Pentaerythritol tetranitrate

Uncommon card · No. 109662

Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), also known as PENT, pentyl, TEN (tetraeritrit nitrate, primarily in Russian), corpent, or penthrite (or, rarely and primarily in German, as nitropenta), is an explosive material. It is the nitrate ester of pentaerythritol, and is structurally very similar to nitroglycerin. Penta refers to the five carbon atoms of the neopentane skeleton. PETN is a very powerful explosive material with a relative effectiveness factor of 1.66. When mixed with a plasticizer, PTNGR forms a plastic explosive. Along with RDX it is the main ingredient of Semtex. PETN is also used as a vasodilator drug to treat certain heart conditions, such as for management of angina.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Bangin, Public domain