History of the invention of dynamite. Dynamite is an invention of Alfred Nobel Who created dynamite and in what year

He worked in his father's company in St. Petersburg, which at that time specialized in the production of ammunition. After the end of the Crimean War in 1856, there were few orders, and Nobel and his family returned to their native Stockholm. There he spent all his free time in a small laboratory, where he experimented with chemicals. Most of all he was attracted by explosions.

In 1846, the Italian chemist Ascanio Sorbero discovered nitroglycerin, a powerful and promising but dangerous explosive.

The use of nitroglycerin has led to tragedies more than once. So, in 1864, an explosion occurred in the laboratory at the Nobel factory, in which five people died, including 21-year-old Emil Nobel, Alfred's younger brother. In 1866, there were two more major explosions - in a warehouse in San Francisco and on a steamer off the coast of Panama.

In total, more than 60 people died, losses amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The governments of many countries were concerned about the incidents, factories for the production of nitroglycerin were closed in Germany and Norway, its circulation was banned in France and Belgium. Such a ban was planned to be introduced in other countries.

Nobel wanted to find a way to use nitroglycerin more safely and effectively. As a result of experiments, he developed a suitable detonator - a metal primer filled with mercury.

Mixing nitroglycerin with various materials - gypsum, gunpowder, coal, brick dust, sawdust - Nobel came to the conclusion that diatomaceous earth, a sedimentary rock consisting mainly of silica, is best suited to reduce the explosiveness of nitroglycerin.

According to legend, this discovery happened by accident when a bottle of nitroglycerin leaked and it soaked the diatomaceous earth in which the bottles were placed. However, Nobel himself denied this version.

“I have certainly never noticed a single accidental leakage of nitroglycerin into kieselguhr packaging in such a quantity as to form a plastic or even wet material, and the idea of ​​​​such an accident must have been invented by those who take assumptions for reality,” he noted. -

What really drew my attention to the use of diatomaceous earth for dynamite was its excessive lightness when dry, which, of course, testifies to its great porosity.

Therefore, dynamite did not appear by chance, but because I saw the disadvantages of liquid explosives from the very beginning and looked for ways to counteract them.

Further tests have shown that when liquid nitroglycerin is mixed with diatomaceous earth in a ratio of 3:1, a thick paste is formed with the density of putty. Nobel's discovery made it possible to completely abandon the use of liquid nitroglycerin.

November 25, 1867 Alfred Nobel patented the resulting mixture, calling it "dynamite", from the Greek dynamis - strength.

The demand for new explosives was high - by the next year, Nobel had established factories in 11 countries. The production of dynamite in a few years has grown hundreds of times - if in 1868 only 20 tons of dynamite were produced, then five years later, in 1873, already 4,100 tons, and in 1875 - 8,000 tons. In some countries, meanwhile, the ban on nitroglycerin continued to operate, so dynamite had to be delivered under the guise of dishes or glass. It was actively used in the mining industry and in the laying of railway tracks.

Nobel's invention prompted many other researchers to experiment with nitroglycerin. There were analogues of dynamite based on magnesium carbonate, wood with saltpeter, wood-paper pulp with soda. Although this was not without accidents, dynamite has already firmly established itself in industry and military affairs.

In 1875, Nobel thought of mixing nitroglycerin with collodion, a cellulose-based solution.

So he got the explosive jelly - a jelly-like dynamite that is safer to store than its hard counterpart.

Of course, criminals also began to use dynamite almost immediately. Only in 1883-1885 there were 13 explosions in London. In Russia, dynamite was actively used by the radical Narodnaya Volya party.

The invention of dynamite made Nobel a millionaire. He died in 1896, having bequeathed his fortune to a foundation that annually awards Nobel Prizes.

Dynamite was actively used until the middle of the twentieth century. Then he was gradually replaced by other types of explosives. Today, dynamite occupies no more than 2% of the turnover of explosives in the world.

Everyone knows that the most prestigious award that a scientist can receive for his work is the Nobel Prize.


Every year in Sweden, the Nobel Committee considers the applications of the most outstanding scientists of our time and decides who this year deserves a prize in various fields of science. The fund from which the prizes are paid was created by the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. This scientist received huge sums of money for his developments, and bequeathed almost all of his fortune to the foundation named after him. But what did Alfred Nobel invent, what formed the basis of the Nobel Prizes?

Talented self-taught

Paradoxically, however, Alfred Nobel, the author of more than 350 inventions, had no education at all, except at home. However, this was not uncommon in those days when the content of schooling was entirely dependent on the owners of the educational institution. Alfred's father, Emmanuel Nobel, was a wealthy and highly educated man, a successful architect and mechanic.

Since 1842, the Nobel family moved from Stockholm to St. Petersburg, where Emmanuel developed military equipment for the Russian army and even opened several factories where it was produced. However, over time, things did not go so well, the factories went bankrupt, and the family returned to Sweden.

Invention of dynamite

Since 1859, Alfred Nobel became interested in the technology of making explosives. At that time, the most powerful of them was nitroglycerin, but its use was extremely dangerous: the substance exploded at the slightest push or blow. Nobel, after many experiments, invented an explosive composition called dynamite - a mixture of nitroglycerin with an inert substance that reduced the danger of its use.

Dynamite very quickly became in demand in mining, for large-scale earthworks and in a number of other industries. Its production brought the Nobel family a significant fortune.

