Modern explosives. The most powerful explosives in the world. RDX is an explosive drug

EXPLOSIVES- these are substances or their mixtures that, under the influence of external influences (heating, impact, friction, explosion of another substance), can very quickly decompose with the release of gases and a large amount of heat.

Explosive mixtures existed long before man appeared on Earth. The small (1–2 cm in length) orange-blue bombardier beetle Branchynus explodans defends itself from attacks in a very ingenious way. A concentrated solution of hydrogen peroxide accumulates in a small sac in his body. At the right moment, this solution is quickly mixed with the enzyme catalase. The reaction that occurs was observed by anyone who treated a cut finger with a pharmaceutical 3% peroxide solution: the solution literally boils, releasing oxygen bubbles. At the same time, the mixture is heated (the thermal effect of the reaction 2H 2 O 2 ® 2H 2 O + O 2 is 190 kJ/mol). In the beetle, at the same time, another reaction occurs, catalyzed by the enzyme peroxidase: the oxidation of hydroquinone with hydrogen peroxide to benzoquinone (the thermal effect of this reaction is more than 200 kJ/mol). The heat generated is enough to heat the solution to 100° C and even partially evaporate it. The beetle's reaction is so fast that the caustic mixture, heated to a high temperature, is shot with a loud sound at the enemy. If a jet weighing only half a gram hits human skin, it will cause a slight burn.

The principle “invented” by the beetle is typical for explosives chemical nature, in which energy is released due to the formation of strong chemical bonds. In nuclear weapons, energy is released through fission or fusion atomic nuclei. An explosion is a very rapid release of energy in a limited volume. In this case, instantaneous heating and expansion of the air occurs, and a shock wave begins to spread, leading to great destruction. If you detonate dynamite (without a steel shell) on the Moon, where there is no air, the destructive consequences will be immeasurably less than on Earth. The need for a very rapid release of energy for an explosion is evidenced by this fact. It is well known that a mixture of hydrogen and chlorine explodes if placed on a straight line sunlight or if you bring burning magnesium to the flask - this is written even in school textbooks, but if the light is not so bright, the reaction will take place completely calmly, the same energy will be released in it, but not in a hundredth of a second, but in several hours and as a result, the heat will simply dissipate in the surrounding air.

When any exothermic reaction occurs, the released thermal energy heats not only environment, but also the reagents themselves. This leads to an increase in the rate of reaction, which in turn accelerates the release of heat and this further increases the temperature. If the removal of heat into the surrounding space does not keep pace with its release, then as a result the reaction may, as chemists say, “go wild” - the mixture will boil and splash out of the reaction vessel or even explode if the released gases and vapors do not find a quick exit from the vessel . This is the so-called thermal explosion. Therefore, when carrying out exothermic reactions, chemists carefully monitor the temperature, lowering it if necessary by adding pieces of ice to the flask or placing the vessel in a cooling mixture. It is especially important to be able to calculate the rate of heat release and heat removal for industrial reactors.

Energy is released very quickly in the event of detonation. This word (it comes from the Latin detonare - to thunder) means the chemical transformation of an explosive substance, which is accompanied by the release of energy and the propagation of a wave through the substance at supersonic speed. The chemical reaction is excited by an intense shock wave, which forms the leading front of the detonation wave. The pressure in the shock wave front is tens of thousands of megapascals (hundreds of thousands of atmospheres), which explains the enormous destructive effect of such processes. Energy released in the zone chemical reaction, continuously maintains high pressure in the shock wave. Detonation occurs in many compounds and their mixtures. For example, tetranitromethane C(NO 2) 4 - a heavy colorless liquid with a pungent odor - is distilled without explosion, but its mixtures with many organic compounds detonate with enormous power. Thus, during a lecture at one of the German universities in 1919, many students died due to the explosion of a burner, which was used to demonstrate the combustion of a mixture of tetranitromethane and toluene. It turned out that the laboratory assistant, while preparing the mixture, mixed up the mass and volume fractions of the components, and with reagent densities of 1.64 and 0.87 g/cm3, this caused an almost twofold change in the composition of the mixture, which led to the tragedy.

What substances can explode? First of all, these are the so-called endothermic compounds, that is, compounds the formation of which from simple substances is accompanied not by the release, but by the absorption of energy. Such substances include, in particular, acetylene, ozone, chlorine oxides, peroxides . Thus, the formation of 1 mole of C 2 H 2 from elements is accompanied by a cost of 227 kJ. This means that acetylene should be considered a potentially unstable compound, since the reaction of its decomposition into simple substances C 2 H 2 ® 2C + H 2 is accompanied by the release of very high energy. That is why, unlike many other gases, acetylene is never pumped into cylinders under high pressure - this can lead to an explosion (in cylinders with acetylene, this gas is dissolved in acetone, which is impregnated with a porous carrier).

