- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
The first form of Smokeless gunpowder used gellatinized nitrocellulose (in the 1880s, and was first used by the french army, it then later spread to other european armies). Later Nobel invented a better smokeless powder which came to be called cordite. Another was ballistite.
Ballistite is a double-base powder used as a rocket propellant. It is composed of two explosive substances, nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin, blended together with diphenylamine, which acts as a stabilizer. It burns with a considerable amount of flash and smoke, and generates a great volume of gas. Ballistite burns progressively, but at a rate dependent upon the composition and physical characteristics of the powder grain, the temperature of the powder grain before ignition, and the pressure during reaction. It is produced in various shapes to fit the rocket motor housing.
Basically, solid propellant charges, such as Ballistite, may be grouped under one of two types- restricted-burning and unrestricted burning.
A restricted-burning charge has some of its exposed surfaces covered with an inhibitor to control burning. By this procedure, burning can be restricted to take place only on the desired surface or surfaces. Controlling the burning area in this manner lengthens burning duration and determines the combustion chamber pressure for a given charge. A burning cigarette is a good example of restricted-burning, if you consider the paper-covered portion as representing the inhibited area.
Unrestricted-burning charges are permitted to burn on all surfaces simultaneously. Relatively speaking, the unrestricted type of grain delivers a large amount of thrust for a short period of time, and the restricted type of grain yields a smaller amount of thrust for a longer period of time.
Cordite N is used in aircraqft gun ammunition (any of you seen a GAU-8??- it's the one in the a-10, they Rock!)! Cordites three main ingredients are Nitroguanidine, Nitrocellulose, and NITROGLYCERIN. Cordite N is very cool burning, with little smoke and no flash, and has no flash, and has a higher velocity or burning rate than Ballistite.
So YES you can use nitroglycerin in gun ammo (and it would be stable)
As for Railguns, they would be useful as larger installments such as AA guns, Artillery, or Cannons. However, because of power requirements, and components that are bulky do not make it a weapon to be carried by hand.
For Plasma weapons, you run into almost the same problem with the railgun, as well asit would be extremely short ranged- plasma is basically superheated gas. To make it an effective weapon: 1) you need to find some element (preferably a heavier one) that can be superheated without too much difficulty, and then be able to make it retain that heat for a useful period of time, 2) You then need to be able to accelerate it to an effective speed so you can hit something other than buildings, and 3) you need to find a way to keep it together, or loosely together when it leaves the weapon, otherwise it'll expand and dissipate, very, very quickly (probably end up damaging the weapon instead).
As for particle weapons, we could make them, but their size would be Huge, with no way to aim it, or direct the "Beam"-as in accelerators tend to be miles long. So it won't be for a good while before we can bring the size down to Military usefulness type levels.
[Edited on 9/17/2004 9:01:48 AM]