#guncotton

[mass-mind-control]

Successful burn test of recently synthesized nitrocellulose.

[the-lab-rat-falls-into-the-void]

Nitration of cotton to yield nitrocellulose, which is useful as a additive fuel/binder for casting explosives, as well as for creating waterproof lacquer for pyrotechnic fuses when dissolved in acetone.

[mass-mind-control]

[nicolaslaborie]

Flowing a plate #wetplate #collodion #tintype #chemicals #photography #alternativeprocess #nicolaslaborie #alcohol #ether #guncotton #cellulosenitrate #pyroxlin #videostill

[joncammarata-blog]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlsujECE89o)

[karkathy]

ok so im reading about guncotton, which is this highly flammable substance basically made of cotton, nitric and sulfuric acid that is made for explosives but can be chemically processed to make film and varnishes and stuff, well there was a contest to figure out a good replacement for ivory billiard balls and this guy decided to use the celluloid, made from guncotton, to make billiard balls, known as Hyatt balls. now keep in mind guncotton, while more explosive and with less heat and smoke than gunpowder, is also highly uh, well lets just say that sometimes it will explode at room temperature. so these hyatt balls are extremely flammable and will sometimes explode upon impact.

so the owner of a billiard saloon writes up hyatt and says that he didnt mind much personally about the explosive tendencies, except for the fact that every man in his saloon immediately pulled a gun at the sound.

the more i read about chemistry the more fun stories i read about like this, and i wonder why we never know about half of them. i dont know why there's this stigma that science is for nerds and is boring. i mean the way they discovered gun cotton was completely on accident. a chemist spilled a bottle of concentrated nitric acid on his kitchen table, wiped it up with a cotton apron, and hung it on the stove to dry, and wouldnt you know as soon as it was dry it fucking exploded. like, can you imagine that guy's face? because as a chemist as soon as it exploded it would be a combination of fear and excitement and "i gotta try that again". and thats pretty much one of the ways science is done. explosions and accidents and combining stuff until it explodes in just the way it did before. and thats awesome.