Dynamite
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Inside of dynamite (nobelprize.org)
What is Dynamite?
The word dynamite came from a Greek word meaning abundant power. It was created by Alfred Nobel through many experiments to tame yet have the same power of nitroglycerin. "Alfred Nobel found the answer in diatoms, tiny skeletons of sea plants. Rather than having cell walls of cellulose, their cell walls were mad of sand-like material, silica. Diatomaceous earth soaked up nitroglycerin. He molded the moist paste into sticks. The result was a safe, dependable explosive. Nobel tested the sticks and was delighted to see that the explosive force remained, but the sticks were practically impossible to set off unintentionally." (Alfred Nobel Inventor of Dynamite) "By 1866, he had found "kieselguhr" worked best. Kieselguhr is an absorbent, clay-like substance found in earth. Like a sponge, the kieselguhr absorbed the liquid nitroglycerine until the mixture became like putty. After combining kieselguhr and nitroglycerine, Nobel used a blasting cap to test his invention. It worked. Though the mixture was less powerful than nitroglycerine alone, it was a lot safer to handle. Nobel packaged this mixture in paper-wrapped sticks and called it dynamite; it quickly became the world’s favorite explosive, earning its inventor the nickname "Lord Dynamite." (Alfred Nobel: Merchant of Death, Man of Peace)
So you can see that Nobel needed kieselguhr as an absorbent substance for nitroglycerin. It is a key ingredient to dynamite that made it a safer, reliable explosive compared to the others.
The word dynamite came from a Greek word meaning abundant power. It was created by Alfred Nobel through many experiments to tame yet have the same power of nitroglycerin. "Alfred Nobel found the answer in diatoms, tiny skeletons of sea plants. Rather than having cell walls of cellulose, their cell walls were mad of sand-like material, silica. Diatomaceous earth soaked up nitroglycerin. He molded the moist paste into sticks. The result was a safe, dependable explosive. Nobel tested the sticks and was delighted to see that the explosive force remained, but the sticks were practically impossible to set off unintentionally." (Alfred Nobel Inventor of Dynamite) "By 1866, he had found "kieselguhr" worked best. Kieselguhr is an absorbent, clay-like substance found in earth. Like a sponge, the kieselguhr absorbed the liquid nitroglycerine until the mixture became like putty. After combining kieselguhr and nitroglycerine, Nobel used a blasting cap to test his invention. It worked. Though the mixture was less powerful than nitroglycerine alone, it was a lot safer to handle. Nobel packaged this mixture in paper-wrapped sticks and called it dynamite; it quickly became the world’s favorite explosive, earning its inventor the nickname "Lord Dynamite." (Alfred Nobel: Merchant of Death, Man of Peace)
So you can see that Nobel needed kieselguhr as an absorbent substance for nitroglycerin. It is a key ingredient to dynamite that made it a safer, reliable explosive compared to the others.
History of Dynamite
Gunpowder was invented as early as 1000 A.D and has been used since as a powerful explosive. "...which had been only known explosive for over five hundred years."(Alfred Nobel-The man and his work) Then in 1867, Ascanio Sobrero created nitroglycerin, but it was highly dangerous and unpredictable, so he hid the formula for several years. Alfred Nobel was interested in nitroglycerin from a demonstration from his chemistry professor, which lead his curiosity. “He knew that a single explosion of nitroglycerin would replace days of pick and shovel toil...So much work needed to be done--building bridges, cutting tunnels, and digging canals." (Alfred Nobel Inventor of Dynamite) Nobel kept improving on his invention of explosives, from blasting oil, to blasting cap, to finally dynamite, then blasting gelatine.
Nobel manufactured nitroglycerin with gunpowder to make blasting oil. But..." People refused to handle his blasting oil as directed. One man used it to grease the axle of his wagon. Others threw what was left into the fire. Still others simply did not understand nitroglycerin's great power. They stood too close when it exploded. Some people pointed a finger at Nobel and blamed him for the deaths of these careless workers" (Alfred Nobel Inventor of Dynamite).
Blasting oil evolved to blasting cap. Nobel Placed a fuse into a small amount of gunpowder and connected it to a container fitted with nitroglycerine. He then lit the fuse and, at the right moment, tossed the whole thing into a canal. The gunpowder exploded, creating shock waves that set off the nitroglycerine.
