"King of dynamite", engineer and playwright: what Alfred Nobel is famous for. History of the invention of dynamite
Alfred Bernhard Nobel Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator and weapons manufacturer.
Most important invention Nobel was in the creation of dynamite.
He also owned the Swedish metallurgical concern, the Bofors arms company, which was a major manufacturer of guns and other weapons. Multiple inventions by Nobel were registered in the development and application of 350 different patents. He bequeathed his successful arms business and acquired property to the Institute posthumously. Nobel Prize. In addition, the synthetic element Nobelium was named after him. His name also survives in today's huge international industrial empires, such as the German firm Dynamit Nobel and the Dutch-Swedish group Akzo Nobel.
Life and career
Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, the fourth son of an inventor and engineer. The family was poor, and only Alfred and his three brothers survived past childhood. Since childhood, the boy was interested in mechanical engineering, explosives, studying the basic principles of mechanics, physics, chemistry at a young age. Alfred Nobel inherited his interest in technology from his father, a graduate of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
After various business failures, Nobel's father moved to St. Petersburg in 1837 and in 1842 the family and the future inventor of dynamite joined him in the city. Now the parents of an already prosperous family were able to send the future inventor to private tutors and the boy excelled in his studies, especially in chemistry and languages, achieving fluency in English, French, German and Russian. As a young man he studied with the famous Russian organic chemist Nikolai Zinin and then, in 1850, went to Paris to further work. At 18, he left for the United States for four years to study chemistry, collaborating for a short period with the Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer John Eriksson, who designed warships.
The future inventor Nobel filed his first patent in 1857.
The family factory produced weapons for the Crimean War (1853 - 1856), but when the fighting ended they filed for bankruptcy. In 1859, the Nobels' father left his factory to his second son, Ludwig (1831-1888), who greatly improved the business. His entire family and parents returned to Sweden from Russia, and the future founder of the Nobel Prize began studying explosives. Due to the special danger of substances, the manufacture and use of nitroglycerin (discovered in 1847 by Ascanio Sobrero, one of his fellow students at the University of Paris) was special. Nobel invented the detonator in 1863 and in 1865 the fuse.
On September 3, 1864, a room used to prepare nitroglycerin exploded at a plant in Stockholm, killing five people, including the death of a younger brother. Nobel went on to build further factories with an emphasis on improving the stability of the explosives he was developing.
Nobel's main invention as dynamite was registered in 1867.
The substance is easier and safer to handle than the more unstable nitroglycerin. Dynamite has been patented in the US and UK and is widely used in the mining industry and in the construction of transportation networks internationally.
In 1875 Nobel's invention was still gelignite, a more stable and powerful substance than dynamite and in 1887 he patented ballistic smokeless powder.
Inventor Nobel was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1884, which would later select winners for the Nobel Prizes. The future founder received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in 1893.
The brothers Ludwig and Robert, thanks to exploited oil fields along the Caspian Sea, became extremely wealthy in their own right. The inventor of dynamite invested his accumulated wealth by developing these new oil regions.
During his lifetime, Nobel filed 350 patents internationally and set up 90 arms factories, despite his belief in pacifism.
In 1888, the death of his brother Ludwig changed his attitude towards wealth. The newspaper erroneously published an obituary that Alfred, the inventor of dynamite, "the merchant of death is dead". After reading his own obituary and evaluating his work, the inventor created a fund that will be given to those who have brought the greatest benefit to people.
In 1891, after the death of his mother and his brother Ludwig Nobel moved from Paris to San Remo, Italy. Suffering from a sore throat, Nobel died at home from a hemorrhage in 1896. Familyless, he left much of his wealth in trust to fund the awards that became known as the Nobel Prize.