Acetyleneides of heavy metals - silver, copper - decompose explosively. Pure ozone is also very dangerous for the same reason, the decay of 1 mole of which releases 142 kJ of energy. However, many potentially unstable compounds may turn out to be quite stable in practice. An example is ethylene, the reason for its stability is the very low rate of decomposition into simple substances.

Historically, the first explosive substance invented by people was black (aka black) gunpowder - a mixture of finely ground sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate - potassium nitrate (sodium nitrate is not suitable, since it is hygroscopic, that is, it becomes damp in the air). This invention has claimed millions of human lives over the past centuries. However, it turns out that gunpowder was invented for other purposes: the ancient Chinese used gunpowder to create fireworks more than two thousand years ago. The composition of Chinese gunpowder allowed it to burn without exploding.

The ancient Greeks and Romans did not have saltpeter, so they could not have gunpowder. Around the 5th century. saltpeter came from India and China to Byzantium, the capital of the Greek empire. In Byzantium it was discovered that a mixture of saltpeter with flammable substances burns very intensely and cannot be extinguished. Why this happens became known much later - such mixtures do not need air for combustion: saltpeter itself is a source of oxygen). Combustible mixtures containing saltpeter called “Greek fire” began to be used in warfare. With their help, in 670 and 718, the ships of the Arab fleet that besieged Constantinople were burned. In the 10th century Byzantium repelled the Bulgarian invasion with the help of Greek fire.

Centuries have passed, and medieval Europe gunpowder was reinvented. This happened in the 13th century. And who the inventor was is unknown. According to one legend, a monk from Freiburg, Berthold Schwartz, ground a mixture of sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter in a heavy metal mortar. An iron ball accidentally fell into the mortar. There was a terrible roar, acrid smoke poured out of the mortar, and a hole appeared in the ceiling - it was pierced by a ball that flew out of the mortar at great speed. It became clear what enormous power lies in the black powder (the word “gunpowder” itself comes from the Old Russian “dust” - dust, powder). In 1242, gunpowder was described by the English philosopher and naturalist Roger Bacon. Gunpowder began to be used in warfare. In 1300 the first cannon was cast, and soon the first guns appeared. The first gunpowder factory in Europe was built in Bavaria in 1340. In the 14th century. Firearms also began to be used in Rus': with their help, Muscovites defended their city in 1382 from the troops of the Tatar Khan Tokhtamysh.

The invention of gunpowder had a huge impact on world history. With the help of firearms, seas and continents were conquered, civilizations were destroyed, entire nations were destroyed or conquered. But the discovery of gunpowder also had positive aspects. Hunting for wild animals has become easier. In 1627, in Banska Stjavice on the territory of modern Slovakia, gunpowder was first used in mining - to destroy rock in a mine. Thanks to gunpowder special science on calculating the motion of nuclei - ballistics. Methods for casting metals for cannons began to be improved, and new strong alloys were invented and tested. New methods of producing gunpowder were also developed - and above all, saltpeter

The number of gunpowder factories grew all over the world. They were used to produce many types of black powder - for mines, cannons, rifles, including hunting ones. Research has shown that gunpowder has the ability to burn very quickly. The combustion of the most common powder composition is approximately described by the equation 2KNO 3 + S + 3C ® K 2 S + 3CO 2 + N 2 (in addition to sulfide, potassium sulfate K 2 SO 4 is also formed). The specific composition of the products depends on the combustion pressure. D.I. Mendeleev, who studied this issue, pointed out a significant difference in the composition of the solid residue during blank and combat shots.

In any case, when gunpowder burns, a large amount of gases is released. If gunpowder is poured onto the ground and set on fire, it will not explode, but will simply burn quickly, but if it burns in a confined space, for example, in a gun cartridge, then the released gases forcefully push the bullet out of the cartridge, and it flies out of the barrel at high speed. In 1893 on world exhibition in Chicago, the German industrialist Krupp showed a gun that was loaded with 115 kg of black powder; its projectile weighing 115 kg flew over 20 km within 71 seconds, reaching a height of 6.5 km at its highest point

The particles of solids produced by the combustion of black powder create black smoke, and battlefields were sometimes so shrouded in smoke that it obscured the sunlight (in the novel War and Peace described how the smoke made it difficult for commanders to control the course of battles). Particulate matter produced when black powder burns contaminates the bore of firearms, so the barrel of a gun or cannon had to be cleaned regularly.

By the end of the 19th century. black powder has practically exhausted its capabilities. Chemists knew a lot of explosives, but they were not suitable for shooting: their crushing (high explosive) force was such that the barrel would have shattered into pieces even before the shell or bullet left it. This property is possessed, for example, by lead azide Pb(N 3) 2, fulminate of mercury Hg(CNO) 2 - a salt of fulminate (fulmic) acid. These substances explode easily upon friction and impact; they are used to load primers and serve to ignite gunpowder.

