Tel:
410-516-8145 Fax: 410-516-5293 materials-at-jhu.edu |
Gordon Research Conferences October 20, 2004
Energetic materials (propellants; deflagrating and detonating explosives; pyrotechnics) have been used and studied for some 2,000 years. The systematic investigation of the formulation of black powder is one of the oldest efforts in chemistry. The synthesis of nitroglycerin took place early in the development of organic chemistry and was the basis of a major enabling technology of the industrial revolution. An effective energetic material must be metastable and the kinetics of the energy release must be appropriate for the intended task. I will discuss some of the phenomenology of detonation, some aspects of the history of development of high explosives, molecular and solid state factors contributing to energetic materials performance, and the molecular basis of explosive sensitivity. Dr. Storm was the Director of the Gordon Research Conferences from 1993 until September of 2003. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from the Johns Hopkins University. After post doctoral work at Stanford University (coordination chemistry) and the NIH (metalloproteins) he joined the faculty at Howard University in 1968. His research at Howard was in the areas of inorganic biochemistry, porphyrin chemistry, geochemistry, and magnetic resonance. In 1985 he moved to the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a staff member in the energetic materials program. When he retired from Los Alamos in 1993 he was Chief Scientist for the Energetic Materials and Testing Division. He was the founding Chair of the Energetic Materials GRC and over the years has participated in the Metals in Biology, Tetrapyrroles, Isotopes in Biological and Chemical Sciences, and Organic Geochemistry meetings. |
|
Are you considering a career
in Materials Science and Engineering? Click on the links below to learn more about
application options within our department. Prospective Undergraduates Prospective Graduates Prospective Part-Time Graduates |
| Department
of Materials Science and Engineering © 2004 Johns Hopkins University |