RDX is an organic compound with the formula 3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a nitramide, chemically similar to HMX. A more energetic explosive than TNT, it was used widely in World War II.
About RDX in brief
RDX is an organic compound with the formula 3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a nitramide, chemically similar to HMX. A more energetic explosive than TNT, it was used widely in World War II and remains common in military applications. RDX is stable in storage and is considered one of the most energetic and brisant of the military high explosives, with a relative effectiveness factor of 1. 60. It was also known as cyclonite, hexogen, T4, and, chemically, as cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine. The bouncing bomb depth charges used in the \”Dambusters Raid\” each contained 6,600 pounds of Torpex. The Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs designed by Wallis also used Torpex, and RDX shaped charges were used to remove the Jamestown Bridge in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The U. S. produced about 15,000 long tons per month during WWII and Germany about 7,000 short tons a month. The German military started investigating its use in 1920, referring to it as hexogen. In the 1930s, Germany developed improved production methods, using the code W-Salzamic acid, the E-method, and the K-A-method. These names represented the identities of the developers of the various chemical routes to RDX.
It used to be known as “Salt’s Salt” in Germany, and “Wramz’ Salt’’ in the United States. In 1934, Germany gave RDX the code name “Salzam”, which means “salt acid’. It has been used in controlled demolition to raze structures, including terrorist plots. It also is the explosive agent in C-4 plastic explosive, and is the base for a number of common military explosives, including T4 and C-5 explosives. It can also be used in a variety of explosive mixtures with other explosives and plasticizers or phlegmatizers, such as T5 and T6 explosives. The name RDX was first used in 1948 by the managing chemist, ROF Bridgwater, of the chemical research and development department, Woolwich, in the UK. In 1946, the term RDX appeared in the US in 1946, and it was referred to as ‘R. D. X’ by the director of Royal Ordnance Factories, Explosives. The first public reference to the name ‘RDX’ appeared in 1948; its authors were the managing chemistry,ROF BridGwater, the chemicalResearch Department Explosive, and a director of R.D.F. Explosives; again the authors were. the managing chemists, R. D., of Woolwich. The British patent claims included the manufacture of RDX by nitrolysis of hexamine with white fuming nitric acid.
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This page is based on the article RDX published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 02, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
