Gelignite

Gelignite

Gelignite, also known as blasting gelatin, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or gun cotton) dissolved in nitroglycerine and mixed with wood pulp and sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate. Its composition makes it easily moldable and safe to handle without protection, as long as it is not near anything capable of detonating it. One of the cheapest explosives, it burns slowly and cannot explode without a detonator, so it can be stored safely. It was invented in 1875 by Alfred Nobel, who had earlier invented dynamite. Unlike dynamite, gelignite does not suffer from the dangerous problem of "sweating", the leaking of unstable nitroglycerine from the solid matrix.

Gelignite was used by the Irish Republican Army in Ireland's fight for sovereignty during the Irish War of Independence. Years later it was also used by the Provisional IRA during the early years of their paramilitary campaign against British forces and Loyalist Paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, but was later replaced by Semtex, a much more powerful plastic explosive, supplied by the Libyan government. Unionist terrorists also made use of gelignite, most notably in a series of bombings of water and electrical utility substations occurring throughout Belfast in April 1969.

Blasting gelatin

Blasting gelatine is an explosive invented by Alfred Nobel. It is a jelly-like mass which is produced by mixing warm nitroglycerin or nitroglycol with 7 to 8% nitrocellulose. This mixture is more stable than pure nitroglycerin and can be safely transported. It is widely used in demolition due to its relative safety and high energy. Dynamite, which uses diatomaceous earth (also known as kieselguhr), sawdust, or other absorptive materials to make nitroglycerin more stable, has less explosive energy per unit of volume than pure nitroglycerin since part of its volume is non-explosive matter. Nitrocellulose is itself a high explosive, so it stabilizes nitroglycerin without causing it to lose its potency.


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  • gelignite — ► NOUN ▪ a high explosive made from a gel of nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose in a base of wood pulp and sodium or potassium nitrate, used particularly for blasting rock. ORIGIN probably from GELATIN(Cf. ↑gelatinous) + Latin lignis wood …   English terms dictionary

  • gelignite — [jel′ig nīt΄, jə lig′nīt΄] n. [ GE(LATIN) + L lign(um), wood + ITE1] a sensitive blasting explosive that is a mixture of nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose, etc.: also called gelatin dynamite …   English World dictionary

  • gelignite — ge·li·gnì·te s.f. TS chim. esplosivo a base di nitroglicerina {{line}} {{/line}} DATA: sec. XX. ETIMO: dall ingl. gelignite, comp. di gel(atine) gelatina e (to) ignite accendere …   Dizionario italiano

  • gelignite — [[t]ʤe̱lɪgnaɪt[/t]] N UNCOUNT Gelignite is a type of explosive …   English dictionary

  • gelignite — noun Etymology: gelatin + Latin ignis fire + English ite more at igneous Date: 1889 a dynamite in which the adsorbent base is largely potassium nitrate or a similar nitrate usually with some wood pulp …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • gelignite — /jel ig nuyt /, n. See gelatin dynamite. [GEL(ATIN) + L ign(is) fire + ITE1] * * * …   Universalium

  • gelignite — noun /dʒɛlɪɡ.naɪt/ An explosive mixture of nitroglycerine and nitrate absorbed onto a base of wood pulp …   Wiktionary

  • gelignite — {{hw}}{{gelignite}}{{/hw}}o gelinite s. f. Esplosivo costituito da dinamite gelatinosa …   Enciclopedia di italiano

  • gelignite — gel|ig|nite [ˈdʒelıgnaıt] n [U] [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: gelatin + Latin ignis fire + English ite] a powerful explosive …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • gelignite — gel|ig|nite [ dʒelıg,naıt ] noun uncount a substance used to cause explosions, especially under water …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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