Other inventions of Nobel

During his long and fruitful life, Alfred Nobel became the owner of 355 patents for inventions, and not all of them related to explosives. The most famous of his works are:

- a series of ten blasting caps, one of which is used in the explosive business to this day under the name "detonator No. 8";

- "explosive jelly" - a gelatinous mixture of nitroglycerin with collodion, superior in explosive power to dynamite, which is now known as an intermediate raw material for the manufacture of safer explosives;


- ballistite - a smokeless powder based on nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose, used today in mortar and gun shells, as well as rocket fuel;

— an oil pipeline as a way to transport crude oil from the field to processing, which reduced the cost of oil production by 7 times;

- improved gas burner for lighting and heating;

- new design of the water meter and;

– refrigeration unit for domestic and industrial use;

- a new, cheaper and safer way to produce sulfuric acid;

- a bicycle with rubber tires;

- improved steam boiler.

The inventions of Nobel and his brothers brought considerable income to the family, making the Nobels very wealthy people. But their fortunes were honestly earned by their own intelligence, talent and enterprise.

Charity of Alfred Nobel

Thanks to his inventions, Nobel became the owner of several successful enterprises. They not only produced advanced technical products for those times, but also reigned orders that were very different for the better from the usual factory environment. Nobel created comfortable living conditions for his workers - he built houses and free hospitals for them, schools for their children, introduced free transportation of workers to the factory and back.

Despite the fact that many of his inventions had a military purpose, Nobel was a staunch pacifist, so he spared no expense to promote the peaceful coexistence of states. He donated a lot of money to hold international peace congresses and conferences in defense of peace.

At the end of his life, Nobel made his famous will, according to which the main part of his fortune after the death of the inventor went to the fund, which was later named after him. The capital left by Nobel was invested in securities, the income from which for more than a hundred years has been annually distributed among those who, in the general opinion, have brought the greatest benefit to mankind:

- in physics;

- in chemistry;

- in medicine or physiology;

- in literature;

- in promoting peace and oppression, uniting the peoples of the planet.


A prerequisite for awarding the prize is the exclusively peaceful nature of the discovery or development. Nobel Prizes are the most honorable award for scientists around the world, a sign of their highest achievements in the scientific field.

According to a widespread legend, the beginning of the invention of dynamite was laid by an accidental discovery in 1866: the bottles in which nitroglycerin was intended for transportation were placed in siliceous earth (kieselguhr), and one of the bottles leaked, part of the nitroglycerin leaked out and was absorbed by siliceous earth . Nobel allegedly drew attention to the fact that the resulting diatomaceous earth moistened with nitroglycerin does not emit liquid even under strong pressure, and when explosive mercury is blown up by a capsule, it explodes with a force only slightly inferior to pure nitroglycerin in the amount absorbed by siliceous earth.

In fact, Nobel, in order to simplify the use of nitroglycerin, began large-scale studies of materials absorbing nitroglycerin in 1864, testing successively paper, gunpowder, sawdust, cotton wool, coal, gypsum, brick dust and other materials. By the end of the year, it was found that diatomaceous earth gives the best results, on which Nobel settled. The whole of 1865 was spent on honing the composition and method of producing explosives, and in 1866 dynamite was introduced to the public. Nobel himself refuted the legend:

I have certainly never noticed any accidental leakage of nitroglycerin into kieselguhr packaging in such quantity as to form a plastic or even wet material, and the idea of ​​​​such an accident must have been invented by those who take assumptions for reality. What really drew my attention to the use of diatomaceous earth for dynamite was its excessive lightness when dry, which, of course, testifies to its great porosity. Therefore, dynamite did not appear by chance, but because I saw the disadvantages of liquid explosives from the very beginning and looked for ways to counteract them.

This development of Nobel turned out to be extremely important: it made it possible to completely abandon the use of liquid nitroglycerin. Absorbed in powdered absorbents, this explosive became much safer to handle. The invention was immediately appreciated by contemporaries: already in 1868, Alfred Nobel and his father were awarded the Gold Medal of the Swedish Academy of Sciences "For merit in the use of nitroglycerin as an explosive."

Absorbent substances impregnated with nitroglycerin were called "dynamites", and in 1867 A. Nobel took out a patent for the preparation of the so-called "kieselguhr-dynamite", or, in other words, "gur-dynamite", containing from 30 to 70% nitroglycerin.

spreading dynamites

Dynamite production.

Year	Volume production, t
1867	11
1868	20
1869	156
1870	370
1871	848
1872	1570
1873	4100
1874	6240
1875	8000

In 1867, A. Nobel proposed dynamite for equipping artillery shells, but a special commission appointed to test this proposal came to the conclusion that dynamite was not suitable for this purpose, since it did not provide sufficient security.

In private industry, Nobel introduced dynamites in 1869, and already in 1871 in Russia they were used in the extraction of zinc ores and coal.

If in 1867 the only Nobel factory for the production of dynamite produced only 11 tons of it, then after seven years more than a dozen Nobel factories were already producing thousands of tons of dynamite per year, mainly for the needs of the mining industry. Curiosities often arose in the introduction of dynamite into practice, since a series of famous explosions of nitroglycerin in the early to mid-1860s led some countries to ban the production and transportation of nitroglycerin-containing materials. In such countries, dynamite was often sent to the mines under the guise of porcelain or glass, and in the UK, where such a ban was in effect from 1869 to 1893, Nobel had to get around it by building a large dynamite factory in Glasgow - under Scottish jurisdiction, and delivering dynamite not by iron roads, but horse-drawn transport.

