Show 0 IODIDE OF explosives are solids which und under ercer certain conditions suddenly change into heated gas occupying many times the original space of the solids says the salt lake her ald republican ordinary gunpowder when fired turns into gas of which the volume is times as great as that of the powder no wonder the bullet in front of it leaves the muzzle of the rifle in a hurry today there are scores even hundreds of different sorts of explosives known to science some such as require a very considerable shock to explode them others such as nitroglycerin are fearfully dangerous to handle for a few extra degrees of warmth or a very slight jar is sufficient to turn them instantly into gas of the latter tape type there is nothing quite so unstable as iodide of nitrogen it has to be made in alcohol when allowed to dry it appears as a brown powder and so unstable is this powder that a touch with a feather will set it off the experiment has been tried of leaving a few grains upon a table mixed with a few grains of sugar the first bluebottle that flew on the table and began to crawl among the grains caused an explosion the mere jarring of the air by a loud shout or a heavy footstep is sufficient to detonate iodide of nitrogen and it need hardly be added that no one in his senses would attempt to make this terrible stuff to do so in any quantity would be equivalent to committing suicide as this nitroglycerin is not so dangerous iodide but at a temperature of only 1 the tn than degrees that is very little more warmth of the human body it to de compose out ov e tons of nitroglycerin are turned ery day for it is the explosive from froin bilich wn vats v guncotton is made but all the mixing cold water w are artificially cooled by coils of pipes |