gelignite

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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 saltpetre (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.The MAC also used it in their bombing campaign to try and stop the investiture of the prince of wales. 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 militants 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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