Inventions and discoveries of Nobel
Nobel's discoveries were that when nitroglycerin is combined with an absorbent inert substance like diatomaceous earth (rock) it becomes safer and more convenient to handle, and this mixture he patented in 1867 as "dynamite". The inventor demonstrated his explosive for the first time in a quarry in Surrey, England. In order to improve the image of his business from the controversy associated with dangerous explosives, the scientist lived next to dynamite for some time.
Later, the inventor, in combination with various nitrocellulose compounds, settled on more effective prescription and got a clear, jelly that was a more powerful explosive than dynamite. "Gelignite" or explosive gelatin, as it was called, was patented in 1876 and there were many similar combinations, modifications and additions of potassium nitrate and various other substances.
Gelignite was a more stable, transportable and convenient format to fit into drilling and mining holes than previously used compounds and was adopted as the standard technology for mining in the engineering age. This brought a large amount of financial success in the form of money. Research led to the development of ballistics, the forerunner of many modern smokeless explosives still used as propellants.
Nobel Prize
In 1888, the scientist's brother Ludwig died while visiting Cannes and a French newspaper erroneously published an obituary for Alfred. The newspaper condemned him for inventing dynamite and he decided to leave his best legacy after his death as a Nobel Prize.
On November 27, 1895, when visiting the Swedish-Norwegian club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament in which he set aside the bulk of his property for the creation of the Nobel Prizes, awarded annually without distinction of nationality.
After taxes, 94% of his total assets in the amount of SEK 31,225,000 were set aside from the bequest to establish five Nobel Prizes. This converted to $250,000,000 ($250 million) at the time.
The annual Nobel Prize is just over $1 million.
A total of five awards: the first three of these prizes are awarded for merit in physical science, chemistry and medicine or physiology, the fourth in literary work and the fifth prize is given to the person or society that renders the greatest service to the cause of international brotherhood, in the suppression or reduction of armies, institutions or the achievement of peace.
In his will, the founder provides that the money goes for discoveries or inventions in the natural sciences and discoveries or improvements in chemistry. He opened the door to technological solutions, but left no instructions on how to interpret the differences between science and technology.
Since decisions are made by scientific bodies, prizes go to scientists more often than to engineers, technicians, and other inventors.
Since 1996, the Bank of Sweden has included the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, although there was nothing about economists in the founder's will.
In 2001, his great-nephew, Peter Nobel (b. 1931), asked the Bank of Sweden to differentiate the award for economists. This request is added to the controversy as to whether the Bank of Sweden should designate Alfred Nobel memorial prizes in economic sciences and call them the "Nobel Prize".
The invention of dynamite was outstanding.
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 practical use 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 mining hard 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.
Given that the composition of dynamite different manufacturers 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 mass-produced even 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.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel - chemist and engineer from Sweden, invented dynamite, explosive jelly, cordite.
The future scientist, a Swede by nationality, was born on October 21, 1833. Alfred's father was the autodidact inventor Immanuel Nobel, a peasant from the Nobelef district. The nugget scientist became famous for making military mines that were used by Russian artillery during the Crimean War. For this invention, the Swede was presented with an imperial award.
Mother Andrietta Nobel was a housewife, raised four sons: Alfred, Robert, Ludwig and Emil. The family first lived in Sweden, then moved to Finland, after which they emigrated to Russia, to St. Petersburg. Immanuel was engaged not only in weapons business, Nobel's father made a great contribution to the development of home heating systems using water vapor. The engineer invented machines for assembling wheels for carts.
Nobel's children were educated at home. They had governesses who taught the brothers natural sciences, literature and European languages. By the end of their studies, the boys were fluent in Swedish, Russian, French, English and German. At the age of 17, Alfred was sent on a trip to Europe and the USA. In the capital of France, the young man managed to work with the scientist Theophile Jules Peluza, who in 1936 determined what glycerin consists of. Peluza, together with Ascanio Sobrero in 1840-1843, worked on the creation of nitroglycerin.
Under the guidance of the Russian scientist Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin, Alfred became interested in studying glycerol trinitrate. Scientific work ultimately led the young scientist to an invention that made the chemist famous. The main work in the biography of Nobel is the creation of dynamite, which was recorded on May 7, 1867.
