Tonite (explosive)

Tonite is an explosive^[1] sometimes used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It consists of a mixture of equal weights of barium nitrate and guncotton.^[2] The explosive was patented in 1874^[3] by Messrs Samuel Joseph Mackie, Camille Faure and George French.^[4] Its name was taken from the Latin verb tonat = "it thunders", and is pronounced "toe-nite", not "tonight".

The high gas pressures generated by the detonation of tonite resulted in it being used as a bursting charge in some hand grenades used early in World War I.^{[citation needed]}

Nitrocellulose is an oxygen-negative low explosive, so its decomposition is incomplete combustion:${\displaystyle {\ce {2C12H14O4(NO3)6 -> 18CO + 6CO2 + 14H2O + 12N}}}$

Because nitrocellulose was used in mining, carbon monoxide could build up and pose a danger to miners. To remedy that problem, nitrates (potassium nitrate, barium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, etc.) were added into the nitrocellulose to achieve a better oxygen balance.