The successes of the Germans in the use of dynamite to undermine fortresses and bridges stimulated the French to start using it, which had previously been opposed by the state administration of gunpowder and saltpeter, which had a monopoly on the production of explosives in France. As a result, in the same war, dynamites were also adopted by the French troops, and in 1870-1871 two state and one private dynamite factories were built in France, then, however, again closed until 1875. In 1871, dynamites also appeared in the Austrian engineering troops.

The expansion of production was accompanied by explosions in factories: for example, in 1870 there were 6 explosions in Germany, on January 14, 1871, 10 people died in an explosion in Prague, and on April 8, 1872, a dynamite factory in Alt-Berow (Silesia) exploded.

In 1875-1879, experiments were carried out in Russia with the "cellulose-dynamite" of the Austrian chemist I. Trauzl. Experiments were conducted in Ust-Izhora and Warsaw. This dynamite included 70% nitroglycerin and an absorber consisting of 29.5% pulp and 0.5% soda.

In 1876, the Russian cavalry and engineering troops were supplied with "cellulose-dynamite" cartridges. Cavalry cartridges were enclosed in a cylindrical cardboard sleeve, varnished on the outside and lined with lead paper on the inside. This grade of dynamite was in service during the war in 1877-1878 and was widely used to destroy railways and develop mountain roads in the European theater of operations, as well as to equip underwater mines placed in the Black Sea and on the Danube. After the end of the war, about 90 pounds of this dynamite was used in the liquidation of the Vidin fortress. When sending dynamite back to Russia, 212 pounds of its remnants exploded at the Fratesti station for an unknown reason.

Invention and distribution of gelatin dynamites

In 1875, A. Nobel, in an attempt to improve dynamite, again returned to experiments with pyroxylin as an absorbent, and, having cut his finger, drew attention to the fact that collodion, a close relative of pyroxylin used to close wounds, forms gelatinous mixtures with many organic solvents. Nobel rushed to the laboratory and, having written a preliminary will just in case, overnight received the first sample of explosive jelly - a mixture of nitroglycerin with collodion. Thus, a method for gelatinizing nitroglycerin was discovered and gelatinized dynamites were invented.

Gelatin-dynamites have been produced industrially in England since 1878, and in continental Europe since 1880. At first, these dynamites were not widely used, since their first examples exuded nitroglycerin (“sweated” them) over time and therefore were not safe enough, but this problem was solved in England in 1887, and since then, explosive jellies and gelatinized dynamites have become widespread in mining, significantly expanding the possible volumes of blasting. Thus, the use of these dynamites in the construction of the 15-kilometer Great St. Gotthard Tunnel, which was carried out in solid granite, made it possible to complete the tunnel three years earlier than the original calculations. The construction of other large tunnels through the Alps: Mont Cenis (12 km), Arlberg (10 km) and Simplon (19 km) - also required the intensive use of dynamite. Important advantages of gelled dynamites were that they exploded without leaving solid residues, had greater explosive power and were not at all afraid of water - and therefore were suitable for underwater blasting. Vegetable parchment was used for cartridge shells made from fulminating jelly.

In 1880, "explosive gelatin" was tested in Russia, consisting of 89% nitroglycerin, 7% collodion pyroxylin and 4% camphor. This drug had an important advantage over Trauzl's "cellulose-dynamite": it did not release nitroglycerin either in water or under strong pressure, did not explode from the impact of a rifle bullet and detonated with difficulty through influence, and surpassed other dynamites in strength. Subsequently, however, it was found that this grade of dynamite did not have sufficient stability and was prone to self-decomposition (probably due to insufficient purity of nitroglycerin).

Antifreeze safety dynamites

The useful effect of dynamite was greater than that of gunpowder, and the rate of detonation was higher, which led to its greater safety. The use of gunpowder, however, continued for a long time for commercial reasons, since it crushed coal weaker. Gurdynamite and gelled dynamites, however, did not completely solve the problem of safety, so the next step was to research ways to further improve the safety for use in mines - or, as it was called at the World Congress of Applied Chemistry in 1906, antifreezing (from the French. grisou - methane, the main component of firedamp) - explosives.

First of all, the researchers drew attention to the flame of the explosion. Attempts to surround the charge with water, impregnating the shell with it or placing it in a cartridge filled with water, were practically unsuccessful. In the late 1870s and early 1880s, the major European powers established special anti-grizzle commissions that were engaged in experimental testing of the flammable properties of various explosives and certified them for use in mines of various hazards.

The first thermal theory of antifreeze developed on the basis of experiments on the ignition of methane-air mixtures by French scientists, members of the antifreeze commission Francois Ernest Mallar and Henri Louis Le Chatelier, became a success. They found that there is a minimum ignition temperature of the mixture, and the ignition delay falls with temperature: from about 10 seconds at a minimum temperature of 650 °C to almost instantaneous ignition at 2200 °C. From this it was concluded that firedamp would not explode if

1. the temperature of the gases during detonation will be less than 2200 ° C - this limits the composition of the explosive;
2. in the process of expansion and cooling of gases, the ignition delay for their current temperature will constantly exceed the time elapsed from the moment of detonation - this gives the limiting charge, above which a flash is possible.

The experiments confirmed the main provisions of the theory, however, it was decided to lower the maximum temperature of gases after an explosion in a mine in 1888, where explosives with a limiting detonation temperature of 2200 ° C were used - to 1500 ° C for coal mines and to 1900 ° C for others.

