The shell in addition to a bursting charge,
contains bullets, pieces of iron, and other metallic fragments.
When the shell bursts, their contents, together with the pieces
of the shell which is likewise broken up by the explosion, are
hurled in all directions over a radius of some 50 yards or more,
according to the bursting charge.
These shells are fired upon impact, a detonator exploding the
main charge. The detonator, comprising fulminate of mercury, is
placed in the head or tail of the missile. To secure perfect
detonation and to distribute the death-dealing contents evenly in
all directions, it is essential that the bomb should strike the
ground almost at right angles: otherwise the contents are hurled
irregularly and perhaps in one direction only. One great
objection to the percussion system, as the method of impact
detonation is called, is that the damage may be localised. A
bomb launched from a height of say 1,000 feet attains terrific
velocity, due to the force of gravity in conjunction with its own
weight, in consonance with the law concerning a falling body, by
the time it reaches the ground.
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