What drove Nobel to invent dynamite was the unsafely of the blasting cap. The explosive still caused many deaths by the transporting, manufacturing and the use of it. His own invention killed his youngest brother, Emil. That drove him to create dynamite. "Nobel felt responsible for each death. Determined to stop the blasts, he looked for a substance to mix with nitroglycerine to make it safer"(Alfred Nobel: Merchant of Death, Man of Peace)
The Uses and Effects of Dynamite
Dynamite impacted in various histories such as agriculture, scientific, industrial...etc. "It gave human power over the physical world and control over their environment." (Dynamite) Some examples of the uses of dynamite are:
- Making rainfall by sending dynamite in the sky
- "Dynamite minimizes the amount of farm work." (Farming with Dynamite)
- Can improve on the soil for crops
- Removing stumps and trees
- Demolishing buildings
- Making holes to plant trees by dynamite can help improve the result of the tree
- Can make subsoil for crops to provide natural food and storage water
- Drain swampy areas
-" In the United States, the west was tamed by railroads cut through the rocky mountains with dynamite. The railroads helped bind together the country as one nation after the Civil War." (Alfred Nobel Inventor of Dynamite)
- Mining out minerals
-Locate oil deposits by the mini earthquakes dynamite makes
-Grand Coulee Dam
-Misconnecting tunnel
-Mount Rushmore
-...etc.
As you see this explosive was helpful to do many things towards mother nature and construction. With dynamite we can now physically alter Mother Nature without a loss of a life. Dynamite is a turning point in history.
Gunpowder was invented as early as 1000 A.D and has been used since as a powerful explosive. "...which had been only known explosive for over five hundred years."(Alfred Nobel-The man and his work) Then in 1867, Ascanio Sobrero created nitroglycerin, but it was highly dangerous and unpredictable, so he hid the formula for several years. Alfred Nobel was interested in nitroglycerin from a demonstration from his chemistry professor, which lead his curiosity. “He knew that a single explosion of nitroglycerin would replace days of pick and shovel toil...So much work needed to be done--building bridges, cutting tunnels, and digging canals." (Alfred Nobel Inventor of Dynamite) Nobel kept improving on his invention of explosives, from blasting oil, to blasting cap, to finally dynamite, then blasting gelatine.
Nobel manufactured nitroglycerin with gunpowder to make blasting oil. But..." People refused to handle his blasting oil as directed. One man used it to grease the axle of his wagon. Others threw what was left into the fire. Still others simply did not understand nitroglycerin's great power. They stood too close when it exploded. Some people pointed a finger at Nobel and blamed him for the deaths of these careless workers" (Alfred Nobel Inventor of Dynamite).
Blasting oil evolved to blasting cap. Nobel Placed a fuse into a small amount of gunpowder and connected it to a container fitted with nitroglycerine. He then lit the fuse and, at the right moment, tossed the whole thing into a canal. The gunpowder exploded, creating shock waves that set off the nitroglycerine.
What drove Nobel to invent dynamite was the unsafely of the blasting cap. The explosive still caused many deaths by the transporting, manufacturing and the use of it. His own invention killed his youngest brother, Emil. That drove him to create dynamite. "Nobel felt responsible for each death. Determined to stop the blasts, he looked for a substance to mix with nitroglycerine to make it safer"(Alfred Nobel: Merchant of Death, Man of Peace)
The Uses and Effects of Dynamite
Dynamite impacted in various histories such as agriculture, scientific, industrial...etc. "It gave human power over the physical world and control over their environment." (Dynamite) Some examples of the uses of dynamite are:
- Making rainfall by sending dynamite in the sky
- "Dynamite minimizes the amount of farm work." (Farming with Dynamite)
- Can improve on the soil for crops
- Removing stumps and trees
- Demolishing buildings
- Making holes to plant trees by dynamite can help improve the result of the tree
- Can make subsoil for crops to provide natural food and storage water
- Drain swampy areas
-" In the United States, the west was tamed by railroads cut through the rocky mountains with dynamite. The railroads helped bind together the country as one nation after the Civil War." (Alfred Nobel Inventor of Dynamite)
- Mining out minerals
-Locate oil deposits by the mini earthquakes dynamite makes
-Grand Coulee Dam
-Misconnecting tunnel
-Mount Rushmore
-...etc.
As you see this explosive was helpful to do many things towards mother nature and construction. With dynamite we can now physically alter Mother Nature without a loss of a life. Dynamite is a turning point in history.