Dynamite
Dynamite is a very powerful explosive made up of nitroglycerin, a liquid explosive substance at room temperature and very unstable that, when absorbed in a solid medium (initially, diatomite, a rock formed by siliceous shells of diatoms), it becomes a more stable explosive. Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel in 1866, quickly replacing nitroglycerin for mining and industrial applications. It plays a very important role in jobs such as mountain excavation, road construction, demolitions and in general any public works that require the movement of rock masses.
It was used to develop and manufacture war devices, causing numerous deaths and great destruction in conflict zones. Nobel, to counteract its negative effects, albeit symbolically, instituted the prize that bears his name, expressly referring to peace.
Dynamite, like all high explosives, is very dangerous and is therefore a substance of restricted use, although it has been extensively replaced by plastic explosives in which the explosive substance is stabilized by mixing with a plasticizer instead of earth of diatoms. The nitroglycerin base has been largely replaced by dinitroglycol (Gum-2 ECO) or trinitrotoluene (titadine or TNT). For industrial use, the use of cyclonite is also widespread, also in the form of a plastic explosive, under the names of C-3 and C-4 depending on the formulation.
Originally, nitroglycerin was mixed with a particular type of silicon dioxide sand called diatomite or diatomaceous earth. Diatomite, which comes from fossils of marine microorganisms, has a large specific surface area and absorbs nitroglycerin making it workable and preventing it from detonating accidentally.
History
Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel in 1866 and patented in 1867. Its use in the exploitation of the oil fields of Baku (Azerbaijan) earned its creator a great fortune, which is used in the awarding of the Prize Nobel.
Nitroglycerin had been discovered in 1847 by the Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero, but it is a liquid that is very sensitive to shock, which makes it very difficult to handle and therefore very often caused serious accidents because it was too unstable and difficult to handle and transport for warfare and very dangerous for civilian applications. In 1864 a nitroglycerin explosion killed five people, including Nobel's little brother. As a result of this tragedy, he concentrated on the task of obtaining a method to safely handle nitroglycerin, which in the middle of the XIX century it was the most widely used explosive.
In 1867 Nobel managed to manufacture dynamite, mixing nitroglycerin with an absorbent material (diatomaceous earth), and thus obtained a powder that could be struck and even burned in the open air without exploding. It only exploded when electrical or chemical detonators were used. This is how dynamite was born, a more stable, safer and more manageable explosive than the unstable nitroglycerin.
Nobel's most important patents were in 1875, rubber dynamite, a moldable dynamite, similar to today's plastic explosives and then, in 1884, a method for the continuous distillation of petroleum. Finally, in 1887, he made ballistite, a mixture of nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose, making a great smokeless explosive.
Production
Dynamite used to be made by mixing nitroglycerin and diatomaceous earth with a high content of silicon dioxide. The latter acted as a kind of sponge, absorbing and stabilizing nitroglycerin, making its use as an explosive safer and more practical. It used to be sold in the form of cardboard tubes filled with the compound, measuring between 10 cm and 15 cm long by 2.5 cm in diameter.
Uses and properties
Because of its high stability, dynamite quickly replaced nitroglycerin in applications such as demolitions and mining, and as an explosive filler in artillery shells and military demolition charges. Dynamite is also chemically more inert than pure nitroglycerin, which makes it possible to store it safely, although only in the medium term, since over time and at a temperature of more than 30 °C, nitroglycerin drains out of carbon dioxide. silicon and dynamite "sweats" nitroglycerin, which is concentrated in droplets that are very sensitive to movement, heat, and chemical breakdown into more unstable chemicals. Dynamite is so stable that new dynamite sticks in good condition generally do not explode even if exposed to fire, requiring the use of a detonator and primer to set them off.
Due to the constant improvement in explosives and demolition techniques, as well as the problems posed by the storage and production of nitroglycerin for its manufacture, it has been commercially replaced by other explosives such as trinitrotoluene (TNT).
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