Science and inventions
From France, Nobel is sent to the United States to work together in the laboratory of the American inventor of Swedish origin, John Erickson, who developed the warship "Monitor", which participated in civil war northerners and southerners. The scientist was also studying the properties solar energy. A young student under the guidance of a master conducts independent chemical and physical experiments.
Returning to Stockholm, Nobel does not stop there. The chemist is working on the search active substance, which reduces the explosiveness of glycerol trinitrate. As a result of one experiment, which was carried out at the Nobel factories in Stockholm, on September 3, 1864, an explosion occurred. The accident claimed the lives of several people, including Emil's younger brother. At the time of the disaster young man barely 20 years old. The father did not survive the loss, fell ill after a stroke and did not get up until his death.
A month after the tragedy, Alfred managed to obtain a patent for nitroglycerin. After that, the engineer patented the creation of dynamite, a detonator of gelatinous dynamite and other explosives. The scientist also succeeded in the development of household devices: a refrigeration apparatus, a steam boiler, a gas burner, a barometer, a water meter. The chemist made 355 inventions in the field of biology, chemistry, optics, medicine, metallurgy.
Nobel first developed chemical composition artificial silk and nitrocellulose. The scientist popularized each invention with the help of lectures with demonstrations of the capabilities of the device or substance. Such presentations by the chemical engineer were famous among the inexperienced public, colleagues and friends of Nobel.
Dynamite invented by Alfred Nobel Nobel was fond of writing literary works, art books. The chemist's outlet was poetry and prose, the composition of which the scientist passed on in his spare time. One of the controversial works of Alfred Nobel was the play "Nimesis", which for many years was banned from publication and staging by church ministers, and only in 2003, on the scientist's memorial day, it was staged by the Stockholm Drama Theater.
Alfred Nobel's play "Nemesis" Alfred was interested in science, philosophy, history and literature. Nobel's friends were famous artists, writers, scientists, statesmen that time. Nobel was often invited to receptions and royal dinners. The inventor was an honorary member of many European academies of sciences: Swedish, English, Paris, Uppsala University. His track record includes French, Swedish, Brazilian, Venezuelan orders and awards.
The Nobel family experienced financial difficulties associated with constant spending on experiments. But in the end, the brothers acquired a stake in the Baku oil field and became rich.
At the International Peace Congress, which took place in Paris in 1889, Nobel delivered his own lectures. This caused sarcasm among some participants of the event. In the head of many leading figures of the world it did not fit how a person who invented a weapon of murder and war could appear at a peace meeting. In the press, Alfred was called the "King of Murder", "Blood Millionaire", "Explosive Death Speculator". Such an attitude towards the scientist upset him and almost broke him.
Personal life
Alfred Nobel lived as a bachelor, he did not have a wife. The first girl the future scientist fell in love with was a young pharmacist. Shortly after meeting Nobel, the young lady died of tuberculosis. Alfred did not cry for his beloved for long, the dramatic actress attracted the attention of the engineer, and Nobel even asked his mother for blessings on marriage. But the far-sighted Andriette did not approve of her son's choice. After breaking up with the theater star, Alfred went to work and stopped looking for a life partner.
But in 1874, there were changes in the personal life of the scientist. In search of a secretary, Alfred met Countess Bertha Kinsky, who soon became the scientist's lover. After several years of passionate friendship, the girl left her admirer and left for the capital of Austria to another groom.
In recent years, Alfred was attacked by an uneducated peasant woman who dreamed of becoming a wife. famous engineer. But Alfred Nobel categorically rejected the claims of the girl.
In 1893, Alfred Nobel drew up the first will, which indicated that a significant part of the scientist's capital should be transferred after the death of the chemist to the Royal Academy of Sciences. It was supposed to open a fund for the transferred amount, which would annually transfer an award for discoveries. At the same time, Nobel bequeathed 5% of the inheritance to Stockholm University, Stockholm Hospital and Karolinska Medical University.
