Kinetite

{{Short description|Explosive material patented in 1884}}

Kinetite was an explosive material patented in 1884 by T. Petry and O. Fallenstein,{{cite book|title=Scientific American: Supplement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QPM8AQAAIAAJ|volume=27|year=1889|publisher=Munn and Company|quote="Kinetite (the name no doubt from, "I move") was patented by T. Petrey and O. Fallenstein (their English patent is No. 10,936, August 6, 1884). As described in their specification, kinetite is made by dissolving gun cotton in nitrobenzene"}} It consisted of nitrobenzene thickened or gelatinised by the addition of some collodion-cotton incorporated with finely ground potassium chlorate and precipitated antimony sulphide.{{cite book|last1=Cundill|first1=J. P.|last2=Thomson|first2=J. H.|title=A dictionary of explosives|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofexpl00cundrich|accessdate=4 February 2014|edition=Second|year=1895|publisher=HM Stationery Office|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofexpl00cundrich/page/80 80]–81}}

It is an orange coloured, plastic mass, with the characteristic strong smell of nitro-benzol. It was manufactured by dissolving gun cotton in nitrobenzene.

Developed as a safer alternative to dynamite, its manufacture and manipulation were claimed to be without danger, as it required a very high temperature to ignite and, under ordinary circumstances, could not be exploded by heat alone when unconfined. Instead, it detonated only under shock, and then only the part exposed to concussion.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=ODT18850819.2.40.9&dliv=&e=-------10--1----0--|title=(untitled)|date=19 August 1885|work=Otago Daily Times|publisher=Robert Nobel Adams|page=4|accessdate=4 February 2014|location=Dunedin, New Zealand}} Largely manufactured in Germany, it was introduced to Australia in 1885 by Thomas Wilkins.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2997155|title=A New Explosive|date=10 April 1885|work=The West Australian|publisher=A. Davidson, for the West Australian|page=3|accessdate=4 February 2014|location=Perth, Western Australia}} In the same year it was reported to be both £5 per ton cheaper than dynamite, and more efficient for mining operations: In sinking a shaft, a given weight of dynamite enabled {{convert|1.7|m}} to be sunk in 114 shifts, and with the same weight of kinetite {{convert|1.6|m}} were sunk in 94 shifts.{{cite news|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=THA18850309.2.17|title=(untitled)|date=9 March 1885|work=The Thames Advertiser|volume=XVI|issue=5112|page=3|accessdate=4 February 2014|location=Thames, New Zealand}}