What is a shrapnel?
Shrapnel is a type of artillery projectile invented by the English ordinance engineer Henry Shrapnel to obtain the effect of fragmentation at ranges comparable to those of nonfragmentating artillery projectiles. Before firing, a time fuze set for a fraction of a second less than the time of flight for the range ignites the expelling charge, which fires a charge of steel balls ahead of the shrapnel case in a 20° cone. Shrapnel was used extensively in World War I against personnel and light material. The fragmentation of modern high-explosive shell, however, proved much more effective, and shrapnel has since become obsolete. The term "shrapnel" is often erroneously applied to the fragments of high-explosive shell.