Testament of Alfred Nobel But two years later, the will was changed. The document already canceled payments to relatives and organizations, and recommended the creation of a fund in which the scientist's capital would be stored in the form of shares and bonds. Income from securities was obliged to divide annually equally into five premiums. Each award (now the Nobel Prize) will recognize discoveries in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and the peace movement.
Death
On December 10, 1896, the engineer died of a stroke at his own villa in San Remo. The ashes of the scientist were transported to their homeland and buried in the cemetery of Norra.
Grave of Alfred Nobel Three years passed after the opening of the will and before the execution of the will of Alfred Nobel. After the formalities were settled by the Swedish parliament in 1901, the first cash awards were paid to distinguished scientists.
- According to rumors, Alfred came up with the main invention by accident: during the transportation of nitroglycerin, one bottle broke, the substance fell on the soil and an explosion occurred. But the scientist himself did not confirm this version. Nobel claimed that he achieved the necessary result through painstaking experiments.
- Alfred Nobel was buried by the public while still alive in 1888. The journalists perceived the erroneous message about the death of the scientist's elder brother as news of the death of Alfred Nobel and hurried to cover such a joyful event for them. In those days, Alfred learned how negatively society perceives the scientist's discoveries. Being a pacifist, Nobel came up with a way to whitewash his own name forever, bequeathing capital to future generations of scientists and peacemakers.
- Scientists wondered why the Nobel did not award a prize for achievements in mathematics. Many agreed that Alfred had a personal dislike for the mathematician Mittag-Leffler. But in fact, Alfred Nobel considered this science to be an auxiliary tool for conducting research in the field of chemistry and physics.
- A century later, in the United States, the Ig Nobel Prize was organized by the editor of a satirical publication, Mark Abrahams, which began to be awarded to inventors for the most unusual and unnecessary achievements.
Inventor Story by: Alfred Nobel
A country: Sweden
Time of invention: 1867
For several centuries, only one explosive was known to people - black, which was widely used both in war and in peaceful blasting. But the second half of the 19th century was marked by the invention of a whole family of new explosives, the destructive power of which was hundreds and thousands of times greater than that of gunpowder.
Their creation was preceded by several discoveries. As early as 1838, Pelouze carried out the first experiments on nitration. organic matter. The essence of this reaction is that many carbonaceous substances, when treated with a mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids, give up their hydrogen, take the nitro group NO2 in return and turn into a powerful explosive.
Other chemists have explored this interesting phenomenon. In particular, Shenbein, nitriding cotton, received pyroxylin in 1846. In 1847, acting in a similar way on glycerin, Sobrero discovered nitroglycerin, an explosive that had colossal destructive power. At first, nitroglycerin did not interest anyone. Sobrero himself returned to his experiments only 13 years later and described exact way nitration of glycerol.
After that, the new substance found some use in mining. Initially, it was poured into the well, plugged with clay and blasted by means of a cartridge immersed in it. However, the best effect was achieved by igniting a percussion cap with mercury fulminate.
What explains the exceptional explosive power of nitroglycerin? It was found that during the explosion, it decomposes, as a result of which CO2, CO, H2, CH4, N2 and NO gases are first formed, which again interact with each other with the release of a huge amount of heat. The final reaction can be expressed by the formula: 2C3H5(NO3)3 = 6CO2 + 5H2O + 3N + 0.5O2.
Heated to a huge temperature, these gases rapidly expand, exerting on environment colossal pressure. The end products of the explosion are completely harmless. All this seemed to make nitroglycerin indispensable in underground blasting. But it soon turned out that the manufacture, storage and transportation of this liquid explosive is fraught with many dangers.
