Anyone catch the episode last night about Civil War Confederate rockets, where Carrie 'made' some guncotton? What a joke. The methods shown and lack of purification would be guaranteed to blow her pretty face off. JR dweller in the cellar
Although I really enjoy the show, they do seem to stretch things quite often, after all, this is TV. One of my favorite episodes was where they were removing hardened concrete from inside a concrete truck with dynamite. They loaded the truck up with what seemed to be half a ton of some kind of explosive and Jamie seemed shocked when the truck practically vaporized. Gee what did you expect!!
JR North fired this volley in news:AoCdnYqrnNmYGtnanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@seanet.com:
Where did you ever get that idea? Guncotton is pure nitrated cellulose - nothing else - without all the additives and burn rate modifiers that smokeless powders contain. Guncotton IS nitrocellulose, and is the feedstock to all smokeless powder production, and many paint and lacquer processes.
When folks talk about "nitrocellulose lacquer" they're describing a solution of guncotton in acetone or ethyl ether, along with several other solvents and drying rate modifiers, plasticizers, gloss makers/inhibitors, and colorants.
I purchase and use commercial guncotton as well as commercial smokeless powders. I have made guncotton (properly), and understand the chemistry and properties of the material. It's part of how I make a living. (BTW, making it yourself is not worth the trouble or expense.)
The vaporized truck was intentional. That was the first truck they used (the one that they screwed up on and had a half load of concrete in it that hardened).
The earlier part of the show had them try 1/4 stick of TNT then a full stick. They showed that the full stick did loosen up the concrete.
LLoyd, for a man who claims to have working knowledge of using and making nitrated cellulose, you are amazingly imprecise in your definitions. Of course, I did not mean to imply that guncotton is not a nitrated cellulose product. That's not what I meant. Nitrated cellulose is defined by different names, which denote it's nitrogen content. As I understand it: Pyroxylin, or pyrocellulose >having a nitrogen content of 8-11%, soluable in ether/alcohol Nitrocellulose >having a nitrogen content of 11.5-12.5%, soluable in ether/alcohol Guncotton >having a nitrogen content of 12.5-13.75, insoluable in ether/alcohol
The common reaction from people who are not familiar with explosives or who have seen them detonated before is similar. Most people are awe struck, as it is something that they never get to see. The concussion is totally unfamiliar.
"High velocity shock wave" is more accurate . When I was a teen we watched an operation that was blasting for limestone . It was on the mountainside above town (Wasatch Face about 100 miles north of SLC) , and it was awesome . Whole side of the mountain (well , a pretty big chunk !!) jumped straight up . About a second later we felt the shock wave , then a couple more seconds for the sound . Got to set off a few 'splosions myself a few years later . Sometimes I miss my job at the rocket motor factory ...
JR North fired this volley in news:d9qdnU_HoLNUVtnanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@seanet.com:
You need to get out of the cellar more often. Hercules calls their feedstock "guncotton" AND "nitrocellulose lint". You pick.
Seein' how I run through roughly a ton-and-a-half of their products each year, I'd run afoul of their ordering system pretty quickly if I didn't have _their_ catalog names at hand.
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.