RDX

a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, powerful high explosive, C₃H₆N₆O₆, used chiefly in bombs and shells. Also called cyclonite, cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine.

[1940-45; R(esearch) D(epartment) (E)x(plosive), referring to such a department in Woolwich, England]

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▪ explosive

abbreviation of  Research Department eXplosive  or  Royal Demolition eXplosive , formally  cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine , also called  cyclonite,  hexogen , or  T₄ 

      powerful explosive, discovered by Georg Friedrich Henning of Germany and patented in 1898 but not used until World War II, when most of the warring powers introduced it. Relatively safe and inexpensive to manufacture, RDX was produced on a large scale in the United States by a secret process developed in the United States and Canada. The name RDX was coined by the British. This name was accepted in the United States, although the name cyclonite was also commonly used there. The Germans called it hexogen, and the Italians called it T₄.

      RDX is a hard, white crystalline solid, insoluble in water and only slightly soluble in some other solvents. Sensitive to percussion, its principal nonmilitary use is in blasting caps. It is often mixed with other substances to decrease its sensitivity.

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