Dynamite is the invention of Alfred Nobel

Dynamite is a special explosive mixture, based on nitroglycerin. It should be noted that in its pure form this substance is extremely dangerous. While impregnating solid absorbents with nitroglycerin makes it safe for storage and use, convenient to use. Also, dynamite can contain other substances. As a rule, the formed mass has the shape of a cylinder and is packed into paper or plastic.

The invention of dynamite

An important event for the invention of dynamite was the discovery of nitroglycerin. This happened in 1846. The discoverer was the chemist from Italy, Ascanio Sobrero. For a powerful explosive, immediately began to build factories around the world. One of them opened in Russia. Domestic chemists Zinin and Petrushevsky sought a way how to apply it safely. One of their students was Alfred Nobel.

In 1863, Nobel discovered the detonator capsule, which greatly simplified the practical use of nitroglycerin. This was achieved by activating the explosive with the help of rattling mercury. Many people today consider this discovery of Nobel to be more important than the discovery of dynamite.

Himself dynamite Swedish chemist patented in 1867. Until the middle of the last century it was used as the main explosive when working in the mountains and, of course, in military affairs.

Dynamite is walking around the planet

The first time to use dynamite for military purposes was proposed by Nobel himself in the year when he patented it. However, then the idea was considered unsuccessful, since it is too unsafe.

On an industrial scale, the production of dynamite began in 1869. One of the first to use it Russian industrialists. Already in 1871, it was used for the extraction of coal and zinc ore.

The volume of production of dynamite grew exponentially. If in 1867 11 tons were produced, then after 5 years - 1570 tons, and by 1875 it was produced up to 8 thousand tons.

The fact that dynamite is an excellent weapon was first understood by the Germans. They began to blow up fortresses and bridges, prompting the use of it and the French. In 1871, this explosive material appeared in the engineering troops of Austria-Hungary.

What does dynamite consist of?

As soon as the industrialists and the military world learned what was included in the dynamite, they immediately set up its production. Continue to produce it today. Today it is a cartridges weighing up to 200 grams, which can be used for half a year. There are high-percentage and low-percentage substances.

While the composition of dynamite differed from manufacturer to manufacturer, its main components naturally remained unchanged.

The main one is a nitro mixture. It was used to improve frost resistance. It consisted of nitroglycerin and dinitrogicol. This is the main component, which took up to 40% of the weight. The next component in terms of volume is ammonium nitrate (up to 30%), almost 20% went to sodium nitrate. The rest of the ingredients were used to a much lesser extent: nitrocellulose, wood flour, balsa and talc.

Dynamite at the service of criminals

One of the first to understand what dynamite is, criminal of all stripes and terrorist organizations. One of the first crimes involving the use of this explosive occurred in the US in 1875. American sailor William Kong-Thomassen tried to undermine the Mosel ship, which had gone to sea, to receive insurance. However, the barrel with self-made dynamite exploded in the port during loading. The tragedy killed 80 people.

However, the first failure did not stop the leaders of the underworld and terrorists. From 1883 to 1885, members of an extremist organization that favored the separation of Ireland from the UK, staged a series of explosions using dynamite. Including an explosion in the main department of the British police Scotland Yard and an attempt to undermine the London Bridge.

They used this substance and fighters against autocracy in Russia. In particular, the party "Narodnaya Volya". In Europe, dynamite was widely used by anarchists.

The popularity of dynamite falls

For many years, most industrialists believed that dynamite is the main explosive in mining and discovering new minerals. He stood the competition of saltpeter until the middle of the XX century. In some countries - until the mid-80's. For example, dynamite was very popular in South Africa. It was used here in gold mines. Already closer to the nineties, under the pressure of trade union organizations, most of the plants were redeployed to a safer nitrate-based explosive.

In Russia, dynamite was mass produced after the Great Patriotic War. Particularly popular was the difficult-to-freeze composition. From the domestic industry, the explosive material was used only in the 1960s.

For many countries, dynamite is an affordable and easy-to-use explosive. This state of affairs persisted for almost 100 years. To date, dynamite occupies no more than 2% of the total turnover of all explosives in the world.