Lesson plan
Pentolite
shells (dating from circa 1945) showing color code for pentolite filling Pentolite is a composite high explosive used for military and civilian purposes, e.g., warheads and booster charges. It is made of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) phlegmatized with trinitrotoluene (TNT) by melt casting. The most common military variety of pentolite (designated "Pentolite 50/50") is a mixture of 50% PETN and 50% TNT. (Unlike other compound explosives, the number before the slash is the mass percentage of TNT and the second number is the mass percentage of PETN.) This 50:50 mixture has a density of 1.65 g/cm 3 and a detonation velocity of 7400 m/s. Pentolite is a common explosive for cast boosters for the blasting work (as in mining). Civilian pentolite may contain a lower percentage of PETN, e. g. around 2% ("Pentolite 98/2"), 5% ("Pentolite 95/5") or 10% ("Pentolite 90/10"). These civilian pentolites have a detonation velocity of about 7,800 metres per second.
Article summary
shells (dating from circa 1945) showing color code for pentolite filling Pentolite is a composite high explosive used for military and civilian purposes, e.g., warheads and booster charges. It is made of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) phlegmatized with trinitrotoluene (TNT) by melt casting. The most common military variety of pentolite (designated "Pentolite 50/50") is a mixture of 50% PETN and 50% TNT. (Unlike other compound explosives, the number before the slash is the mass percentage of TNT and the second number is the mass percentage of PETN.) This 50:50 mixture has a density of 1.65 g/cm 3 and a detonation velocity of 7400 m/s. Pentolite is a common explosive for cast boosters for the blasting work (as in mining). Civilian pentolite may contain a lower percentage of PETN, e. g. around 2% ("Pentolite 98/2"), 5% ("Pentolite 95/5") or 10% ("Pentolite 90/10"). These civilian pentolites have a detonation velocity of about 7,800 metres per second.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.