The tendency of these
mixtures is to absorb moisture, and the gun-cotton in them to
decompose, and there is no smokeless powder which can to-day be
considered successful. Such a powder, however, will undoubtedly be an
accomplished fact in the near future. Military men seem to be a great
deal at variance as to its value in the field, but there can be no
doubt of its value for naval purposes; it is a necessity forced upon
us by the development of torpedo warfare.
First came the simple torpedo, at the end of an ordinary boat's spar.
Then came the special torpedo boat with its great speed, then the
revolving cannon and rapid-fire gun to meet the torpedo boat. At
present the possible rapidity of fire is much greater than can be
utilized, on account of the smoke; hence the necessity of smokeless
powder. Smokelessness is, however, principally a martial demand that
has been made upon the science of explosives and has attracted public
attention on that account. The commercial demands for various other
properties have been much greater than the military, and between
gunpowder near one end of the line in point of power and
nitro-glycerine near the other, there are now over 350 different
explosives manufactured, and most of these have been invented within
the last twenty years.
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