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1 wordie lists
ballistite |
(n): an explosive (trade name Ballistite) that burns with relatively little smoke; contains pyrocellulose and is used as a propellant
(n): a chemical substance that undergoes a rapid chemical change (with the production of gas) on being heated or struck
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This is what you did with a good bullet: holding the shell case in one hand, you stuck the projectile into a keyhole, twisted it, and pulled out the case, adding it to your collection. The gunpowder was emptied out (sometimes there were thin strips of ballistite) and deposited in serpentine trails that were set alight.
--Umberto Eco, 1988, Foucault's Pendulum, p. 115