Dynamite

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Dynamite is an explosive invented by Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in 1867 and is used particularly for mining and demolition. It's usually in the form of a stick roughly 8 inches long and 1 inch in diameter, but other sizes do exist. Dynamite rapidly gained in popularity as a safer alternative to gunpowder and nitroglycerin after its introduction.

The word dynamite comes from the Greek word δυναμις (dunamis), meaning power, and the Swedish suffix -it. Nobel sold it as "Nobel's Safety Blasting Powder".

For Nobel, who later founded the Nobel Prize, the invention of dynamite resulted in an enormous fortune. He had very tight controls over the patent, and unlicensed replicas of his invention were quickly shut down, although a few American businessmen got around the patent by using a slightly different formula.

Composition

Dynamite contains a mixture of explosives, including nitroglycerin, ammonium nitrate and sodium nitrate, absorbed in an inert material. The original explosive in dynamite was nitroglycerin, but the extreme sensitivity of this liquid explosive meant it was very dangerous to handle, eventually causing nitroglycerin to be banned in Europe. Nobel solved this problem by absorbing the nitroglycerin in a certain type of soil, a "diatomaceous earth" called Kieselguhr, forming the mixture into short sticks and wrapping them in paper to form dynamite. Absorbents used since Nobel invented dynamite include sawdust and silica.

Sweating

Dynamite is insensitive to impact, friction and shock. A stick can even be placed in a fire, where it will burn but not explode. To cause an explosion, a blasting cap or similar device must be used. However, during long-term storage, old dynamite will 'sweat'. Nitroglycerin will pass out of the absorbent to form drops of pure liquid on the surface of the stick. This is a serious safety hazard, and it has led to a decrease in the popularity of dynamite in recent years.

On occasion, criminals interested in safe-cracking have deliberately extracted nitroglycerin from dynamite. This was done by boiling up the sticks and 'skimming' the nitroglycerin as it was forced out.

Dynamite

Composition

Sweating

See also