Pentolite
Sign in to saveright|thumb|Cross-sectional view of Oerlikon 20 mm cannon 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.
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right|thumb|Cross-sectional view of Oerlikon 20 mm cannon 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/cm3 and a detonation velocity of 7400 m/s.