tetryl

American  

[te-tril] / ˈtɛ trɪl /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a yellow, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C 7 H 5 N 5 O 8 , used as a chemical indicator and as a detonator and bursting charge in small-caliber shells.

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tetryl British  

/ ˈtɛtrɪl /

noun

1. Also called: nitramine.  a yellow crystalline explosive solid used in detonators; trinitrophenylmethylnitramine. Formula: (NO 2 ) 3 C 6 H 2 N(NO 2 )CH 3

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Etymology

Origin of tetryl

First recorded in 1855–60; tetr- + -yl

Example Sentences

"Canary" is the name for an explosive-powder worker whose hair and skin have become red-yellow from tetryl.

From Time Magazine Archive

Favier Explosives: mixtures in varying proportions containing ammonium nitrate, nitronaphthalene, paraffin, and resin; higher nitrated naphthalenes, potassium nitrate, and tetryl may be present.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 3: Estremoz to Felspar by Various

After nitration the yellow tetryl separates out, and is filtered off and water-washed till free from acid.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 3: Estremoz to Felspar by Various

At this there was a celebration, led by "Blondie" Wanacek, a sulphuric-acid expert handling tetryl on the Two.

From Triplanetary by Smith, E. E. (Edward Elmer)

Most of the buildings within that restricted area, while in reality enormous, were dwarfed by the vast spaces separating them; for safety-distances are not small when TNT and tetryl by the ton are involved.

From Triplanetary by Smith, E. E. (Edward Elmer)