy in
fallhammer tests performed on nitroglycerine from 0.02 to 0.2 kpm.
W Nitromethane is considerably less sensitive. The volatility of the
compound is high, and the handling of the constituent explosionproducing
liquids is complicated. Nevertheless, nitromethane was
used in the USA for preliminary studies to the big nuclear explosions
(“pregondola” etc.). It has also been used in stimulation explosions
carried out in gas wells and oil wells. PLX (“Picatinny Liquid Explosive”)
consists of 95% nitromethane and 5% ethylenediamine.
It has been proposed that liquid oxidizers (highly concentrated nitric
acid, nitrogen tetroxide, tetranitromethane) be incorporated into the
explosive mixture only on the actuation site or in the weapon itself so
as to produce an approximately equalized oxygen balance and thus
attain a higher degree of transport safety. Well known liquid explosives
include “Panklastites” (nitrogen tetroxide with nitrobenzene, benzene,
toluene, or gasoline) and “Hellhoffites” (concentrated nitric acid with
dinitrobenzene or dinitrochlorobenzene). The mixture, under the name
“Boloron”, was still a recommended procedure in Austria after the
Second World War. Similar explosives are known as W Dithekite. The