ABSTRACT
This chapter is devotes to an account of the chemical composition and action of the modern explosives. The chemist of the twentieth century is acquainted with a large number of substances which when heated or struck or in some cases even merely shaken explode, but the great majority of them are useless for practical purposes, being too unstable to be handled or carried about without great danger to the person. Explosive substances are familiar in the chemical laboratory, and have multiplied among the products of modern chemical research, it is curious to note that nearly all the explosives employed as propellants or for blasting purposes are produced more or less directly by the use of the “villainous saltpetre” so long an ingredient in old-fashioned black gunpowder. In the United Kingdom the Explosives Department of the Home Office prescribes the conditions which must be obeyed.
