At 10:11 AM 8/5/96 EDT, Paul J. Bell wrote:

"picric acid is indeed more powerful than TNT. it was the primary explosive used in WW-I. it was also the primary cargo on a ship, i think it was the "Montblac", that exploded in Halifax harbor and nearly wiped-out the city. this was in the 1917 - 1919 timeframe.

-paul

The molecular difference between TNT and picric acid is a methyl group, weight 15 (on TNT) substituted for a hydroxyl, weight 17 (on picric acid.) If there is a difference, it is a very small one. Jim Bell jimbell@pacifier.com