EXPLOSIVES ( from Lat. explosus, p.p. of exploderc, to explode, from ex. out + plaudere, to eta pl. Subst a nees. either solid or liquid, which, under the influence of some disturbing agency, enter into a chemical reaction accompanied by the production of gases and the evolution of much heat.
III:swim Nothing definite is known about the origin of explosives, and it is contended by some that the invention of gunpowder was contempo raneous with the discovery of saltpetre. Greek which is believed to have been a ()Eel gtra lion of pitch, resin, saltpetre, and sulphur, was first used during the defense of Constantinople about 660, and it is reasonable to believe that gun powder WaS a deVVIOlimeut of this mixture. Manuscripts are in existence showing the use of gunpowder among the Arabs prior to 1250, but its discovery is generally attributed to Roger Bacon, of Oxford, England, who mentioned it about 1270, and to Berthold Schwartz, of Frei berg, Germany, who described it in 1328. Its discovery has also been attributed to the Chinese, and a description of its use at the siege of Pian king and Lo-yang in 1232 is contained in the Chinese Annals, and its invention has been as cribed to the Ilindus in consequence of certain passages in Indian law books, but the authen ticity of these Oriental descriptions is doubted by modern writers. In 1346 at the battle of
use was made of cannon (see ARTILLERY; and ORDNANCE) in which gunpowder was em ployed as a propellant, and its use increased with the subsequent development of firearms, though it remained practically the same until the last century. (See GUNPOWDER.) In 1845 Schiffibein, of Basel, discovered the explosive nature of gun cotton, and in 18-17 Sohrero discovered nitro glycerin (q.v.). Alfred Nobel invented dyna mite (q.v.) in 1866, and to him also is clue the production in 1875 of blasting gelatin. The explosive character of nitrated hydrocarbons was indicated by Hermann Spreiwel in 1873, and in 1887 it was still further developed by Eugene Turpin, while the now important smokeless pow ders should be credited to the inventive genius of Vieille. who was the first, in 1886, to produce a really successful military smokeless powder, though previous investigators had been active in this field and had achieved varying degrees of success. See SMOKELESS POWDER.