A promising explosive with a low temperature of the resulting gases - only 1100 ° C - was ammonium nitrate. Nobel's extradynamite, containing 70-80% saltpeter and 30-20% fulminate jelly, became the first widely used anti-grizzle explosive based on it. Then grizutins were developed, in which there were 12-30% fulminant jelly, and carbonites, consisting of 25-30% jelly, the same amount of flour and 25-40% alkali metal or barium nitrate, invented by Bichel and Schmuth in 1885. Since 1887, wetterdynamites have spread, which included inert salts with a high water content, which lowered the temperature of the detonation products - for the first time, the Germans Müller and Aufschleger proposed such a composition: 48% nitroglycerin, 12% kieselguhr and 40% soda or magnesium sulfate.

Smokeless gunpowder and military use of dynamite

By the end of the 1880s, on the basis of nitroglycerin, smokeless propellants were developed: ballistite, patented by Nobel in 1888, and cordite, patented in England by Abel and Dewar, regardless of Nobel's ballistite in 1889 (Nobel himself considered the differences between cordite and ballistite insignificant and led an inconclusive litigation litigation in an attempt to defend his patent). In contrast, the smokeless powder Poudre B, developed earlier in France by Paul Viel, did not contain nitroglycerin and consisted mainly of nitrocellulose. The dynamite itself, despite the long-term efforts of military researchers and the invention of relatively safe camphor varieties, did not find wide application in military affairs due to the increased danger and sensitivity to bullets, although camphor dynamites were used in the Russian army and in the First World War.

The samples adopted for service fired elongated feathered high-explosive projectiles weighing up to several hundred kilograms, equipped with explosive jelly, which accounted for up to 75% of the projectile's weight, at a distance of several kilometers. Dynamite guns lost their importance by the 1900s, when more stable explosives (melinite, TNT, and others) spread, with which it became possible to equip high-explosive shells of classical powder artillery, which also had higher initial speeds and therefore allowed a greater firing range.

Built specifically for testing pneumatic guns, the "dynamite cruiser" USS Vesuvius was completed in 1890 and, after experimental firing in 1891 and 1893, even participated in the Spanish-American war of 1898, shelling Santiago at night. Then, however, she was laid up and in 1904 was turned into an experimental torpedo ship with the dismantling of all dynamite guns. Another ship with a dynamite gun - the Brazilian auxiliary cruiser Niteroi - made only a single symbolic shot from it on March 15, 1894, on the day the rebellion was finally suppressed in Rio de Janeiro.

Criminal use of dynamites

Almost immediately, the benefits of dynamite were appreciated by both criminals and terrorist organizations. An attempt to undermine the Moselle packet boat at sea in order to obtain insurance by the American sailor William King-Thomassen - a former explosive saboteur of the Confederate Army - ended in failure when, on December 11, 1875, a barrel of frozen home-made dynamite with a clockwork exploded while being loaded onto a ship, killing about 80 Human . Between March 1883 and January 1885, there were 13 dynamite explosions in London organized by extremist supporters of Irish Home Rule from the Clan-at-Gail organization, including an explosion at Scotland Yard and an attempt to blow up London Bridge. The Russian revolutionary party "Narodnaya Volya" was actively engaged in the production of dynamite for carrying out terrorist acts. In Europe, dynamite was used for the same purposes by radical anarchists. As formulated in 1886 August Spice, editor of an anarchist newspaper in Chicago, "a pound of dynamite is worth a bushel of bullets" (Eng. A pound of dynamite is worth a bushel of bullets) .

The heyday of the use of dynamites

By the 1890s, Nobel managed dozens of enterprises producing tens of thousands of tons of dynamite per year. All the fortune earned mainly on dynamite and oil, about 32 million crowns, Nobel, who died in 1896, bequeathed to form a fund that annually awards Nobel Prizes.

By 1910, the production of dynamite in the world reached hundreds of thousands of tons per year, several million tons of dynamite were spent on the construction of the Panama Canal alone. By the 1920s, the number of grades of dynamite produced was in the hundreds, although there was already a trend to replace them with newer, safer and more cost-effective explosives.

At first, varieties with passive adsorbents, such as diatomaceous earth, were more popular, but by the 1920s they had almost only historical interest, giving way to various more powerful recipes with nitroglycerin adsorbents burning in detonation, such as organic resins, saltpeter and even sugar. This was a consequence of the fact that nitroglycerin is an explosive in excess of oxygen, that is, when nitroglycerin is detonated, pure oxygen is released, which can be used as an oxidizing agent for the adsorbent and other additives in order to enhance the explosion.

Sunset of dynamites

Despite competition from new saltpeter-based compounds, dynamites remained the main industrial explosive in many countries, such as England and Sweden, until the middle of the 20th century. In South Africa - the world's largest producer and consumer of dynamite for several decades since the 1940s - dynamite was actively used in gold mines and remained the main explosive until 1985, when the AECI, under the influence of trade unions, converted factories to the production of saltpeter-based explosives .

In Russia, the production of semi-plastic dynamites began in the second half of the 1870s, and until 1932, dynamites with a nitroester content of 93, 88, 83 and 62% were produced, after which the production of the first three grades was curtailed due to their greater danger compared to with 62% dynamite. After the Great Patriotic War, the production of hard-freezing 62% dynamite based on a mixture of nitroglycerin and nitrodiglycol was resumed, but by the beginning of the 1960s it was also forced out of industry, in the USSR only the production of powdered compositions with a liquid nitroester content of about 15% (detonites, carbonites and etc) . At the same time, some authors classify explosives with a low content of nitroesters as dynamites, while others do not. In the early 1960s, the production of classic dynamite in the USSR was completely discontinued.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, in the mining industry in the USA, safety dynamites gained popularity for some time, in which a mixture of metriol trinitrate and diethylene glycol dinitrate, which had the advantage that these compounds do not cause headaches on contact, unlike nitroglycerin. By the beginning of the 21st century, their production was curtailed.