In 1884, French engineer Paul Viel invented the new kind gunpowder - pyroxylin. Pyroxylin was obtained back in 1846 by nitration of cellulose (fiber), but for a long time they could not develop a technology for producing gunpowder that was stable and safe to handle. Viel, having dissolved pyroxylin in a mixture of alcohol and ether, obtained a dough-like mass, which, after pressing and drying, gave excellent gunpowder. Lit in air, it burned quietly, and in a cartridge or shell case it exploded with great force from the detonator. The new gunpowder was much more powerful than black gunpowder, and when burned it did not produce smoke, so it was called smokeless. This gunpowder made it possible to reduce the caliber (inner diameter) of shotguns and pistols and thus increase not only the range, but also the accuracy of shooting. In 1889, an even more powerful smokeless gunpowder appeared - nitroglycerin. The great Russian chemist D.I. Mendeleev did a lot to improve smokeless gunpowder. Here's what he himself wrote about it:

“Black smoky gunpowder was found by the Chinese and monks - almost by accident, by touch, by mechanical mixing, in scientific darkness. Smokeless powder was discovered in the full light of modern chemical knowledge. It will amount to new era military affairs, not because it does not allow smoke to obscure the eyes, but mainly because, with less weight, it makes it possible to impart speeds of 600, 800 and even 1000 meters per second to bullets and all other projectiles, and at the same time represents all the makings of further improvements - using scientific research invisible phenomena that occur during its combustion. Smokeless gunpowder constitutes a new link between the power of countries and their scientific development. For this reason, being one of the warriors of Russian science, in my declining years and strength I did not dare to abandon the analysis of the problems of smokeless gunpowder.”

The gunpowder created by Mendeleev successfully passed tests in 1893: it was fired from a 12-inch gun, and naval artillery inspector Admiral Makarov congratulated the scientist on his brilliant victory. With the help of smokeless powder, the firing range was significantly increased. From a huge Big Bertha cannon weighing 750 tons, the Germans fired at Paris from a distance of 128 km. The initial speed of the projectile was 2 km/s, and its highest point was located far in the stratosphere at an altitude of 40 km. During the summer of 1918, over 300 shells were fired at Paris, but, of course, this shooting had only psychological significance, since there was no need to talk about any accuracy.

Smokeless powder is used not only in firearms, but also in rocket engines (solid rocket fuel). During the Second World War, our army successfully used solid fuel rockets - they were fired by the legendary Katyusha guards mortars.

The product of phenol nitration, trinitrophenol (picric acid), had a similar fate. It was obtained as early as 1771 and was used as a yellow dye. And only at the end of the 19th century. they began to use it to equip grenades, mines, and shells called lyddita. The colossal destructive power of this substance, used in the Boer War, is vividly described by Louis Boussenard in his adventure novel Captain Rip-Head. And since 1902, safer trinitrotoluene (TNT, Tol) began to be used for the same purposes. Tall is widely used in blasting operations in industry in the form of cast (or pressed) blocks, since this substance can be safely melted when heated above 80 ° C.

Nitroglycerin, which is very dangerous to handle, has the strongest explosive properties. In 1866, Alfred Nobel managed to “tame” it, who, by mixing nitroglycerin with non-flammable material, received dynamite. Dynamite was used to dig tunnels and in many other mining operations. In the first year, its use in the construction of tunnels in Prussia saved 12 million gold marks.

Modern explosives must satisfy many conditions: safety in production and handling, release of large volumes of gases, and efficiency. The cheapest explosive is a mixture of ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel; its production accounts for 80% of all explosives. Which one is the most powerful? It depends on the power criterion. On the one hand, the detonation speed is important, i.e. wave propagation speed. On the other hand, the density of the substance, because the higher it is, the more energy, other things being equal, is released per unit volume. Thus, for the most powerful nitro compounds, both parameters have been improved by 20–25% over more than 100 years, as can be seen from the following table:

Hexogen (1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane, cyclonite), which in last years became notorious, with the addition of paraffin or wax, as well as in a mixture with other substances (TNT, ammonium nitrate, aluminum) began to be used in 1940. It is used to equip ammunition, and is also part of ammonites used in rock work.

The most powerful explosive produced (since 1955) on an industrial scale is octogen (1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazocyclooctane). HMX is quite resistant to heat, so it is used for blasting in high-temperature conditions, for example, in deep wells. A mixture of octogen with TNT (octol) is a component of solid rocket fuels. The absolute record is held by hexanitroisowurtzitane, synthesized in the USA in 1990. The shock wave from its explosion travels 30 times faster than sound

Ilya Leenson

Terminology

The complexity and diversity of explosive chemistry and technology, political and military contradictions in the world, and the desire to classify any information in this area have led to unstable and varied formulations of terms.

