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The Importance Of Chemical Warfare

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Chemical Warfare Chemical warfare became more advanced during World War 1 when the Allied nations defended their nations and advanced on German forces. Chemistry became an integral part of the Allied force’s retaliation and research rapidly advanced to discover improved methods of chemical use (Krause, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to summarize research the peer-reviewed article, provide an explanation of how article contents relate to chemistry, reveal my insight on the article’s premises, and discuss its relevance to the Christian Worldview. Article Summary During World War I German forces utilized chemical warfare against the Allied forces. The French military took action, despite being unprepared, to provide a countermeasure against …show more content…

When the Allied forced had to defend themselves from chlorine gas attacks, they dug pits full of water and Na2S2O3 due to chlorine being a water-soluble chemical. Theoretically, chlorine gas should be absorbed by the solution (Krause, 2013). Petards were meant to lower the concentration of chlorine gas in the air around them to increase survival odds. Cotton masks, containing only Na2S2O3 at the beginning of the war, were designed more effectively by being soaked in a heated solution of Na2S2O3, glycerine, soda bicarbonate, and water. After extensive research the combination of chemicals was eventually switched to purely sodium Na2S2O3 and urine, as it had ammonia, due to their very effective chlorine neutralization properties (Krause, …show more content…

Gas shell producing required proper chemistry techniques. One type worked on had two layers of shells, one containing 100 grams of potassium cyanide and the other 125 cc of hydrochloric acid that, when exploded, would chemically react to produce hydrocyanic acid on enemy lines (Krause, 2013). Unfortunately, not enough time was provided for the reaction to fully occur and some reactants remained, leaving the resulting amount of products non-lethal. The Allied forces had to increase the concentration the enemy was exposed to by firing more shells. Other types of shells produced vast amounts of smoke, occasionally yielded incendiary effects, and gave off asphyxiating gases due to the reaction taking place (Krause, 2013). These concepts wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the application of chemistry. My Thoughts on the Article's Premises The article’s major premises are as follows: the French contributed to the advancement of chemical warfare and chemical technology became more advanced as research progressed. I believe the French were contributable as their research for gas shells created effective battery-disabling reactions that allowed Allied headway into enemy lines. Some may argue that the chemical advancement wasn’t very progressive; yet, in the short time span allotted, the Allied forces were

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