Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 August 1919 — Some Curious Experiments With Both Flame and Air [ARTICLE]

Some Curious Experiments With Both Flame and Air

“One of the many curious experiments made with the purpose of securing long-range and reducing air resistance resulted in a “flaming shell,” writes J. H. Van Deventer in Everybody’s. “The forepart of the shell contains a mixture of phosphorus and copper oxld, which is ignited as the shell leaves the gun; not, strange to say, for the purpose of setting fire to the enemy’s works or trains, but simply to increase the range. Experiments have shown Increased ranges of almost 20 per cent for these flaming shells. The explanation seems to be that the gases given off coat the shell with a sort of frictionless gas film. Wind-tunnel experiments show that air resistance is cut down almost 75 per cent by these gas films.”