Industrial Application

Explosives are also widely used in industry for various blasting operations. The annual consumption of explosives in countries with developed industrial production, even in Peaceful time amounts to hundreds of thousands of tons. In wartime, the consumption of explosives increases sharply. Thus, during the 1st World War in the warring countries it amounted to about 5 million tons, and in the 2nd World War it exceeded 10 million tons. Annual use of explosives in the United States in the 1990s was about 2 million tons.

throwing
Propellant explosives (powder and rocket fuels) serve as sources of energy for throwing bodies (shells, mines, bullets, etc.) or propelling rockets. Their distinctive feature is the ability to undergo explosive transformation in the form of rapid combustion, but without detonation.
pyrotechnic
Pyrotechnic compositions are used to obtain pyrotechnic effects (light, smoke, incendiary, sound, etc.). The main type of explosive transformations of pyrotechnic compositions is combustion.

Propelling explosives (powder) are used mainly as propellant charges for various types of weapons and are intended to give a projectile (torpedo, bullet, etc.) a certain initial speed. The predominant type of their chemical transformation is rapid combustion caused by a beam of fire from ignition means. Gunpowder is divided into two groups:

a) smoky;

b) smokeless.

Representatives of the first group can be black powder, which is a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and coal, for example, artillery and gun powder, consisting of 75% potassium nitrate, 10% sulfur and 15% coal. The flash point of black powder is 290 - 310° C.

The second group includes pyroxylin, nitroglycerin, diglycol and other gunpowders. The flash point of smokeless powders is 180 - 210 ° C.

Pyrotechnic compositions (incendiary, lighting, signal and tracer), used to equip special ammunition, are mechanical mixtures of oxidizing agents and flammable substances. Under normal conditions of use, when they burn, they produce a corresponding pyrotechnic effect (incendiary, lighting, etc.). Many of these compounds also have explosive properties and can detonate under certain conditions.

According to the method of preparing charges

pressed
cast (explosive alloys)
patronized

By application area

military
industrial

for mining (mining, production of building materials, stripping operations)
According to the conditions of safe use, industrial explosives for mining are divided into

non-safety
safety

for construction (dams, canals, pits, road cuttings and embankments)
for seismic exploration
for destruction of building structures
for processing materials (explosion welding, explosion hardening, explosion cutting)

special purpose (for example, means for undocking spacecraft)
antisocial use (terrorism, hooliganism), often using low-quality substances and homemade mixtures.
experimental.

By degree of danger

Exist various systems classification of explosives by degree of hazard. The most famous:

A globally harmonized system of hazard classification and labeling of chemicals

Classification according to the degree of danger in mining;

The energy of the explosive itself is small. The explosion of 1 kg of TNT releases 6-8 times less energy than the combustion of 1 kg of coal, but during the explosion this energy is released tens of millions of times faster than during conventional combustion processes. In addition, coal does not contain an oxidizing agent.

Literature

Soviet military encyclopedia. M., 1978.
Pozdnyakov Z. G., Rossi B. D. Handbook of Industrial Explosives and Explosives. - M.: “Nedra”, 1977. - 253 p.
Fedoroff, Basil T. et al Encyclopedia of Explosives and Related Items, vol.1-7. - Dover, New Jersey: Picatinny Arsenal, 1960-1975.

Links

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Explosives” are in other dictionaries:

- (a. explosives, blasting agents; n. Sprengstoffe; f. explosifs; i. explosivos) chemical. compounds or mixtures of substances that, under certain conditions, are capable of extremely rapid (explosive) self-propagating chemicals. transformation with heat release... Geological encyclopedia

- (Explosive matter) substances that are capable of causing an explosion due to their chemical transformation into gases or vapors. V. V. are divided into propellant powders, high explosives, which have a crushing effect and initiate the ignition and detonation of others ... Marine Dictionary

EXPLOSIVES, a substance that reacts quickly and sharply under certain conditions, releasing heat, light, sound and shock waves. Chemical explosives are mostly compounds with high... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

Each new generation tries to outdo the previous generations in what is called the stuffing for hellish machines and other things, in other words - in the search for a powerful explosive. It would seem that the era of explosives in the form of gunpowder is gradually fading away, but the search for new explosives does not stop. The smaller the mass of the explosive and the greater its destructive power, the better it seems to military experts. Robotics dictates an intensification of the search for such an explosive, as well as the use of small missiles and bombs of high destructive power on UAVs.

Naturally, an ideal substance from a military point of view is unlikely to ever be discovered, but recent developments suggest that something close to such a concept can still be obtained. Close to ideality here means stable storage, high destructive power, small volume and easy transportation. We must not forget that the price of such an explosive must also be acceptable, otherwise the creation of weapons based on it can simply devastate the military budget of a particular country.

Developments have been going on around the use of chemical formulas substances such as trinitrotoluene, pentrite, hexogen and a number of others. However, it is extremely rare for “explosive” science to offer fully new products.
That is why the appearance of such a substance as hexantirogexaazaisowurtzitane (the name is tongue-tied) can be considered a real breakthrough in its field. In order not to break the tongue, scientists decided to give this substance a more digestible name - CL-20.
This substance was first obtained about 26 years ago - back in 1986 in the American state of California. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the energy density in this substance is still maximum in comparison with other substances. The high energy density of CL-20 and little competition in its production mean that the cost of such explosives today is simply astronomical. One kilogram of CL-20 costs about $1,300. Naturally, this price does not allow the use of an explosive agent on an industrial scale. However, soon, experts believe, the price of this explosive may drop significantly, since there are options for alternative synthesis of hexantirogexaazaisowurtzitane.

If we compare hexanthirogexaazaisowurtzitane with the most effective explosive used for military purposes today (octogen), then the cost of the latter is about one hundred dollars per kg. However, it is hexanthirogexaazaisowurtzitane that is more effective. The detonation speed of CL-20 is 9660 m/s, which is 560 m/s more than that of HMX. The density of CL-20 is also higher than that of the same HMX, which means that the prospects for hexanthirogexaazaisowurtzitane should also be fine.

One of the possible areas for using the CL-20 today is drones. However, there is a problem here because the CL-20 is very sensitive to mechanical influences. Even ordinary shaking, which may well occur with a UAV in the air, can cause detonation of the substance. To avoid the explosion of the drone itself, experts proposed using the CL-20 in integration with a plastic component that would reduce the level of mechanical impact. But as soon as such experiments were carried out, it turned out that hexanthirogexaazaisowurtzitane (formula C6H6N12O12) greatly loses its “killer” properties.

It turns out that this substance has enormous prospects, but for two and a half decades no one has been able to manage it wisely. But experiments continue today. American Adam Matzger is working on improving CL-20, trying to change the shape of this matter.

Matzger decided to use crystallization from a common solution to obtain molecular crystals of the substance. As a result, they came up with a variant where for every 2 molecules of CL-20 there is 1 molecule of HMX. The detonation speed of this mixture is between the speeds of the two indicated substances separately, but the new substance is much more stable than CL-20 itself and more effective than HMX.

What is the most effective explosive in the world?..

“Let the tar, and dynamite, and ammonal burst.

Terror in the USA: another explosion occurred in New Jersey

I saw these mountains on TV."

Lyrics of the song by S. Shpanova, E. Rodionova

The Kalinovsky Chemical Plant has created a new emulsion explosive, Sferit-DP, which is 20 percent more powerful than TNT, but at the same time safer to use and cheaper to produce. According to its purpose, "Spherit-DP" is an industrial explosive belonging to class II. It can be used both for explosions in mountains and in mine workings.

It is also suitable as a detonator for explosives that have low sensitivity to detonation and in overhead charges operating at temperatures from minus 50 to plus 50 degrees.

The increased power of the new explosive is ensured by the fact that there is little water in the finished emulsion, which increases the calculated heat of its explosion. For mining, new explosives are produced in the form of cartridges in a plastic shell of various diameters, so they are convenient for use in mines and in the mountains. The press service of the enterprise notes the high economic efficiency of using this explosive, compared to traditional ammonite, and emphasizes that its analogues, produced in industrial quantities, are currently not available on the domestic market.

Well and what explosivesat allwere created by mankindallhis story?

Appeared before other explosives black black powder- a mechanical mixture of sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal. It was most likely invented either in India or in China, where there were many accessible deposits of saltpeter, but such gunpowder was used only... for entertainment purposes, for fireworks and rockets. It wasn't until 1259 that the Chinese used gunpowder to create the "lance of furious fire", somewhat reminiscent of the flamethrowers of World War II. Then the Arabs living in Spain were the first to use gunpowder in Europe. It is true that it is known that the English philosopher and scientist Roger Bacon (about 1214-1292) in one of his works reported on the explosive composition of nitrate-gray-coal, that is, black black powder.

However, ceramic vessels from the same 13th century have survived to our time, on the walls of which traces of mercury fulminate have been preserved. What is mercury fulminate, if not known to all of us? mercury fulminate- a strong and dangerous explosive used in detonator caps. True, it was discovered in 1799 by the English chemist Edward Howard along with “explosive silver.” But perhaps it was also known to medieval alchemists earlier?

