The Use of Cotton for the Production of Explosives

Abstract

I HAVE read not only with interest, but also, I hope, with some instruction to myself, the admirable letter from Mr. Balls which you have been kind enough to let me see. I am entirely in accord with him in his view that as long as plants grow so long will cellulose be formed, and with this as a basis nitro-cotton can certainly be prepared. I do not wish to convey the idea that the reason why cotton waste is chosen for making nitro-cotton is its chemical idiosyncrasies, but rather that it is the most abundant and fairly uniform stuff which is available for practical use. Mr. Balls is quite right in thinking that the physical structure of cotton fibre has much to do with the applicability of cotton for making propulsive explosives, but this cuts both ways, because even cotton is troublesome in that those fibres tend to retain acid, which has to be removed by regulated boiling and washing. Hence the suggestion that an artificial “cotton” might be used is well worth considering “dissolved and squirted cellulose being necessarily fairly uniform” and I agree with Mr. Balls that it would not only be possible bur also tolerably easy to turn out perfectly uniform gun-cotton made this way.