In general, pure nitroglycerin is quite difficult to ignite from an open flame. Lit rotten in it without any consequences. But on the other hand, its sensitivity to shocks and concussions (detonation) was many times higher than that of black powder. Upon impact, often quite insignificant, in the layers subjected to shaking, there was a rapid increase in temperature until the explosive reaction began. The mini-explosion of the first layers produced a new impact on the deeper layers, and this continued until the explosion of the entire mass of matter occurred.
Sometimes, without any external influence, nitroglycerin suddenly began to decompose into organic acids, quickly darkened, and then the most insignificant shaking of the bottle was enough to cause a terrible explosion. After a number of accidents, the use of nitroglycerin was almost universally banned. Those industrialists who set up the production of this explosive had two options left - either to find a condition in which nitroglycerin would be less sensitive to detonation, or to curtail their production.
One of the first who became interested in nitroglycerin was the Swedish engineer Alfred Nobel, who founded a plant for its production. In 1864, his factory took off with the workers. Five people died, including Alfred's brother Emil, who was barely 20 years old. After this disaster, Nobel was threatened with significant losses - it was not easy to convince people to invest in such a dangerous enterprise.
For several years he studied the properties of nitroglycerin and eventually managed to establish a completely safe production of it. But the problem of transportation remained. After many experiments, Nobel found that nitroglycerin dissolved in alcohol is less sensitive to detonation. However, this method did not provide complete reliability. The search continued, and then an unexpected incident helped to solve the problem brilliantly.
When transporting bottles of nitroglycerin, in order to soften the shaking, they were placed in diatomaceous earth, a special diatomaceous earth mined in Hanover. Kieselguhr consisted of flint shells of algae with many cavities and tubules. And once, during the shipment, one bottle of nitroglycerin broke, and its contents spilled onto the ground. Nobel had the idea to make some experiments with this diatomaceous earth impregnated with nitroglycerin.
It turned out that the explosive properties of nitroglycerin did not decrease at all from the fact that it was absorbed by the porous earth, but its sensitivity to detonation decreased several times. In this state, it did not explode either from friction, or from a weak blow, or from burning. But on the other hand, when a small amount of mercury fulminate was ignited in a metal capsule, an explosion of the same force occurred that gave pure nitroglycerin in the same volume. In other words, it was exactly what was needed, and even much more than what Nobel hoped to get. In 1867, he took out a patent for a compound he discovered, which he called dynamite.
The explosive power of dynamite is as huge as that of nitroglycerin: 1 kg of dynamite in 1/50,000 seconds develops a force of 1,000,000 kgm, that is, sufficient to lift 1,000,000 kg per 1 m. Moreover, if 1 kg of black powder turned into gas for 0.01 seconds, then 1 kg of dynamite in 0.00002 seconds. But with all this, well-made dynamite exploded only from a very strong blow. Ignited by the touch of fire, it gradually burned without an explosion, with a bluish flame.
The explosion occurred only when a large mass of dynamite was ignited (more than 25 kg). Undermining dynamite, like nitroglycerin, was best done using detonation. For this purpose, Nobel in the same year 1867 invented a rattling primer detonator. Dynamite immediately found the widest application in the construction of highways, tunnels, canals, railways and other objects, which largely predetermined the rapid growth of the fortune of its inventor. Nobel founded the first factory for the production of dynamite in France, then he set up its production in Germany and England. For thirty years, the dynamite trade brought Nobel enormous wealth - about 35 million crowns.
The process of making dynamite was reduced to several operations. First of all, it was necessary to obtain nitroglycerin. This was the most difficult and dangerous moment in the entire production. The nitration reaction occurred when 1 part of glycerol was treated with 3 parts of concentrated nitric acid in the presence of 6 parts of concentrated sulfuric acid. The equation was as follows: C3H5(OH)3 + 3HNO3 = C3H5(NO3)3 + 3H2O.