It was also known for a very long time lead azide- a salt of hydronitric acid that easily explodes at the slightest friction or impact. Then the Italian chemist Ascaño Sobrero discovered in 1847 nitroglycerine, which turned out to be a powerful explosive and... a medicine for heart disease. An advertisement for this explosive was created by none other than Jules Verne, who in the novel “The Mysterious Island” not only described its terrible power, but even the method of preparation, although he excluded one important stage of its synthesis.

Alfred Nobel, founder Nobel Prize, also dealt with nitroglycerin and in 1867 invented dynamite, the same nitroglycerin, but only mixed with diatomaceous earth or infusor earth and therefore safer to handle. Subsequently, the theme of the dangers associated with the use of nitroglycerin became the basis of the plot of the film "The Wages of Fear" (1953), in which drivers transport nitroglycerin by truck and take terrible risks. Well, in the comedy film “Harry and Walter Go to New York” (1976), nitroglycerin is used to tear open safe doors, and it looks as simple as if it were ordinary vegetable oil.

However, despite the widespread use of dynamite, so to speak, “in everyday life,” it was not used in warfare because of its high sensitivity. A more powerful explosive than gunpowder, both smoke and smokeless, has become pyroxylin(or cellulose trinitrate), which Jules Verne also described in “The Mysterious Island” and which was obtained by A. Braconnot back in 1832. In 1890, D.I. Mendeleev figured out how to safely produce it. After which both shells and torpedoes began to be filled with pyroxylin. Russian army and the navy.

First the French, and then the Japanese, began filling the shells of naval guns with the so-called picric acid- tritrophenol, which was first used as a yellow dye and only later as a powerful explosive. Russo-Japanese War became the apotheosis of the use of this type of explosive, but it also showed its great danger. Forming oxides with the metal surface inside the projectiles (picrites), picric acid exploded at the moment of firing, so that the projectile did not even have time to fly out of the gun barrel.

To prevent this, the Japanese came up with the idea of casting a charge from crystalline picric acid in the shape of the internal cavity of the projectile, wrapping it in rice paper, then also in lead foil, and only in this form placed inside the projectile. This know-how has increased safety significantly, but not completely. In this connection, the British, for example, again returned to filling naval gun shells with black powder, and shells with liddite ( English name picrine explosive) was preserved as... a “Doomsday weapon”, that is, hopeless for warship situations.

It is clear that the military immediately abandoned the use of such a dangerous military substance, replacing it during the First World War with somewhat less powerful, but safer trinitrotoluene, or TNT. And the first shells with TNT appeared in Germany and the USA back in 1902. TNT became, one might say, the standard filling of everything that explodes, both during the First and Second World Wars, and even, moreover, an indicator of the power of explosives, the strength of which is measured in relation to TNT. And this happened not only thanks to its power. TNT is also quite safe to handle and has high technological properties. It melts easily and is poured into any shape. Nevertheless, the search for even more powerful explosives did not stop with the spread of TNT.

So, in 1899, the German chemist Hans Genning patented a medicine for urinary tract infections - RDX, which turned out to be a powerful explosive! A kilogram of hexogen is equal in power to 1.25 kilograms of TNT. In 1942 appeared HMX, which began to be used in a mixture with TNT. This explosive turned out to be so powerful that one kilogram of HMX can replace four kilograms of TNT.

In the early 60s of the last century in the USA it was synthesized hydrazine nitrate explosive, which was already 20 times more powerful than TNT. However, this explosive had a completely disgusting and difficult to bear smell... of feces, so in the end it was abandoned.

There are also explosives like teno. But she's too high sensitivity, which is why it is difficult to apply. After all, the military needs not so much explosives that are stronger than others, but ones that do not explode at the slightest touch and can be stored in warehouses for years.

Therefore, it is not suitable for the role of superexplosives and tricyclic urea, created in China in the 80s of the last century. Just one kilogram of it could replace 22 kilograms of TNT. But in practice, this explosive is not suitable for military use due to the fact that the very next day, during normal storage, it turns into mucus. Dinitrourea, which the Chinese also invented, is weaker, but easier to preserve.

There are American explosives CL-20, one kilogram of which is also equal to 20 kilograms of TNT. Moreover, it is important that it has high impact resistance.

By the way, the power of the explosive can be increased by adding aluminum powder to it. It is these explosives that are called ammonals- they contain aluminum and thicket. However, they also have their drawback - high caking. So the search for the “ideal explosive,” apparently, will continue for a long time.

It is interesting that during the Great Patriotic War, when the need for explosives in our industry was very acute, they learned to use explosives instead of traditional TNT dynamon grade "T" from a mixture of... ammonium nitrate and ground peat. But in Central Asia both bombs and mines were filled with Zh brand dynamon, in which the role of peat was played by… cotton cake.

