A cellulose nitrate used as a component of smokeless powder.
nitrocellulose containing a relatively large amount of nitrogen; highly explosive; used in making smokeless powder.
It became obsolete in the 1880s when the invention of smokeless powder led to development of a truly automatic machine gun.
"Chemical explosives are of two types: detonating (high) explosives (e.g., TNT, dynamite) have extremely rapid decomposition and development of high pressure; deflagrating (low) explosives (e.g., black powder, smokeless powder) merely burn quickly and produce relatively low pressure."
Neither of the above substances gives smokeless powders an intense coloration.
My cousin blushed ashamedly and dared not raise his eyes. It was like a student who had not prepared his homework and came across a random examination by his teacher.
