I'm no chemist Mr. Wizard, and in this matter I will bow to your superior knowledge if I happen to be incorrect, but my memory of the process for manufacture of gun cotton is that for the combination of cellulose and nitric acid to take place, the nitric acid needs to be free to combine, so it is mixed with sulphuric acid. If the nitric acid is in combination with the ethanol of the nitral, surely it is not free to combine with the cellulose of the cotton?
Is this correct , or am I way off track?
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