chemistry

Guanylurea dinitramide

Guanylurea dinitramide 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 Guanylurea dinitramide rather than just read about it. In short: Guanylurea dinitramide (FOX-12 or GUDN) is a novel insensitive high explosive. History GUDN was discovered by Abraham Langlet, a chemist at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, and patented in 1997.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Guanylurea dinitramide (FOX-12 or GUDN) is a novel insensitive high explosive.

History GUDN was discovered by Abraham Langlet, a chemist at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, and patented in 1997. The moniker FOX-12 stems from the Swedish-language acronym for the Agency, FOI, plus x for "explosive."

Applications GUDN is particularly valued for its extreme stability and insensitivity. GUDN found its first major application when mixed with oxidizers such as potassium nitrate or copper nitrate in automotive airbag inflators.

Propellant GUDN is also used in a 60/40 mix with RDX as a propellant in the UNIFLEX 2 IM modular artillery charge system fielded in the BAE 155mm/L52 Archer howitzer.

Explosive Blended in equal parts with TNT, GUDN forms the a melt-castable explosive known as GUNTOL. A variation adding 15% Aluminum is known as GUNTONAL.

Explosive character Upon detonation, GUDN undergoes a thermal decomposition which is not entirely understood as of 2021. The calculated detonation velocity is 8235 m/s, with a detonation pressure of 25.89 GPa, and a detonation temperature of 2887 K.

Synthesis GUDN is synthesized by a reaction of ammonium dinitramide and the sulfate salt of guanylurea.

See also FOX-7, another high explosive developed by the Swedish Defense Research Agency

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Guanylurea dinitramide

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Guanylurea dinitramide 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 Guanylurea dinitramide 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 Guanylurea dinitramide 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 Guanylurea dinitramide

In research: Guanylurea dinitramide 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 Guanylurea dinitramide 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: Guanylurea dinitramide is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Explosive chemicals, Guanidinium compounds, Nitroamines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Guanylurea dinitramide 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 Guanylurea dinitramide in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Guanylurea dinitramide 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 Guanylurea dinitramide out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Guanylurea dinitramide in simple terms?

Guanylurea dinitramide (FOX-12 or GUDN) is a novel insensitive high explosive. History GUDN was discovered by Abraham Langlet, a chemist at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, and patented in 1997.

Why does Guanylurea dinitramide 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 Guanylurea dinitramide?

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 Guanylurea dinitramide.