In the total circulation of explosives in the world, dynamite now occupies a maximum of 2%.

The role of dynamites in the history of technology, their advantages and disadvantages

Dynamites were the first mixed high explosives to be widely used in mining, and they played a significant role in the development of explosives. Dynamites surpassed the earlier main explosive - black gunpowder - in almost all respects: in the strength of the explosion and energy concentration (the heat of the explosion of dynamite is 7100-10 700 MJ / m³), ​​in water resistance and plasticity, in safety in handling. These advantages made the use of dynamites especially effective for one of the main methods of blasting at that time - the blasthole method with manual loading of blastholes with cartridges. In general, the introduction of dynamite greatly simplified the technology of blasting, allowing the transition from chamber and small-hole charges to borehole charges.

Along with the advantages, dynamites also have disadvantages. They are very sensitive to mechanical stress and therefore dangerous to handle, especially frozen and semi-thawed dynamites - which requires well-heated warehouses for storing dynamite: for example, dynamites using pure nitroglycerin freeze at temperatures of 10-12 ° C and lose plasticity, to lower the temperature freezing, other nitroesters are also added to dynamites, such as nitroglycol. Negative qualities of gelatin-dynamites (cm. ) are aging (partial loss of detonation during storage, although much less pronounced than other dynamites) and freezing at temperatures below −20 °C. A common hazard due to mechanical sensitivity was the possibility of detonation of cartridge residues in the hole cups during subsequent hole drilling. Another historical disadvantage of dynamites was the exudation of nitroglycerin - dropping it on the surface of the dynamite, "sweating" nitroglycerin - which, on contact, causes a prolonged headache, and is also more explosive than the dynamite itself (similar problems existed in explosive jellies).

In terms of economic efficiency of production, dynamites are significantly inferior to more modern industrial explosives based on ammonium nitrate. Another factor hindering their use is their poor suitability due to high sensitivity and release form (cartridges with a diameter of 20-40 mm) for use in automatic systems for loading explosives, although similar attempts were made in Sweden based on pneumatic systems.

Types and production of dynamites

general review

Characteristics of Soviet dynamite 62%

Compound
nitro mixture	62 %
colloxylin	3,5 %
sodium nitrate	32 %
wood flour	2,5 %
Property	Meaning
Shock sensitivity with 2 kg load	25 cm
Flash point	205°C
Velocity detonation	6000 m/s
Heat of Explosion	1210 kcal/kg
The temperature of the explosion products	4040°C
Volume of explosion products	630 l/kg
Brisance according to Hess	16 mm
Working capacity according to Trauzl	350 cm³
explosion efficiency	76 %
TNT equivalent	1,2

The main explosive component of dynamites is nitroglycerin, to which nitroglycol or diethylene glycol dinitrate(the resulting mixture is often called a nitro mixture). According to the composition of additional ingredients, dynamites are divided into mixed and gelatin-dynamites, and according to the proportion of nitroglycerin into high and low percentages. The bulk of the use historically fell on dynamites with 40-60% nitroglycerin content, including 62% dynamite in the USSR.

The composition of mixed dynamites, in addition to the nitros mixture, includes a powdered porous absorber. In particular, gurdynamite (high percentage mixed dynamite) is 75% nitroglycerin and 25% diatomaceous earth, forming a friable wet mass resembling black earth (diatomaceous earth was also used as an absorbent in Nobel's patented dynamite, another early absorbent was magnesium carbonate). In low-percentage mixed dynamites with a heat of explosion of 1200-1400 kcal / kg (detonites), diethylene glycol dinitrate, aluminum powder or ammonium nitrate can be used as an absorber. Gelatin-dynamites are based on gelatinized nitroesters obtained by adding up to 10% colloxylin to the base substance. Among the gelatin-dynamites, the so-called explosive jelly stands out - nitroglycerin with the addition of 7-10% colloxylin, which gives the heat of the explosion 1550 kcal / kg and has a detonation velocity of 8 km / s. The composition of gelatin-dynamites, in addition to nitroether and colloxylin, may include sodium and potassium nitrate, combustible additives (wood flour) and stabilizers (soda).

Historical varieties of dynamites and their properties

The compositions of dynamites varied widely depending on their purpose. So, dynamites intended for use in coal mines, where ignition and detonation of coal dust or methane released from seams is possible, contain a small amount of nitroglycerin (10-40%), often mixed with ammonium nitrate (20-80% - if available), and various additives that reduce the temperature of the resulting gases. Such dynamites were produced under the brands of grizutins, grisutites, carbonites and are generally called antigrisut or safety. Explosive jelly, containing about 90% nitroglycerin, 7-12% colloidal pyroxylin, and sometimes several percent of various additives, was used in blasting in especially viscous and hard rocks, and closely related gelatinous or gelatin-dynamites with significant additions of saltpeter and less explosive power - for softer rocks and when you need to get large fragments. The so-called military dynamites, especially resistant to mechanical stress - up to the absence of detonation when hit by bullets, were made from explosive jelly with the addition of a few percent of vaseline and camphor. Economic dynamites were similar in composition to gelatinous, but were intended for surface blasting, such as uprooting stumps, and often included saltpeter, sulfur, and wood flour. Hard-freezing dynamites were in particular demand in the Scandinavian countries and included a variety of additives that lower the freezing point of nitroglycerin.