EXPLOSIVES (a. explosives, blasting agents; n. Sprengstoffe; f. explosifs; i. explosivos) - chemical compounds or mixtures of substances that, under certain conditions, are capable of extremely rapid (explosive) self-propagating chemical transformation with the release of heat and the formation of gaseous products.

Substances or mixtures of any state of aggregation can be explosive. So-called condensed explosives, which are characterized by a high volumetric concentration of thermal energy, are widely used. Unlike conventional fuels, which require gaseous input from outside for their combustion, such explosives release heat as a result of intramolecular decomposition processes or interaction reactions between the components of the mixture, the products of their decomposition or gasification. The specific nature of the release of thermal energy and its conversion into the kinetic energy of explosion products and shock wave energy determines the main area of application of explosives as a means of crushing and destroying solid media (mainly) and structures and moving crushed mass (see).

Depending on the nature of the external influence, chemical transformations of explosives occur: when heated below the self-ignition (flash) temperature - relatively slow thermal decomposition; when ignited - combustion with movement of the reaction zone (flame) through the substance at a constant speed of the order of 0.1-10 cm/s; when exposed to shock waves - detonation of explosives.

Classification of explosives. There are several signs of classification of explosives: according to the main forms of transformation, purpose and chemical composition. Depending on the nature of the transformation under operating conditions, explosives are divided into propellant (or) and. The former are used in combustion mode, for example, in firearms and rocket engines, the latter - in combustion mode, for example, in ammunition and on. High explosives used in industry are called. Typically, only high explosives are classified as actual explosives. Chemically, the listed classes may contain the same compounds and substances, but processed differently or mixed in different proportions.

Based on their susceptibility to external influences, high explosives are divided into primary and secondary. Primary explosives include explosives that can explode in a small mass when ignited (rapid transition from combustion to detonation). They are also much more sensitive to mechanical stress than secondary ones. The detonation of secondary explosives is most easily caused (initiated) by shock wave action, and the pressure in the initiating shock wave should be on the order of several thousand or tens of thousands of MPa. In practice, this is carried out with the help of small masses of primary explosives placed in detonation in which is excited by a ray of fire and transferred by contact to the secondary explosive. Therefore, primary explosives are also called . Other types of external influences (ignition, spark, impact, friction) lead to the detonation of secondary explosives only under special and difficult-to-control conditions. For this reason, the widespread and targeted use of high explosives in the detonation mode in civil and military explosives was begun only after the invention of the blasting cap as a means of initiating detonation in secondary explosives.

Based on their chemical composition, explosives are divided into individual compounds and explosive mixtures. In the first, chemical transformations during an explosion occur in the form of a monomolecular decomposition reaction. The final products are stable gaseous compounds, such as oxide and dioxide, and water vapor.

In explosive mixtures, the transformation process consists of two stages: the decomposition or gasification of the components of the mixture and the interaction of the decomposition products (gasification) with each other or with particles of non-decomposable substances (for example, metals). The most common secondary individual explosives are nitrogen-containing aromatic, aliphatic heterocyclic organic compounds, including nitro compounds (,), nitroamines (,), and nitroesters (,). Among inorganic compounds, ammonium nitrate, for example, has weak explosive properties.

The variety of explosive mixtures can be reduced to two main types: those consisting of oxidizers and combustibles, and mixtures in which the combination of components determines the operational or technological qualities of the mixture. Oxidizer-fuel mixtures are designed to ensure that a significant portion of the thermal energy is released during the explosion as a result of secondary oxidation reactions. The components of these mixtures can include both explosive and non-explosive compounds. Oxidizing agents, as a rule, during decomposition release free oxygen, which is necessary for the oxidation (with the release of heat) of flammable substances or the products of their decomposition (gasification). In some mixtures (for example, metal powders contained as fuel), substances that emit not oxygen, but oxygen-containing compounds (water vapor, carbon dioxide). These gases react with metals to release heat. An example of such a mixture is .

Various types of natural and synthetic fuels are used as fuels. organic matter, which upon explosion release products of incomplete oxidation (carbon monoxide) or flammable gases (,) and solids (soot). The most common type of high explosive mixtures of the first type are explosives containing ammonium nitrate as an oxidizing agent. Depending on the type of fuel, they, in turn, are divided into ammotols and ammonals. Less common are chlorate and perchlorate explosives, which contain potassium chlorate and ammonium perchlorate as oxidizing agents, oxyliquits - mixtures of liquid oxygen with a porous organic absorber, and mixtures based on other liquid oxidizers. Explosive mixtures of the second type include mixtures of individual explosives, such as dynamites; mixtures of TNT with hexogen or PETN (pentolite), most suitable for manufacturing.

