Ednatol is a yellow

high 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 ...

, comprising about

ethylenedinitramine Ethylenedinitramine (EDNA, also Haleite or Explosive H) is an explosive chemical compound of the nitroamine class, a derivative of the ethylenediamine. Ednatol Ednatol is a yellow high explosive, comprising about ethylenedinitramine (aka Halei ...

(aka Haleite or Explosive H) and 45% TNT. It was developed in

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

circa 1935 and used as a substitute for Composition B in large general purpose and fragmentation bombs. It has a

detonation velocity Explosive velocity, also known as detonation velocity or velocity of detonation (VoD), is the velocity at which the shock wave front travels through a detonated explosive. Explosive velocities are always faster than the local speed of sound in t ...

of approximately 7,400 metres per second. It is a uniform blend with a

melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends ...

of 80°C. Ednatol was also used as

Pentolite Pentolite is a composite high explosive used for military and civilian purposes, e.g., warheads and booster charges. It is made of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) phlegmatized with trinitrotoluene (TNT) by melt casting.B. M. Dobratz & P. C. C ...

is used: in rockets, grenades and high-explosive antitank shells. Ednatol was cast in the same manner as

amatol Amatol is a highly explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate. The British name originates from the words ammonium and toluene (the precursor of TNT). Similar mixtures (one part dinitronaphthalene and seven parts ammoni ...

. The resulting explosive was stable, non-

hygroscopic Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption or adsorption from the surrounding environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water molecules become suspended among the substance' ...

and could be stored for long periods. Ednatol has no civilian applications. It was developed by the U.S. Army at

Picatinny Arsenal The Picatinny Arsenal ( or ) is an American military research and manufacturing facility located on of land in Jefferson and Rockaway Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, encompassing Picatinny Lake and Lake Denmark. The Ar ...

exclusively intended for military use and was especially popular during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It is now an obsolete explosive and therefore unlikely to be encountered, except in legacy munitions and unexploded ordnance.

References

Explosives {{explosive-stub