ballistite

American  

[bal-uh-stahyt] / ˈbæl əˌstaɪt /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a smokeless powder consisting of nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose chiefly in a 40 to 60 percent ratio: used as a solid fuel for rockets.

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Etymology

Origin of ballistite

First recorded in 1890–95; from French balistite; ballist(ic) ( def. ) + -ite ¹ ( def. ); formerly a trademark

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ballistite

First, there is the Italian one-pounder firing ballistite.

From Indiscreet Letters From Peking Being the Notes of an Eye-Witness, Which Set Forth in Some Detail, from Day to Day, the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900—The Year of Great Tribulation by Putnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox)

Nitro-glycerine is also largely used in the manufacture of smokeless powders, such as cordite, ballistite, and several others.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)

Alfred himself invented dynamite and dynamite gum, and a smokeless powder, ballistite, which he patented in 1867, 1876, and 1889.

From Norwegian Life by Clough, Ethlyn T.

For ballistite the nitrocellulose is beaten up with nitroglycerine in water.

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

A gramme of ballistite generates 615 c.c. of permanent gases, and gives rise to 1,365 grm. units of heat.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)