In a mixture of both types, in addition to the indicated components, depending on the purpose of the explosives, other substances can be introduced to give the explosive any operational properties, for example, increasing susceptibility to initiation means, or, conversely, reducing sensitivity to external influences; hydrophobic additives - to make the explosive water resistant; plasticizers, flame retardant salts - to impart safety properties (see Safety explosives). The main operational characteristics of explosives (detonation and energy characteristics and physico-chemical properties of explosives) depend on the recipe composition of the explosives and manufacturing technology.

The detonation characteristics of explosives include detonation ability and susceptibility to the detonation impulse. The reliability and reliability of explosions depend on them. For each explosive at a given density, there is a critical charge diameter at which detonation steadily propagates along the entire length of the charge. A measure of the susceptibility of explosives to a detonation pulse is the critical pressure of the initiating wave and the time of its action, i.e. the value of the minimum initiating pulse. It is often expressed in units of mass of some primer explosive or secondary explosive with known detonation parameters. Detonation is excited not only by contact detonation of the initiating charge. It can also be transmitted through inert media. It has great importance for, consisting of several cartridges, between which there are jumpers made of inert materials. Therefore, for cartridgeed explosives, the rate of detonation transmission over a distance through various media (usually air) is checked.

Energy characteristics of explosives. The ability of explosives to produce mechanical work during an explosion is determined by the amount of energy released in the form of heat during explosive transformation. Numerically, this value is equal to the difference between the heat of formation of explosion products and the heat of formation (enthalpy) of the explosive itself. Therefore, the coefficient of conversion of thermal energy into work for metal-containing and safety explosives, which during an explosion form solid products (metal oxides, flame retardant salts) with high heat capacity, is lower than for explosives that form only gaseous products. For the ability of explosives to produce local crushing or blasting effects, see Art. .

Changes in the properties of explosives can occur as a result of physical and chemical processes, the influence of temperature, humidity, under the influence of unstable impurities in the composition of explosives, etc. Depending on the type of closure, a guaranteed period of storage or use of explosives is established, during which the standardized indicators of explosives either should not change, or their change occurs within the established tolerance.

The main safety indicator in handling explosives is their sensitivity to mechanical and thermal influences. It is usually assessed experimentally in laboratory conditions using special methods. Due to mass implementation mechanized methods for moving large masses of bulk explosives require minimal electrification and low sensitivity to static electricity discharge.

Historical reference. The first explosive was black (smoky) gunpowder, invented in China (7th century). It has been known in Europe since the 13th century. From the 14th century Gunpowder was used as a propellant in firearms. In the 17th century (for the first time in one of the mines in Slovakia), gunpowder was used for blasting in mining, as well as for equipping artillery grenades (explosive cores). The explosive transformation of black powder was excited by ignition in the explosive combustion mode. In 1884, the French engineer P. Viel proposed smokeless gunpowder. In the 18th-19th centuries. a series was synthesized chemical compounds, having explosive properties, including picric acid, pyroxylin, nitroglycerin, TNT, etc., however, their use as high explosives became possible only after the discovery by the Russian engineer D. I. Andrievsky (1865) and the Swedish inventor A. Nobel (1867) explosive fuse (detonator capsule). Before this, in Russia, at the suggestion of N.N. Zinin and V.F. Petrushevsky (1854), nitroglycerin was used in explosions instead of black powder in explosive combustion mode. Mercury fulminate itself was obtained at the end of the 17th century. and again by the English chemist E. Howard in 1799, but its ability to detonate was not known then. After the discovery of the phenomenon of detonation, high explosives were widely used in mining and military affairs. Among industrial explosives, initially according to A. Nobel's patents, gurdynamites were most widely used, then plastic dynamites, and powdered nitroglycerin mixed explosives. Ammonium nitrate explosives were patented back in 1867 by I. Norbin and I. Olsen (Sweden), but their practical use as industrial explosives and for filling ammunition began only during the First World War of 1914-18. Safer and more economical than dynamites, they began to be used on a larger scale in industry in the 30s of the 20th century.

After the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, ammonium nitrate explosives, initially primarily in the form of finely dispersed ammonites, became the dominant type of industrial explosives in the CCCP. In other countries, the process of mass replacement of dynamites with ammonium nitrate explosives began somewhat later, approximately in the mid-50s. Since the 70s The main types of industrial explosives are granular and water-containing ammonium nitrate explosives of the simplest composition, not containing nitro compounds or other individual explosives, as well as mixtures containing nitro compounds. Fine-dispersed ammonium nitrate explosives have retained their importance mainly for the manufacture of combat cartridges, as well as for some special types of blasting work. Individual explosives, especially TNT, are widely used for the manufacture of detonator blocks, as well as for long-term charging of flooded wells, in pure form () and in highly water-resistant explosive mixtures, granular and suspension (water-containing). For deep use and.