For a long time, the standard against which all types of dynamite were compared was "gur-dynamite No. 1" or simply "dynamite No. 1", consisting of 75% nitroglycerin, 24.5% diatomaceous earth and 0.5% soda. This dynamite had a density of 1.67 g/cm³ and was a plastic mass, greasy to the touch, the color of which varied around brown with an admixture of red due to the use of different grades of diatomaceous earth. Gur-dynamite was not hygroscopic, but when it came into contact with water, it slowly displaced nitroglycerin from the pores of kieselguhr, so it had to be stored in dry rooms. Upon explosion, it did not form toxic gases, but left solid residues of the filler, and on direct contact caused a headache, like nitroglycerin.

Explosive jelly from nitroglycerin and collodion is a jelly-like transparent slightly yellowish substance resembling dense peach jelly in consistency. A typical composition of gelled dynamite, widely used in industry, was: 62.5% nitroglycerin, 2.5% colloidal cotton, 8% wood flour and 27% sodium nitrate.

Density of gur-dynamite is 1400-1500 kg/m³. The ignition temperature of jelly fulminate and dynamite containing 75% nitroglycerin is 180-200 °C. The volume of gases released per 1 kg of substance is 0.71 m³ for fulminating jelly (91.5% nitroglycerin and 8.5% colloidal pyroxylin), for gur-dynamite with 75% nitroglycerin - 0.63 m³, the heat of explosion at a constant volume - 1530 and 1150 cal/kg, temperature of detonation products - 3200-3550 and 3000-3150 °C, detonation velocity - 7700 and 6820 m/s, pressure developed by gases - 1.75 and 1.25 GPa, respectively. The detonation of dynamites does not occur even when they fall from a height of about tens of meters, but they are very sensitive to impacts with metal objects.

Modern dynamites

Modern industrial dynamites are produced in the form of cartridges with a diameter of 32 mm, weighing 150 g and 200 g, filled with a plastic or powdered oily explosive. Warranty period of storage - 6 months. They are divided into two groups:

The freezing point of ordinary dynamite is +8 °C, hard-freezing - -20 °C. Dynamites are highly sensitive and dangerous to handle, especially frozen - in this form they cannot be subjected to mechanical stress: cut, break, throw, and so on. Frozen dynamites are thawed before use.

There is only one company in the US that makes dynamite. Dyno Nobel(G. Carthage, Missouri). The total production of dynamite in the US in 2006 was approximately 14,000 tons. In addition, the so-called "military dynamite" is in service with the US Army, which, however, does not contain nitroesters, and consists of 75% RDX, 15% TNT and 10% desensitizers and plasticizers.

Weight composition (in %) of typical US-produced dynamites

Component	Dynamite	60% extra dynamite	Explosive jelly	60% extra gelatin	Economical dynamite
Nitro mixture	40,0	15,8	91,0	26,0	9,5
Nitrocellulose	0,1	0,1	6,0	0,4	0,1
ammonium nitrate	30,0	63,1	-	39,0	72,2
sodium nitrate	18,9	11,9	-	27,5	-
wood flour	8,0	3,4	0,5	2,0	2,4
Balsa	2,0	-	-	-	-
Starch or flour	-	3,9	1,5	3,8	4,0
Guar gum	-	1,3	-	-	1,3
Phenol microspheres	-	-	-	0,3	-
Sodium chloride	-	-	-	-	10,0
Talc	1,0	0,5	1,0	1,0	0,5

Dynamite production

The process of making dynamites is accompanied by all the precautions that are used in the manufacture of explosives: production is strictly regulated to prevent accidental detonation; the equipment is specially designed to minimize external influences on the components being mixed, such as fire, heat or shock; buildings and warehouses are specially strengthened, blast-proof roofs are erected in them and strict access control is created; buildings and warehouses are spread across the territory of factories and equipped with special heating, ventilation and electrical systems; all stages of processes are constantly monitored by automatic systems and workers; workers undergo special training, including medical training, to provide first aid to victims of an explosion, and their health is subject to enhanced monitoring.

The starting materials are a nitro mixture (nitroglycerin with ethylene glycol dinitrate, which lowers its freezing point), an absorbent and an antacid. First, the nitrous mixture is gradually added to a mechanical mixer, where it is absorbed by an adsorbent, now typically an organic substance such as wood or wheat flour, sawdust, and the like, with the possible addition of sodium and / or ammonium nitrate, which enhance the explosive properties of dynamite. Then about 1% of an antacid, typically calcium carbonate or zinc oxide, is added to completely neutralize the possible acidity of the adsorbent - in an acidic environment, nitroglycerin tends to decompose. After stirring, the mixture is ready for packaging.

Dynamites are usually cartridgeed in paper sleeves 2-3 cm in diameter and 10-20 cm in length, which are sealed with paraffin - it protects the dynamite from moisture and, as a hydrocarbon, enhances the explosion. Many other forms of dynamite are also produced, from small demolition cartridges to large charges up to 25 cm in diameter, up to 75 cm long and weighing up to 23 kg, used in open pit mining. Powdered form of dynamites is sometimes used, and gelled dynamites are available for underwater work.

