dynamite
Dynamite ( Gr. Δύναμις dýnamis 'force') is an explosive invented in 1866 by the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel .
history
Alfred Nobel developed the dynamite in his Krümmel explosives factory located near Geesthacht , on the site of today's Helmholtz Center Geesthacht (HZG) . In 1867 he had his invention protected by patents in various countries, for example in Great Britain on May 7th (number GB1345), in Sweden on September 19, 1867 and in the USA under number 78,317 on May 26, 1868.
During his studies in Paris in 1850, Alfred Nobel met Ascanio Sobrero , who had discovered nitroglycerin three years earlier , but considered it to be impractical due to its sensitivity to impact and fire. Nobel showed great interest in the invention and, since 1862, directed his efforts towards introducing nitroglycerin into technology as an explosive. Several accidents occurred during Nobel's experiments with nitroglycerin. In an explosion of 125 kilograms of nitroglycerine stored in his laboratory in September 1864, his brother Emil, the engineer Hertzman, the maid Maria, the errand boy Herman and the carpenter Johan Peter Nyman died. In order to reduce the danger of nitroglycerine while maintaining the same explosive power, Nobel experimented unsuccessfully with various additives. According to legend, coincidence finally helped: in 1866, during one of the numerous transports of nitroglycerin, an incident occurred in which one of the transport containers leaked and pure nitroglycerin dripped onto the kieselguhr- padded loading area of the transport vehicle. The resulting pulpy mass caught the workers' attention, so they later reported the incident to Nobel. This succeeded thus finally the longed for producing a handhabungssichereren detonation explosives , the (already invented by Nobel) through an initial spark for the explosion could be brought. Nobel himself denied that it was a chance discovery. He patented the process, which was optimized in a mixing ratio of 3: 1, in 1867 and named his product dynamite. Alfred Nobel had thus invented the first technically manageable explosive that was significantly more powerful than black powder . In the course of the then rapidly increasing industrialization, there was a great need for such potent explosives in mining , quarries and the construction of routes and tunnels for traffic routes. For commercial exploitation of the invention, Alfred Nobel sold the patents for dynamite to Basil Zaharoff . The new explosives, which were produced in large quantities, made railroad and road construction cheaper and much faster.
composition
A. Kieselguhr soaked with nitroglycerine B. Protective cover C. Detonator D. Fuse cord / ignition cable
Dynamite consists of 75% nitroglycerine as an explosive component, 24.5% diatomaceous earth as a carrier material and 0.5% sodium carbonate (soda) as a chemical stabilizer.
hazards
After dynamite became available in large quantities, serious accidents occurred again as a result of improper handling of the explosives. The inconsistency in humid environments was a major problem. Nitroglycerin slowly escaped from damp dynamite or dynamite dipped in water and, due to its density, could then collect in significant quantities unnoticed in sinks, puddles, barrels etc. and explode unexpectedly. Frozen dynamite is also sensitive to impact, as happened during the construction of the Jungfrau Railway , which was driven at great heights in winter.
The abuse of dynamite as a terrorist instrument in the late 19th century led to explosives bombers being referred to as dynamitars .
Further developments
A further development was the gelatinized dynamite ( explosive gelatine ), in which the nitroglycerin was bound insoluble in water by means of collodion . Diatomaceous earth was no longer used here, as this reduced the explosiveness . Contrary to popular belief, Alfred Nobel's classic (gur) dynamite was never used in war , as it was still far too sensitive for this purpose. Dynamite has not been used commercially for many decades. It was replaced by ammonium dynamite (ammonite), invented in 1910, and the gelatinous ammonium nitrate explosives ( ANC explosives ), which are significantly cheaper and safer to handle with the same explosiveness and higher work performance, as well as various mixtures of dynamite with other explosives ( safety dynamites ) .
Web links
- On the history of dynamite
- Alfred Nobel and the discovery of dynamite with special consideration of ethical issues in natural science (accessed on May 11, 2020)
- Basic knowledge of explosives (accessed on May 11, 2020)
- The explosives of Dynamit-Actien-Gesellschaft (accessed on May 11, 2020)
- Decree introducing general regulations on the manufacture, storage, possession, distribution, transport and use of explosives (accessed on May 11, 2020)
Individual evidence
- ^ Wikisource, entry Alfred Nobel .
- ↑ Spiegel: Knall auf Knall , Retrieved September 22, 2009.
- ↑ Bárbara Meyer: Social Implications of West German Post-War Films , 1964, p. 44.
- ^ Christian Reder (editor). Gray Danube, Black Sea: Vienna, Sulina, Odessa, Yalta, Istanbul, p. 135.
- ↑ Hans Knoblich: The copper world market. Series Nürnberger Abhandlungen zu den Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften , Issue 18, Verlag Duncker & Humblot, (1962), p. 147 ( Google Books ).