Sulfuric acid did not participate in the compound, but its presence was necessary, firstly, to absorb the water released as a result of the reaction, which otherwise, diluting nitric acid, would thereby prevent the completeness of the reaction, and, secondly, to isolate the resulting nitroglycerin in solution nitric acid, since it, being highly soluble in this acid, did not dissolve in its mixture with sulfuric.
Nitration was accompanied by a strong release of heat. Moreover, if, due to heating, the temperature of the mixture rose above 50 degrees, then the course of the reaction would go in the other direction - the oxidation of nitroglycerin would begin, accompanied by a rapid release of nitrogen oxides and even greater heating, which would lead to an explosion.
Therefore, nitration had to be carried out with constant cooling of the mixture of acids and glycerol, adding the latter little by little and constantly stirring each portion. Nitroglycerin formed directly in contact with acids, having a lower density compared to the acid mixture, floated to the surface, and it could be easily collected after the reaction was completed.
The preparation of the acid mixture at the Nobel factories took place in large cylindrical cast-iron vessels, from where the mixture entered the so-called nitration apparatus. In such an installation, it was possible to process about 150 kg of glycerin at a time. After letting in the required amount of acid mixture and cooling it 
(by passing cold compressed air and cold water through the coils) to 15-20 degrees, they began to spray chilled glycerin. At the same time, they made sure that the temperature in the apparatus did not rise above 30 degrees. If the temperature of the mixture began to rise rapidly and approached the critical, the contents of the vat could be quickly released into a large vessel of cold water.
The operation of forming nitroglycerin lasted about an hour and a half. After that, the mixture entered the separator - a lead rectangular box with a conical bottom and two taps, one of which was located at the bottom and the other at the side. Once the mixture had settled and separated, the nitroglycerin was released through the top tap and the acid mixture through the bottom. The resulting nitroglycerin was washed several times to remove excess acids, since the acid could react with it and cause its decomposition, which inevitably led to an explosion.
To avoid this, water was supplied to the hermetic vat with nitroglycerin and the mixture was mixed with compressed air. The acid dissolved in water, and since the densities of water and nitroglycerin differed greatly, it was not difficult to separate them from each other. In order to remove residual water, nitroglycerin was passed through several layers of felt and table salt.
As a result of all these actions, an oily yellowish liquid was obtained, odorless and very poisonous (poisoning could occur both by inhalation of vapors and by contact of drops of nitroglycerin on the skin). When heated above 180 degrees, it exploded with terrible destructive force.
The prepared nitroglycerin was mixed with diatomaceous earth. Before this, the diatomaceous earth was washed and thoroughly ground. Impregnation with nitroglycerin occurred in wooden boxes lined inside with lead. After mixing with nitroglycerin, the dynamite was rubbed through a sieve and stuffed into parchment cartridges.
In kieselguhr dynamite, only nitroglycerin was involved in the explosive reaction. Later Nobel came up with the idea of impregnating with nitroglycerin various varieties gunpowder. In this case, gunpowder also participated in the reaction and significantly increased the force of the explosion.
"King of dynamite", engineer and playwright: what is Alfred Nobel famous for
Editorial responseJuly 14, 1867 Alfred Nobel first demonstrated dynamite. A significant event took place in a quarry near the city of Redhill, which is located in the county of Surrey in the UK.
Alfred Nobel not only patented dynamite, but also made him a good advertisement, and also set up industrial production of explosives. Dynamite began to be actively used in military operations and in the mining industry. What else Alfred Nobel is famous for - in the help of AiF.ru.
Dynamite Maker
His most famous invention, of course, is dynamite. He began to study explosives after the bankruptcy of the family business in Russia. After Russia's defeat in Crimean War the father of the family lost all military orders. Returning to Sweden in 1858 with his father, Alfred Nobel began experimenting with explosive liquid nitroglycerin and saw its clear advantages over gunpowder. The work was very dangerous, one day his brother, Emil, died as a result of an explosion in the factory. A few more accidents - and the production of nitroglycerin was banned in most countries. Alfred decides not to leave the work he has begun. It reduces the explosiveness of nitroglycerin by mixing it with porous silica. As a result, the explosives took the necessary form, and transportation became safer. In 1867 his new material Nobel patented under the name "dynamite". In addition to dynamite, the scientist discovered substances such as explosive jelly, ballistite (smokeless powder) and cordite.