Notes

1. Dick V.N. 3.5.2 Dynamites // Explosives, gunpowder and ammunition of domestic production. Part 1. Reference materials: Handbook. - Minsk: Okhotkontrakt, 2009. - S. 24. - 280 p. - ISBN 978-985-6911-02-9.
2. Dynamite(English) . - article from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
3. , With. 16-18.
4. , With. eighteen.
5. , With. 81.
6. , With. 82.
7. , With. 85.
8. , With. 18-19.
9. , With. 84-85.
10. , With. 86.
11. Alfred Nobel
12. 1867 - Alfred Nobel demonstrated for the first time dynamite
13. , With. nineteen.
14. , With. 26.
15. , With. 87.
16. , With. 651.
17. , With. 85-86.
18. , With. 88.
19. , With. 92.
20. , With. 682.
21. , With. 110.
22. , With. 110.
23. , With. 14.
24. , With. 684-685.
25. , With. 26-27.
26. , With. 27-28, 35.
27. , With. 28.
28. , With. 28-29.
29. , With. 30-31.
30. , With. 16-17.
31. Richard E. Rice. Smokeless powder: Scientific and institutional contexts at the end of the nineteenth century // Gunpowder, Explosives and the State: A Technological History / Brenda J. Buchanan (Ed.). - Ashgate, 2006. - P. 356-357. - ISBN 0-7546-5259-9.
32. , With. 15.
33. // Military Encyclopedia: [in 18 volumes] / ed. V. F. Novitsky [and others]. - St. Petersburg. ; [ M. ] : Type. t-va

Alfred Bernhard Nobel is a Swedish chemist, engineer and industrialist who invented dynamite and more powerful explosives and founded the Nobel Prize.

Biography

The future inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm (Sweden) on 10/21/1833. He was the fourth son of Emmanuel and Caroline Nobel. Emmanuel was an engineer who married Caroline Andriette Alsel in 1827. The couple had eight children, of whom only Alfred and three brothers reached adulthood. As a child, Nobel was often ill, but from an early age he showed a lively curiosity. He was interested in explosives and learned basic engineering from his father. In the meantime, my father failed in various commercial ventures until he moved to St. Petersburg in 1837, where he became a successful manufacturer of mines and tools.

Life abroad

In 1842 the Nobel family left Stockholm to join their father in St. Petersburg. Alfred's wealthy parents were now able to hire private tutors for him, and he proved to be an impatient student. By the age of 16, Nobel had become a competent chemist, fluent in English, German, French and Russian.

In 1850 Alfred left Russia to spend a year in Paris studying chemistry and then four years in the United States working under John Erickson, who was building the battleship Monitor. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, he worked at his father's factory, which produced military equipment during the Crimean War. After the end of hostilities in 1856, the company hardly switched to the manufacture of equipment for steamships and went bankrupt in 1859.

Bet on nitroglycerin

The future inventor of dynamite did not stay in Russia and returned to Sweden with his parents, and his brothers Robert and Ludwig decided to save the remnants of the family business. Alfred soon began experimenting with explosives in a small laboratory on his father's estate. At that time, the only reliable explosive used in the mines was black powder. The newly created liquid nitroglycerin was much more powerful, but it was so unstable that it could not provide any kind of safety. Nevertheless, in 1862 Nobel built a small factory to produce it, while doing research in the hope of finding a way to control its detonation.

In 1863 he invented a practical detonator consisting of a wooden plug inserted into a large charge of nitroglycerin stored in a metal container. The explosion of a small charge of black powder in the plug detonated a much more powerful charge of liquid explosive. This detonator began Nobel's reputation as an inventor, as well as the fortune he would acquire as a manufacturer of explosives.

In 1865, Alfred created an improved detonator cap, which consisted of a small metal cap with a charge of mercury fulminate, which was detonated either by impact or moderate heat. This invention marked the beginning of the modern use of explosives.

Accident

Nitroglycerin itself, however, was difficult to transport and extremely dangerous to handle. So dangerous that the Nobel factory exploded in 1864, killing his younger brother Emil and others. Undeterred by this tragic accident, Alfred built several software factories for use with his primers. These businesses were as safe as the knowledge of the time allowed, but accidental explosions continued to occur.

lucky accident

The second important invention of Nobel was dynamite. In 1867, he accidentally discovered that nitroglycerin was completely absorbed by porous silica, and the resulting mixture was much safer to use and easier to handle. Alfred - the inventor of dynamite (from the Greek δύναμις, "strength") - received patents for it in Great Britain (1867) and the USA (1868). Explosives glorified its creator all over the world, and soon it began to be used in the construction of tunnels and canals, the construction of railways and roads.

Explosive jelly

In the 1870s and 1880s, the inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel, built a network of explosives factories throughout Europe and formed a network of corporations to sell them. He also continued to experiment in search of the best of them, and in 1875 created a more powerful form of dynamite, explosive jelly, which he patented the following year. Again, by accident, he discovered that a mixture with a loose fibrous substance known as nitrocellulose forms a dense, plastic material with high water resistance and greater explosive power. In 1887, Nobel introduced ballistite, nitroglycerin smokeless powder, and a precursor to cordite. Although Alfred held patents for dynamite and other explosives, he was in constant conflict with competitors who stole his technology, forcing him into protracted patent disputes on several occasions.

Oil, weapons, wealth

The brothers and Robert, meanwhile, developed the newly discovered oil fields near Baku (now in Azerbaijan) near the Caspian Sea and became very wealthy themselves. Worldwide sales of explosives, as well as participation in the brothers' companies in Russia, brought Alfred a huge fortune. In 1893, the inventor of dynamite became interested in the Swedish war industry, and the following year bought an iron smelter at Bofors, near Värmland, which became the center of a famous arms factory. In addition to explosives, Nobel invented many other things, such as leather, and in total he registered more than 350 patents in various countries.

