Note and Comment

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 17, 1902

A new explosive—masurite by name—is announced as being the latest product of man's inventive genius in the line of destructive compounds. It is an explosive which can be safely handled, being insensible to shock, concussion, heat, or cold, and when exploded, does not give off any flame. By reason of the last-named quality it is believed masurite will be valuable for use in coal mines, where coal gas or dust is liable to accumulate in the neighborhood of a blast. The insusceptibility to shock in a high-power explosive is of course a factor not overlooked in considering how to increase the efficiency of weapons of war. The older high-power explosives —nitroglycerin, gun cotton, and dynamite—could not be safely used in shells fired from cannon; but explosives are now being manufactured which can withstand the shock of being fired from the most powerful guns, and let loose all the destructive energy of dynamite to bring about the destruction of the object aimed at when exploded by the special mechanism devised for that purpose. The next naval war will doubtless afford illustrations of the effectiveness of these new high-power explosives in destroying life and property.