COMMON NAME – TNT
NAME – Trinitrotoluene
CHEMICAL NAME – 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene
FOREIGN NAMES – Triton (USA), Trotyl (Great Britain, France, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland), Tolite (France, Italy), Trilit (Hungary), Chakatsuyaku, Sanshōki, Toruōru, & Type 92 (Japan), Tol, Trotil (Soviet Union), Trilita (Spain)
TYPE – High explosive
DATE OF DISCOVERY – 1863 (J. Wilbrand)
DATE FIRST USED AS AN EXPLOSIVE – 1902
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN – Germany
MOLECULAR FORMULA – C7H5N3O6
MOLECULAR WEIGHT – 227
DENSITY – 1.56 g per ml @ 137,900 kPa (20,000 psi)
NORMAL STATE – Flaked granular or crystalline solid
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE/COLOR – Colorless or light yellow crystals, Pale (straw) yellow flakes, yellowish brown solid
INITIATION – No. 6 Blasting Cap. Minimum 0.27 g Lead azide, 0.24 g Mercury fulminate
SENSITIVITY – Very insensitive to heat, friction, and shock. Melts and burns when heated. Less than 2% chance of detonation when struck by a 7.62mm (.30 caliber) rifle bullet
STABILITY – Very stable when refined
DETONATION VELOCITY – 6,900 m/s (22,638 fps)
RE FACTOR (BRISANCE) [TNT=1.0] – 1.0
TOXICITY – Highly toxic, can be absorbed through the skin or if dust and fumes are inhaled over a long period of time. Liver damage and jaundice may result if not treated
MELTING POINT – 810 C. (1780 F.)
IGNITION POINT – 240o C.(464o F.)
BOILING POINT – 1750 C.(3470 F.)
SOLUBILITY – Insoluble in water, sparingly soluble in alcohol, soluble in acetone, benzene, glacial acetic acid
APPLICATIONS – PRINCIPLE USES – Common general explosive for demolition charges, main bursting charge for munitions, and component to explosive mixtures
Trinitrotoluene, much more commonly known as TNT, has been the standard general military explosive worldwide for decades. Used during World War I in relatively small volumes, by the time of World War II, TNT was being produced by the hundreds of tons monthly by every major combatant around the world. This popularity of use has resulted in TNT becoming the standard that most other explosives are compared too. Many demolition formulas are based on its use and are calibrated by the number of pounds of TNT required to complete an action against a specific target. This effectiveness as an explosive resulted in TNT being rated as 1.00 in Relative Effectiveness (RE) and all other explosives being listed as a fraction above or below that number. When a different explosive is used for a specific demolition problem, the number of pounds of TNT that would be required to complete the action would be divided by the RE of the explosive being used. Such as, if it took 10 kilograms of TNT to breach a wall and C4 was going to be used, the 10 Kg would be divided by the RE of C4 (1.34). That would mean that only 7.5 kilograms of C4 would be required to complete the task.
TNT is produced as a relatively pure chemical compound, giving it a dependable set of characteristics. It is resistant to detonation by fire, insensitive to shock, and reasonably waterproof. It can be melted and safely cast into the burster cavities of shell, grenades, and bomb casings. The explosive can be pressed as a powder or flakes into grenade bodies or formed into blocks for demolition use. It also does not react easily with other materials, particularly metals, making it safer to use and store rather than reactive explosives such as Picric acid. In the United States, the abundance of raw materials to produce TNT made it a particularly useful explosive during World War II and later conflicts. The natural color of TNT ranges from a light yellow to brown, depending on the amount of exposure to light among other factors.
