See:gelatin dynamite
Colorless, tasteless, odorless, relatively inert element. Symbol, N.
Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air, by volume. From this inexhaustible
source it can be obtained by liquefaction and fractional distillation.
Used in the production of ammonia and nitric acid, as a blanketing medium
in the electronics industry, as a refrigerant, in annealing stainless
steel, in drugs, and for forcing crude oil from oil wells.
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 3
a. Extracting nitrogen from the air in commercial quantities for use in
agriculture or industry.
b. In a soil, the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to a combined form by
the metabolic processes of some algae, bacteria, and actinomycetes.
AGI
CH2 NO3 CHNO3 CH2 NO3 ; pale yellow;
flammable; explosive; thick liquid; soluble in alcohol; soluble in ether
in all proportions; slightly soluble in water; melting point, 13.1 degrees
C; and explosion point, 256 degrees C. Used as an explosive, in the
production of dynamite and other explosives, as an explosive plasticizer
in solid rocket propellants, and as a possible liquid rocket propellant.
Molecular weight, 227.09; triclinic or orthorhombic when solid; sp gr,
1.5918 (at 25 degrees C, referred to water at 4 degrees C); soluble in
methanol and in carbon disulfide; very soluble in chloroform; and slightly
soluble in petroleum ether. This highly explosive liquid is made by mixing
sulfuric acid and nitric acid in a steel tank and then adding glycerin.
Its great shattering effect has made it esp. suitable for shooting oil
wells. Because of its sensitiveness to shock, liquid nitroglygerin is
dangerous to transport and unsuitable for use in mining and quarrying
operations. Syn:glycerol trinitrate; trinitrate glycerol; trinitrin;
explosive oil. CCD, 2; Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 2; Lewis
An explosive containing, principally, nitroglycerin, nitrocotton, and
inorganic nitrates, with a suitable combustible absorbent giving a
balanced composition. Nelson
Explosive usually characterized by a low nitroglycerin content, up to 10%
, and a high ammonium nitrate content of 80% to 85%, with carbonaceous
material forming the remainder of the composition. This composition
produces a powdery consistency and, consequently, nitroglycerin powders
have relatively poor water-resistance properties, so that they should be
used only in dry conditions. Their storage properties are fairly good, but
this is largely dependent on the protection given after manufacture, for
example, in the methods of cartridging and packing. The main application
of these explosives is in quarrying and mining where the ground to be
blasted is relatively soft. McAdam, 2
See:aqua regia
An excellent and cheap explosive in powder form, consisting of the
constituents ammonium nitrate + trotyl + nitroglycerin + silicon.
Fraenkel
A monoclinic mineral, Mg(NO3 )2 .6H2 O ; water
soluble; white; an efflorescence in limestone caverns.
See:aqua regia
Nitrostarch explosives have been used to a limited extent for over 50
years. When these explosives were first introduced, nitrostarch was the
principal explosive ingredient in their composition. Of recent years,
because of the trend toward the low-sensitivity, noncap sensitive
nitrocarbonitrates and ammonium nitrate-oil mixtures, certain grades of
explosives are being produced with low amounts of sensitizers. Some of
these explosives today contain a very large percentage of ammonium
nitrate, and nitrostarch is used only in small quantities to act as a
sensitizer. Pit and Quarry
The act or process of introducing by substitution the nitryl radical, NO
2 , in place of one or more replaceable hydrogen atoms, such as in
an organic compound. Nitrosubstitution compounds are used in the
manufacture of some explosives. Standard, 2
An exceedingly corrosive mixture of one part by weight of nitric acid and
two parts by weight of sulfuric acid. Used in the manufacture of
nitroglycerin. Standard, 2
A gas with the chemical formula, N2 O ; molecular weight, 46; sp
gr, 1.6. This gas is produced by the blasting of certain nitroglycerine
explosives, esp. if there is incomplete detonation. It is also produced in
the exhaust of diesel locomotives. It is used as an anesthetic in
dentistry and is commonly known as laughing gas. Morris
a. A term used to express great value or purity, as in a noble metal
(e.g., platinum); or inertness, as in a noble gas (e.g., helium).
See also:noble gas; noble metal.
b. An adj. usually modifying "metal" or "gas" and referring to those
elements which do not normally combine with oxygen or other non-metallic
elements under near-surface conditions; thus they commonly occur as native
elements (or alloys). The metals usually included are gold, silver,
platinum, palladium, ruthenium, iridium, rhodium, and osmium; the gases
are helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. Other elements found
in their native states, such as sulfur, copper, or mercury, are not noble
because they spontaneously (even though slowly) oxidize.
A rare inert gas: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon.
Syn:inert gas
A monoclinic mineral, CaB6 O9 (OH)2 .3H2 O ;
tabular or mammillary; transparent; formed by the weathering of colemanite
and priceite in Death Valley, CA.
A metal with marked resistance to chemical reaction, particularly to
oxidation and to solution by inorganic acids. The list includes mercury
and the precious and platinum-group metals. CF:base metal
See also:noble
In blasting underground, drilling all holes straight into the face.
Lewis
a. Composed of nodules; e.g., nodular bedding consisting of scattered to
loosely packed nodules in matrix of like or unlike character. AGI
b. Having the shape of a nodule, or occurring in the form of nodules;
e.g., nodular ore such as a colloform mineral aggregate with a bulbed
surface. AGI
c. Orbicular. AGI