The Full form of RDX is Research Department Explosive or Royal Demolition Explosive. RDX is an explosive compound which is chemically classified as Nitramide and belongs to nitramines (a group of organic nitrate explosives). It is also called hexogen, cyclonite, and T4. Its chemical formula is C3H6N6O6 and the chemical name is Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine. Georg F. Henning of Germany discovered RDX in 1899 and its name was coined by the British. It can be initiated by impact, friction, and temperature.
It was first used in World War II to create powerful explosives and since then it remains common in military applications. It is a white solid without taste or smell which is widely used as an explosive. RDX is chemically similar to HMX (a more energetic explosive than TNT). It is often used in mixtures with other plasticizers, explosives, and phlegmatizers (desensitizers); it is the explosive agent in C-4 plastic explosive.
RDX is stable in storage and with a relative effectiveness factor of 1.60, it is considered as one of the most brisant and energetic of the military high explosives. RDX is also used in controlled demolition to raze structures outside military applications. The Jamestown Bridge demolition in the United States state of Rhode Island was one of the instances where RDX shaped charges were used to remove the span.