Ascetic, writer, pacifist

The inventor of dynamite, Nobel, had a complex personality that puzzled his contemporaries. Although business interests required him to travel almost constantly, he remained a solitary recluse who was prone to bouts of depression. Alfred led a solitary and simple life, he was a man of ascetic habits, but he could also be a polite host, a good listener, and a man of penetrating mind.

The inventor of dynamite was never married, and apparently preferred the joy of creativity to romantic attachments. He had an abiding interest in literature, writing plays, novels, and poetry that remained almost entirely unpublished. He had amazing energy, and it was not easy for him to relax after intense work. Among his contemporaries he had a reputation as a liberal or even a socialist, but in fact he distrusted democracy, was opposed to women's suffrage, and maintained a mild paternalism towards his many employees. Although the Swedish inventor of dynamite was essentially a pacifist and expressed the hope that the destructive power of his creations would help end the war, his view of humanity and nations was pessimistic.

Will Surprise

By 1895, Alfred developed angina pectoris, and on December 10 of the following year he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in his own villa in San Remo (Italy). By this time, Nobel's business empire consisted of more than 90 explosives and ammunition factories. His will, drawn up in Paris on 11/27/1895 and deposited in a bank in Stockholm, contained a big surprise for his family, friends and the general public. The inventor of dynamite has always been generous to humanitarian and scientific charities and left much of his fortune in trust to found the most highly regarded international award, the Nobel Prize.

Death of a merchant of death

One can only speculate about the reasons for this decision. He was secretive and did not tell anyone about any of his decisions during the several months leading up to his death. The most plausible suggestion is that a strange incident in 1888 may have set off the chain of thought that led to his will. In the same year, Alfred's brother Ludwig died while in Cannes, France. The French press reported the death of his brother, but confused him with Alfred, and one of the newspapers came out with the headline "The merchant of death is dead." Perhaps the inventor of dynamite instituted the prizes to avoid precisely the kind of posthumous reputation expressed by this premature obituary. It is obvious that the established awards reflect his interest in the fields of chemistry, physics, physiology and literature. There is also abundant evidence that his friendship with the prominent Austrian pacifist Bertha von Suttner inspired him to create the Peace Prize.

Nobel himself, however, remains a figure full of paradoxes and contradictions: a brilliant lone man, part pessimist and part idealist, who invented the powerful explosives used in modern warfare and established the world's most prestigious prizes for intellectual services rendered to humanity.

Dynamite is a special explosive mixture based on nitroglycerin. It is worth noting that in its pure form this substance is extremely dangerous. While the impregnation of solid absorbents with nitroglycerin makes it safe for storage and use, convenient to use. Dynamite may also contain other substances. As a rule, the resulting mass has the shape of a cylinder and is packed in paper or plastic.

Invention of dynamite

An important event for the invention of dynamite was the discovery of nitroglycerin. This happened in 1846. The discoverer was the Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero. For powerful explosives, factories immediately began to be built all over the world. One of them opened in Russia. Domestic chemists Zinin and Petrushevsky were looking for a way to use it safely. One of their students was

In 1863, Nobel discovered the detonator cap, which greatly simplified the practical use of nitroglycerin. This was achieved through activation with the help Many today consider this discovery of Nobel more important than the discovery of dynamite.

Dynamite itself was patented by a Swedish chemist 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 walks the planet

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

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

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

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

What is dynamite made of?

As soon as the industrialists and military men of the world found out what was in dynamite, they immediately set up its production. It continues to be released today. Nowadays, it is cartridges weighing up to 200 grams, which can be used for six months. There are high percentages and low percentages.

Despite the fact that the composition of dynamite from different manufacturers was somewhat different, its main components, of course, remained unchanged.

The main one is nitro mixture. It began to be used to increase frost resistance. It consisted of nitroglycerin and dinitroglycol. This is the main component, which occupied up to 40% of the weight. The next largest component is ammonium nitrate (up to 30%), almost 20% went to sodium nitrate. The remaining components were used to a much lesser extent - these are nitrocellulose, balsa and talc.

Dynamite in the service of criminals

One of the first to understand what dynamite is, criminals of all stripes and terrorist organizations. One of the first crimes involving this explosive occurred in the United States in 1875. American sailor William Kong-Thomassen tried to undermine the Moselle ship that had gone to sea in order to obtain insurance. However, a barrel of homemade dynamite exploded in the port during loading. The tragedy claimed the lives of 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 advocating the separation of Ireland from Great Britain staged a series of explosions with dynamite. Including an explosion at the headquarters of the British police Scotland Yard and an attempt to undermine

This substance was also used by fighters against autocracy in Russia. In particular, the People's Will party. In Europe, dynamite was massively used by anarchists.

The popularity of dynamite is falling

For many years, most industrialists believed that dynamite was the main explosive in mining and the discovery of new minerals. It withstood the competition of saltpeter until the middle of the 20th century. In some countries - until the mid-80s. For example, dynamite was very popular in South Africa. It was used here in the gold mines. Already closer to the 90s, under the pressure of trade union organizations, most of the factories were converted to safer explosives based on saltpeter.

In Russia, dynamite was also mass-produced after the Great Patriotic War. The hard-freezing composition was especially popular. The explosive substance left the domestic industry only in the 60s.

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