Pyrocollodion is a
smokeless powder
Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared to a ...
invented by
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...
. A variant of
nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
family of compounds, it was discovered by
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...
in 1892. He and proposed its use as a replacement for
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
in the
Russian Navy. This offer was rejected because of cost and efficiency.
Pyrocollodion is known to be
spontaneously combustible and
explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
. When ignited Pyrocollodion will burn and explode quickly with excessive heat output compared to the existing gunpowders of the time. Pyrocollodion was a reasonable choice or option at the time for military munitions use. If ignited in a tight contained space, Pyrocollodion will leave little to no remnants, such as unburned powder, particular kinds of flame scarring, or smoke of any kind.
External links
Smokeless powder, nitro-cellulose, and theory of the cellulose molecule
References
*
Dmitri Mendeleev
Firearm propellants
1892 introductions
Russian inventions
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