Panclastites are a class of

Sprengel explosive Sprengel explosives are a generic class of materials invented by Hermann Sprengel in the 1870s. They consist of stoichiometric mixtures of strong oxidisers and reactive fuels, mixed just prior to use in order to enhance safety. Either the oxidiser ...

s similar to

oxyliquit An Oxyliquit, also called liquid air explosive or liquid oxygen explosive, is an explosive material which is a mixture of liquid oxygen (LOX) with a suitable fuel, such as carbon (as lampblack), or an organic chemical (e.g. a mixture of soot and ...

s. They were first suggested in 1881 by

Eugène Turpin François Eugène Turpin (30 September 1848 – 24 January 1927) was a French chemist involved in research of explosive materials. He lived in Colombes. Biography In 1881 Turpin proposed panclastites, a class of Sprengel explosives based on a mix ...

, a French chemist. They are a mixture of liquid dinitrogen tetroxide serving as

oxidizer An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxid ...

with a suitable fuel, e.g.

carbon disulfide Carbon disulfide (also spelled as carbon disulphide) is a neurotoxic, colorless, volatile liquid with the formula and structure . The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical n ...

, in the 3:2 volume ratio

Other fuel being used is nitrobenzene. Possible alternative fuels are e.g. nitrotoluene,

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...

nitromethane Nitromethane, sometimes shortened to simply "nitro", is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in ...

, or halocarbons. Panclastites are shock-sensitive and difficult to handle, requiring their mixing immediately before use; also the dinitrogen tetroxide is highly corrosive and explodes in contact with some chemicals. Despite their

brisance In explosives engineering, brisance (; , ) is the shattering capability of a high explosive, determined mainly by its detonation pressure. Practical uses Brisance is of practical importance for determining the effectiveness of an explosion in ...

and

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 ...

being comparable with

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

, panclastites have virtually no use today. During World War I, due to shortages of other explosives, French used some panclastite-class mixtures, which they called anilites, in small aircraft bombs. The mixing of the chemicals was triggered by airflow spinning a propeller on the nose of the bomb after it was dropped, mixing the previously separated chemicals inside. The resulting mixture was so sensitive the bombs did not need a fuze to explode on impact. In the 1880s, Germans were testing

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es with panclastite

warhead A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: * Expl ...

. Carbon disulfide and nitrogen tetroxide were stored in separate glass compartments, which were broken when the torpedo was launched and the chemicals mixed, and later were detonated by a contact fuse.

References

External links

The Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry. April 29, 1886: NOTE ON SO-CALLED "PANCLASTITE." BY H. SPRENGEL, PH.D., F.R.S.
Explosives Liquid explosives {{explosive-stub