Talk:RDX

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[edit] Featured in the latest Sleeper Cell Episode

It'll please some people to know, that this article was recently featured in a tv show "sleeper cell". PoorLeno 11:44, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Contradiction: Properties

The English and the German articles contratict each other.

In the English Article, it says: "At room temperature, it is a very stable product. It burns rather than explodes and only detonates with a detonator, being unaffected even by small arms fire. It is less sensitive than pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN)."

The German article, however, states that "Pure, dry hexogen is highly explosive and should therefore be stored in cool, damp places or even submerged. Very dry hexogen can be ignited by temperatures as low as 30°C or even by touching it softly."

Also, the velocity of detonation is given as 8,750 meters per second in the English article and as 8,500 meters per second in the German one.

Please sign your questions with four ~ characters ~~~~ so that we know who asked. That gives the name/date/time stamp you see all over.
I am not aware of any safety restrictions regarding "very dry" RDX powder, other than making sure you don't get it on surfaces or breathe or touch it. It isn't described as easily ignitable or detonatable by the references and safety materials I have.
I certainly don't know of any legitimate recommendations to keep it submerged. That is way outside standard handling procedure.
It is possible to make it detonate if it's burning; my mother was doing rocket propellant research with it at a test lab before I was born, and it will detonate if there are sufficently large cracks in a solid pressed or cast or PBX block which is burning. However, the mechanical properties are generally good and most of the time it burns safely. It's the main ingredient (and only explosive ingredient) in C-4 and C-4 can be safely burned with very little safety precaution.
The velocity of detonation of all explosives is dependent on the density of the explosive; especially with explosives which are produced as powders and can't be melted or cast to a standard density (RDX is usually used in a plastic bonded explosive, or cast into TNT or such). PBX properties depend a lot on density. Pressed RDX pellet detonation velocity depends a lot on pressing density. All of these numbers should have a density associated; any primary source in explosives literature will give velocity at density, not just a velocity.
Hope these are useful answers. Georgewilliamherbert 17:45, 12 May 2006 (UTC)


What does brisant mean?

See new article, brisance.

[edit] Nitric Acid?

What exactly does "100% Nitric Acid" mean? Is it supposed to be 1.0 molar or just pure substance?

A: HNO3 forms an azeotrope with water at 68% (16N), but it can be redistilled under different conditions to hit close to 100%. On the Nitric acid page, this is called "White Fuming Nitric Acid." I'll add that info there.

[edit] Laboratory Synthesis

  • Add 335 mL of 100% nitric acid, free of nitrogen oxides in a 500-mL beaker,
  • Cool the acid to below 30 °C.
  • Add 75 g of hexamine in small portions, while stirring the mixture. NOTE: During the addition toxic fumes will be produced.
  • During the addition the temperature must be kept between 20 °C to 30 °C.
  • After the hexamine has dissolved, slowly heat the mixture to 55 °C while stirring.
  • Keep the mixture between 50-55 °C for 5 minutes, keep stirring.
  • Now cool the mixture to 20 °C then let sit for 20 minutes.
  • Slowly dilute the mixture with four times its volume of cool water to precipitate the RDX from solution. Most of the RDX will precipitate in several hours; after 24 hours there will be no additional precipitation of RDX.
  • Filter the RDX that precipitated from the mixture and add 1 L of 5% sodium bicarbonate solution to adjust the pH to neutral.
  • Dry the pH balanced RDX at room tempature; after drying the RDX is ready to use.
  • If RDX of higher purity is desired, recrystalize from acetone.

I removed this from the article because;

  • Not encyclopedic. Wikibooks might have a place for it...
  • Doesn't even mention any of the _many_ safety concerns around this. Runaway reaction beyond the ability of your cooling bath is a big one.

Can this info be linked to elsewhere? jericho4.0 21:04, 26 Oct 2004 (UTC)

This can go to wikibooks wikibooks:Chemical synthesis

[edit] Rename to RDX?

I believe this article should be renamed to RDX; the chemical name is virtually unknown in either common usage or the explosives industry other than researchers or chemists involved in the production of explosives. RDX and Hexogen are by far the dominant terms, and RDX is the common one in the United States. Georgewilliamherbert 23:21, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

  • RDX already redirects here, so there's no possibility that people won't be able to find the article if they search for RDX. The fact that there may be more than one trade name (some being regionally or nationally specific) is why a neutral chemical name is used as the article title instead. --Skoosh 06:29, 15 August 2005 (UTC)
    • Yes, but when you get here, the title is Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine, which is confusing on first, second, and third glance even to explosives experts (other than the research chemists). I had to look it up to confirm that it's the right chemical name.
    • It's one thing to claim that given a set of commonly used choices, the neutral and least regionally specific one should be used. It's quite another to claim that it's better to use a name which isn't commonly used anywhere, on the grounds that some slight regional favoritism in a common name would be wrong. This isn't making the Wiki better, it's just going to confuse people, even professionals...
    • That to me is complete justification to rename. Six of the other language links given are to variations on Hexogen, which along with RDX is the other common trade name. Those links are trade-name correct for those languages; RDX is trade-name correct for US, Canada, Australia, and England as far as everyone I have talked to knows and all the literature shows. People can understand the Hexogen/RDX localization; Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine is just wrong. Georgewilliamherbert 12:50, 15 August 2005 (UTC)
      • Slight correction: it's actually eight language links to variations on the name "Hexogen", including the Cyrillic titles. --Skoosh 14:31, 15 August 2005 (UTC)
        • Waiting for more comments sounds fine. It's not like there's a fuse burning or anything. I've done a couple of page moves, but I'll recheck the help page. Good catch on the Cyrillic, my browser wasn't rendering the fonts. Georgewilliamherbert 03:44, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] OICW 20mm grenade is said to be filled with this.

What is phlegmatized hexogen?

[edit] References

  • BACHMANANN, SHEEHAN, JACS, 1949
  • Hale, JACS, 1925

should we ad synthesis references or should we leave them out?--Stone 13:15, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

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