In
the United States we use dynamite for harbor mines. It is composed of
seventy-five per cent. nitro-glycerine and twenty-five per cent.
silica; but blasting gelatine and forcite gelatine will probably be
adopted, when they can be satisfactorily manufactured here, as they
are more powerful. The former is composed of ninety-two per cent. of
nitro-glycerine and eight per cent. of gun-cotton, and the latter of
ninety-five per cent. of nitro-gelatine and five per cent. unnitrated
cellulose.
For naval use we have adopted gun-cotton as being the most convenient.
In Europe gun-cotton is generally used for both fixed mines and
movable torpedoes; Russia, Austria, and Italy use blasting gelatine
also.
In actual warfare but little experience has been had. Two Peruvian
vessels were sunk by dynamite in the Chili-Peruvian war, one Turk by
means of gun-cotton during the Turco-Russian war of 1877, and two
Chinese by gun-cotton in the Franco-Chinese war of 1884.
In making experiments to determine the relative strength of the
different explosives under water, very curious and puzzling results
have been obtained. Nitro-glycerine being the simplest and most
complete in its chemical decomposition, and apparently the most
powerful in air, it was natural to suppose that it would be the same
in submarine work, but it was found by Gen.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58