chemistry

George Clyde Hale

George Clyde Hale is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand George Clyde Hale rather than just read about it. In short: George Clyde Hale (September 29, 1881 – November 3, 1948) received a patent in 1935 for the explosive ethylenedinitramine (EDNA) which was named Haleite in his honor. He was the Chief of the Chemical Department at the Picatinny Arsenal from 1929 to 1948 and through that position was issued 29 patents for explosives, propellant powders, delay powders, fuse powders, priming compositions and pyrotechnics.

Key takeaways

George Clyde Hale belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect George Clyde Hale to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of George Clyde Hale from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

George Clyde Hale (September 29, 1881 – November 3, 1948) received a patent in 1935 for the explosive ethylenedinitramine (EDNA) which was named Haleite in his honor. He was the Chief of the Chemical Department at the Picatinny Arsenal from 1929 to 1948 and through that position was issued 29 patents for explosives, propellant powders, delay powders, fuse powders, priming compositions and pyrotechnics. The Hale Building at the Picatinny Arsenal is a research facility that honors his contributions to military exposives.

Biography

Early life Hale was born in Cass, Sullivan County, Indiana. His parents were Charles Hale (b. July 16, 1862), a coal miner who also ran a grocery store, and Rosette Bledsoe Hale. Hale graduated from Sullivan High School in 1910 and taught school for a year before enrolling in college. He was married to Mary Allen Raines Hale and had 2 sons, George Hale Jr and Allen C. Hale, Ph.D.

Indiana University Hale was admitted to Indiana University in Bloomington in 1911 and by 1915 had achieved both and AB and AM in chemistry. After graduation with his master's degree he was appointed as an instructor of chemistry. In 1917 he was granted a leave of absence to join the war effort at the Picatinny Arsenal. He would eventually receive his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1925 with his thesis titled, "Nitration of Hexamethylenetetramine" which was also published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. This thesis outlines the production of the brisant explosive cyclotrimethylene trinitramine which was also known as hexagon, cylconite and RDX. His Ph.D. was only the 6th one conferred by the Chemistry Department at Indiana University.

Death and legacy Dr. Hale suffered an acute coronary syndrome in 1946 and never fully recovered. He died 2 years later and is buried in the Duggar Cemetery in Duggar, Indiana. The George C. Hale Building at Picatinny was dedicated April 27, 1962. A bronze plaque on the structure bears the inscription: "George C. Hale 1881-1948 The efforts which are undertaken here perpetuate the ideals and aspirations which Dr. George C. Hale devoted his life." The building is a memorial to his leadership and his contributions to the field of explosive research.

Picatinny Arsenal When the United States formally entered World War I on April 6, 1917, Hale began work as a research chemist at Picatinny Arsenal. The primary explosive used by the US during that war was trinitrotoluene (TNT). About 2,500,00 tons of high explosives containing TNT and its derivatives were used by the contending powers during the war resulting in an estimated 10 million casualties. After the war in July 1920 he was sent to Germany to assist in collecting information on German expolsives and ammunition under the command of Major R.L. Maxwell at the Mulheim Ordnance Depot. It was there that he studied all types of German ammunitions including the metals, materials and processes that they used in their production. In 1929 Hale was promoted to Chief of the Chemical Department at Picatinny, a position he held until his death. During his tenure he developed standardized research into the production of military explosives. Portions of his work have been presented to the patent literature, other work of his has been kept secret due to the necessary restrictions imposed by military secrecy. Between World War I and World War II, the chemists at the Picatinny Arsenal had been trying to find a substitute for RDX that would retain is brisance but eliminate its sensitivity to friction or shock which hampered its production and storage. Through their efforts they invented ethylenedinitramine (EDNA) which was the first American explosive. This substance could replace picric acid and TNT as a high explosive, tetryl as a detonator, and nitroglycerine or nitrocellulose as a propellant because of its insensitivity to shock and ease of ignition. Developed in 1935, it was not used during World War II until the problem of the high cost of producing one of its intermediaries, ethylene urea, could be solved by the DuPont Company. Leading up to and during World War II, Hale assisted with the production of RDX in the US at plants at the Wabash Ordnance Plant near Newport, Indiana using the British discovered Woolwich method and the Houston Ordnance Plant in Eastern Tennessee using the Bachmann process discovered by Werner E. Bachmann at the University of Michigan.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with George Clyde Hale

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what George Clyde Hale claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to George Clyde Hale before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about George Clyde Hale ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of George Clyde Hale

In research: George Clyde Hale appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses George Clyde Hale in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: George Clyde Hale is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1881 births, 1948 deaths, 20th-century American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for George Clyde Hale outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study George Clyde Hale in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what George Clyde Hale means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain George Clyde Hale out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is George Clyde Hale in simple terms?

Why does George Clyde Hale matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study George Clyde Hale?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on George Clyde Hale.