Dynamite / TNT

Dynamite

ALTERNATIVE NAME/S: nitroglycerine

DETAILS:

Dynamite has the potential to be an immensely destructive material. Invented by the Italian Ascanio Sobrero* , a patent for it was granted to Alfred Nobel*. Production of the explosive began in 1864.

Dynamite is made up of an absorbent, inert material, such as kieselguhr*, soaked in liquid nitroglycerin. This makes the nitroglycerin more stable than it would otherwise be and therefore safer to handle.

To trigger the dynamite, a blasting cap is usually employed. This creates a small explosion which then triggers the nitroglycerine.

As nitroglycerin's chemical formula is C₃H_5(ONO2)₃ ~it already contains the oxygen necessary for burning. In the explosion, the carbon and hydrogen combine with the oxygen, and the nitrogen is released.

ONELINER: dynamite

OTHER CONNECTIONS: None

BIBLIOGRAPHY: http://www.nobel.no/eng_com_will1.html.

science.howstuffworks.com/question397.htm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamite