Dynamite is probably the worlds best known explosive substance.  It was invented in 1866 in Krummel Geesthacht, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel (posthumous founder of the Nobel Prize) Alfred Nobel b`1833 - d`1896 age 63  Dynamite was originally called ' Nobel's Blasting Powder' and advertised (correctly) as being more powerful for blasting than gunpowder. Dynamite is based on the explosive liquid nitroglycerine using diatomaceous earth, this earth is soft sediment that resembles chalk that is formed from a basis of rock, it easily crumbles into a fine abrasive powder.  In 1866 Alfred Nobel realised that nitroglycerine could be made into a much more stable substance if it was absorbed into this earth powder. Alfred Nobel knew he was onto a winner and he religiously guarded his patent on it and anyone making dynamite without his licence was shut down by law enforcement agencies.  In total, Alfred Nobel actually held 355 different patents in the fields of physiology, optics, electrochemistry and biology. Nobels dynamite was originally made from 3 parts nitorglycerine, 1 part diatomaceous earth powder mixed with sodium carbonate.  The mixture was then rolled into cylindrical shapes and then covered with paper and later, waxed paper.  Nitroglycerine is a duo based liquid substance made from a balance of nitric and sulphuric acid along with glycerine and is exceedingly powerful but has the great disadvantage that it is shock sensitive and even strong vibrations can set it off, and over short spaces of time it can degrade into an even more unstable form. The manufacture and transportation of this liquid was always deemed as amongst the most hazardous occupations in the world and over the years when it was in use it was responsible for many accidental deaths. Dynamite was in instant success as it could be handled easily without danger of it blowing up unintentionally.  Unlike mythical representations of dynamite in the movies whereas a flaming arrow lands in a case of dynamite and it blows up this is totally false.  Dynamite will not blow up if heated by a naked flame, in fact miners of old could technically put dynamite into a fire if it got damp, to dry it out and it would not explode. Dynamite needs to be detonated to make it explode, a detonator like the one seen below, would be stuck into the dynamite and the detonator would explode with an electrical charge and this initial explosion would then explode the dynamite. Alfred Nobel was also responsible for inventing this detonator and got it patented in 1863. Making dynamite made the handling and transportation of nitro-glycerine many times safer and stable than in its natural base and in 1867 Alfred Nobel patented the substance.  Dynamite is usually formed into a stick, 20 centimetres long and 2.5 centimetres in diameter.  It is classed as a high explosive as detonates instantly rather than rapid combustion as gunpowder does, on the same scale gunpowder is slow burning. Dynamite is also manufactured in another form that consists of nitroclycerine mixed with Ketone an acetatone based element that results in a substance like cordite, cordite was used in British army rifle ammunition during WWII.  This form of dynamite is more safer to handle than the raw nitroclycerine based dynamite. Before dynamite was invented, people used the dangerous to handle nytroglycerine or the not so relatively powerful black powder (gun powder).  Nitroglycerine was invented by the Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero in 1847 but after nearly blowing his head off whilst experimenting with it, he stated the substance to be too dangerous and his scars were a testimony to this. Dynamite will 'sweat' in warm weather and if kept for long periods, it sweats pure nitroglycerine that can drip or crystallize making it very dangerous to use.  The picture below actually shows a stick of dynamite that has started to decompose and the nitroglycerine can be seen forming in crystalline form around the surface. Dynamite is used in open mines, quarries and for the demolition of buildings.  It was also used predominantly in WII but due to the unstable nature of nitroglycerine and that fact that different temperatures also effect its stability  it is now obsolete for military use and another form of dynamite based explosives are now used. Below is seen a 7 stick bundle of WWII German Army dynamite with the detonator in the middle stick.  This is a film prop, as 60 year old dynamite would be inherently unstable...but it sure looks authentic. The youtube video below shows 100 tons of ordnance being detonated with dynamite...   Dynamite that the military use is quite a stable substance which is made from TNT-trinitrotoluene, RDX-cyclotrimethylene trinitramine and an anti-freeze compound.  This explosive is similar to the raw power of nitroclycerine based dynamite by 60% and is henceforth known as 60% straight dynamite. The youtube video below shows the power of 1 million lbs of dynamite... Debeers of South Africa was the largest producer of dynamite and this fell in nicely with all the mining for gold that started in earnest around the turn of the century and up to 1907 they was producing about 8500 tons of dynamite per year.  Dynamite or new variations of it, is still extensively used in the blasting of gold and diamond mines in South Africa. One stick of dynamite produces about 2,100,000 joules of energy when detonated or enough to completely blow up an automobile or at least...make a big hole in the ground.  As stated earlier dynamite has long been surpassed for use in the military, as today substances like Semtex or C4 plastic explosive is used.  This an explosive compound that is mixed with solvents and a base compound that leaves the explosive resembling a lump of modelling putty, this keeps the explosive compound compacted together in a very stable and easy to handle condition until it is needed to blow something up. Until recently, the use of Semtex plastic explosive was very easy to hide and was favored by suicide bombers/terrorists who could smuggle it aboard airliners, this has all changed now and with the use of modern electronic detecting equipment all explosives can be detected. A curious use for nitroglycerine is in the form of medication, the pharmaceutical drug called glyceryl trinitrate is actually powdered nitroglycerine and it is used for heart conditions such as angina pectoris and other cardiac complaints.  There is also a nitroglycerine spray for the same complaints. I should imagine that the liquid in this medication has been chemically altered to stop it from being volatile, otherwise it would be a bit risky giving the bottle a shake... Also According to the study nitroglycerine patches for pregnant women can stop premature birth by helping to extend pregnancy and most prominently actually improves the babies outcome, with only slight side effects than those experienced through the use of other drugs.  Fascinating but true, like the medical use of rat poison for patients with blood conditions, but that's another story. I hope you enjoyed reading and you think this page is dynamite ! If you don't, then maybe I can persuade you to agree that the domain name www.dynamite.com that is for sale, truly is blown skyhigh with its $25 million price tag!!  Some people are real dreamers in this word ! You may also be interested in my web page about the Atomic Bomb, just click this line of text to visit.

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