Ballistite
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Ballistite is a smokeless propellant made from two high explosives, nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine. It was developed and patented by Alfred Nobel in the late 19th century.
Ballistite as seen in a cross-sectional diagram of a British WW1 Stokes trench mortar cartridge
Cordite
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Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in Britain since 1889 to replace black powder as a military firearm propellant. Cordite is made by combining two chemical explosives
Ballistite
…was extruded as spaghetti-like rods initially called "cord powder" or "the committee's modification of ballistite", but this was soon abbreviated to cordite. After unsuccessful negotiations, in 1893, Nobel sued Abel and Dewar over patent infringement and lost the case. It then went to the Court of Appeal…
A sectioned British 18-pounder field gun shrapnel round, World War I, with bound string to simulate the appearance of the original cordite propellant
Close-up of cordite filaments in a .303 British rifle cartridge (manufactured in 1964)
Cordite production during World War II at a Royal Naval armaments factory at Holton Heath. The long strings of cordite are being combed to eliminate short lengths.
Bird's-eye view of a portion of Canadian Explosives Ltd., Nobel, Ontario