What is Trinitrotoluene?
{{otheruses|TNT (disambiguation)}} [[File:Trinitrotoluene.svg|alt=Trinitrotoluene|thumb|Structure of Trinitrotoluene]] '''Trinitrotoluene''' (abbreviated TNT) ([[Help:IPA/English|/ˌtraɪˌnaɪtroʊˈtɒljuiːn/]]) more specifically '''2,4,6-trinitrotoluene''', is a powerful [[Nitro compound|nitro]][[Aromatic hydrocarbon|aromatic]] explosive, occasionally used as a [[reagent]] in [[chemical synthesis]]. == History == TNT was first made in 1863 by [[Julius Wilbrand]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qmgTAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA178|title=Annalen der Pharmacie|date=1863|publisher=Winter|language=de}}</ref> and originally used as a yellow [[dye]]. It was not recognized as an explosive for 28 years, until the chemist Carl Häussermann discovered its [[Explosive material|explosive]] properties in 1891.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmuqCHDC3pwC&pg=PA404|title=History of Shock Waves, Explosions and Impact: A Chronological and Biographical Reference|last=Krehl|first=Peter O. K.|date=2008-09-24|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-540-30421-0|language=en}}</ref> [[File:TNT-from-xtal-1982-3D-balls.png|alt=TNT-from-xtal-1982-3D-balls|thumb|222x222px]] The German [[military]] started filling [[Artillery|artillery shells]] with TNT 1902. TNT-filled shells would explode after they had broken through the [[armour]] of ships, whereas the British [[:en:Picric_acid|Lyddite (Picric acid)]]-filled shells exploded when they hit the armour, wasting energy outside the ship.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/bigbanghistoryof00brow|title=The big bang|last=Brown|first=G. I.|date=1998|publisher=Sutton Pub.|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-7509-1878-7}}</ref> The British started replacing Pciric acid with TNT in 1907.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySQGAAAAMAAJ|title=Arrows to Atom Bombs: A History of the Ordnance Board|last=Skentelbery|first=Norman|date=1975|publisher=Ordnance Board|language=en}}</ref> == Uses == TNT is one of the world's most commonly use