the most powerful blow with a steel hammer
upon an iron plate, it neither explodes nor ignites. A rifle bullet fired
into it at 50 yards' distance will not explode it. Granulated bellite
explodes fully by the aid of fulminating mercury. Fifteen grms. of bellite
fired by means of fulminate, projected a shot from an ordinary mortar,
weighing 90 lbs., a distance of 75 yards, 15 grms. of gunpowder, under the
same conditions, throwing it only 12 yards. A weight of 7-1/2 lbs. falling
145 centimetres failed to explode 1 grm. of bellite.

Various experiments and trials have been made with this explosive by
Professor P.T. Cleve, M.P.F. Chalon, C.N. Hake, and by a committee of
officers of the Swedish Royal Artillery. It is claimed that it is a very
powerful and extremely safe explosive; that it cannot be made to explode
by friction, shock, or pressure, nor by electricity, fire, lightning, &c.,
and that it is specially adapted for use in coal mines, &c.; that it can
only be exploded by means of a fulminate detonator, and is perfectly safe
to handle and manufacture; that it does not freeze, can be used as a
filling for shells, and lastly, can be cheaply manufactured.

~Securite~ consists of 26 parts of meta-di-nitro-benzol and 74 parts of
ammonium nitrate. It is a yellow powder, with an odour of nitro-benzol. It
was licensed in 1886. It sometimes contains tri-nitro-benzol, and
tri-nitro-naphthalene. The equation of its combustion is given as

C_{6}H_{4}(NO_{2})_{2} + 10(NH_{4}NO_{3}) = 6CO_{2} + 22H_{2}O + 11N_{2}

and, like bellite and roburite, it is claimed to be perfectly safe to use
in the presence of fire damp and coal dust.[A] The variety known as
Flameless Securite consists of a mixture of nitrate and oxalate of ammonia
and di-nitro-benzol.

[Footnote A: See paper by S.B. Coxon, _North of Eng. Inst. Mining and
Mech. Eng._, 11, 2, 87.]

~Kinetite.~--A few years ago an explosive called "Kinetite"[A] was
introduced, but is not manufactured in England. It was the patent of
Messrs Petry and Fallenstein, and consisted of nitro-benzol, thickened or
gelatinised by the addition of some collodion-cotton, incorporated with
finely ground chlorate of potash and precipitated sulphide of antimony. An
analysis gave the following percentages:--

Nitro-benzol, 19.4 per cent.
Chlorate of potash, 76.9 per cent.
Sulphide of antimony nitro-cotton, 3.7 per cent.

[Footnote A: V. Watson Smith, _Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind._, January 1887.]

It