Pyrocollodion is a

smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powder Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to black powder. Because of their similar use, both the original black powder formula ...

invented by

Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev ( ; ) was a Russian chemist known for formulating the periodic law and creating a version of the periodic table of elements. He used the periodic law not only to correct the then-accepted properties of some known ele ...

. A variant of the

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

in 1892. He had 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, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

in the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

. This offer was rejected because of cost and efficiency considerations. 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 ex ...

. 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 {{-