FOREIGN NAMES – Nitrate d’amidon (France), Nitrostaerke or Staerkenitrat (Germany)
TYPE – High explosive
DATE OF DISCOVERY – 1833
DATE FIRST USED AS AN EXPLOSIVE – 1861
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN – France
MOLECULAR FORMULA – C12H15O5 (ONO2)5
MOLECULAR WEIGHT – 549
DENSITY – 1.35 g per mi
NORMAL STATE – Fine powdered granules
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE/COLOR – White when pure, up to light yellow depending on the starch source.
INITIATION – 1 g Mercury fulminate (#6 Detonator), normally requires a booster
SENSITIVITY – Less sensitive than TNT, Much less sensitive to impact than TNT, highly flammable
STABILITY – Stable at low temperatures, tends to decompose in Summer heat
DETONATION VELOCITY – 5,500 m/s (18,044 fps)
RE FACTOR (BRISANCE) [TNT=1.0] – 0.86
TOXICITY – Nontoxic
MELTING POINT – Decomposes above 100o C. (212o F.)
SOLUBILITY – Insoluble in water,
APPLICATIONS – PRINCIPLE USES – Demolition explosive, used as a replacement for TNT in explosive mixtures during TNT shortages in World War I
Nitrostarch is no longer a common explosive but was used widely during World War I and into World War II. Produced by the nitration of any number of various starches, Nitrostarch was a reasonably powerful, cheaply made, and easily available explosive. By 1917, in the United States, Nitrostarch was made primarily from corn starch. It would be mixed with various oxidizing agents and fuels to increase and regulate the explosive power and efficiency of the base material. It was used world-wide in a number of mixes for commercial explosive use. By World War II in the United States, Nitrostarch was relegated in the military to use as a training explosive as well as in general engineering and construction use. It was considered too sensitive to shock and fire, particularly when in block form, for its use as a front-line combat explosive.