Nobel also invented and patented detonators to detonate the charge. A few years after his inventions, the scientist owned factories in 20 countries around the world. He bequeathed part of his fortune to the formation of a foundation that annually awards Nobel Prizes.
Dynamite. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
A - sawdust or other absorbent material impregnated with nitroglycerin;
B - protective shell;
C - explosive primer;
D - cable connected to the explosive primer;
E - fastening tape.
Founder of the Nobel Prize
Many people are surprised by Nobel's decision to establish the Nobel Peace Prize, despite the fact that during his lifetime the scientist was called "blood millionaire", "dealer in death", "dynamite king". Nobel himself did not want to remain in the memory of mankind as a “world-wide villain”, he strongly opposed the use of his discoveries for military purposes. A few years before his death, he declared: "I would like to invent a substance or a machine with such destructive power that any war at all becomes impossible."
Alfred Nobel bequeathed most of his fortune to scientists as prizes for achievements in the main branches of science, literature and for activities to strengthen peace. He did not include only mathematics in the list. Rumor has it that such a decision of the scientist is associated with the name of the Swedish mathematician Mittag-Leffler, whom Nobel disliked for obsessively soliciting donations to Stockholm University. According to another version, Nobel was in love with Sofia Kovalevskaya, which preferred Mittag-Leffler to him. According to the third version, Nobel simply did not consider mathematics to be a science that deals with discoveries and the formulation of laws that govern the world.
Engineer
Alfred Nobel owns 355 patents, including patents for a water meter, a barometer, a refrigeration apparatus, gas burner, an improved method for producing sulfuric acid and the design of a combat missile. In a short time he developed the model of the first bicycle with rubber tires, designed automatic brakes and safe steam boilers, and also made a huge contribution to industrialization, in particular, to the creation of oil refineries in Baku.
Oil tycoon
In 1879, Alfred Nobel, together with his brothers, decided to invest in the oil business in Azerbaijan on the Absheron Peninsula. All processes, from the discovery of an oil field to the sale of petroleum products, were under the control of the brothers. And twenty years later, the firm of the Nobel brothers owned a fixed capital of 30 million rubles, more than 13 plants (including 6 oil refineries). Thus, another part of the material base of the Nobel Prize is the capital received from Baku oil.
Playwright
Nobel was fluent in French, German, Russian and English. He read a lot; among the writers of the 19th century, Nobel singled out French writers most of all and greatly admired Victor Hugo he knew him personally. Poetry of an Englishman Percy Shelley inspired Alfred to his own creativity. Nobel wrote several plays, novels and poems. True, only one of all these numerous works was published. This is the play "Nemesis", a tragedy in prose about the daughter of a Roman aristocrat Beatrice Cenci. The church considered the play scandalous and blasphemous, and all but three copies were destroyed. The first surviving edition was published in Sweden in 2003, and in 2005 the play premiered in Stockholm on the day of the scientist's death. Alfred Nobel died in 1896 at his villa in Sanremo. Apart from the servants, there was no one in the house...
rich hermit
Alfred Nobel was a closed, distrustful person, prone to sudden mood swings. He was single and never married. For 18 years he had one assistant working in the laboratory, and he did not allow anyone to do clerical work at all, he had too high requirements for his personal secretary. One of the richest people in Europe, the owner of about a hundred factories, corporations and syndicates, died of a brain hemorrhage. In one of his last letters, he writes: “Heart disease will keep me in Paris for at least a few days until the doctors come to a consensus regarding my treatment. Isn't it ironic that I was prescribed to take nitroglycerin!
