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Home , Dynamite, Explosive, TNT

HISTORiCAL NOTE

for firearms and military devices; the so­ dium version used the letter B and Energetic Materials, was used for most other industrial applica­ tions. Black powder may hâve been used for blasting mines in Germany as early as Part I: Black Powder, 1613, and almost certainly was used in Schemnitz, Hungary, by 1627. For the re- mainder of that cenrury, the use of black , and powder in spread slowly because pf its high cost, the miners' fear of roof col- lapse, and the lack of efficient tools for drilling boreholes. In 1679, black powder was used for blasting the Malpas Tunnel of the Canal du Midi in France. But because it is a deflagrating material, black powder has a severe draw- An explosive, according to the dictio- nited by flame or . In the early days, back in mining—it tends to ignite coal nary, is "any substance that can be made to torches, hot iron rods or glowing tinder and coal dust, which led to many mine ex­ produce a volume of rapidly expanding were used to set off black powder, usually plosions. By 1800, several European gov- gas in an extremely brief period." This His- by igniting a trail of powder leading to the emments had set up testing stations to torical Note and the next one will look at main charge, giving people time to take search for safer substitute materials. the development of energetic materials cover before the . Around the turn of the 18th cenrury, the used as industrial and military . Since the déflagration of black powder is first "high" explosive— fulmi­ This first part will focus on black powder, a surface phenomenon, coarse granula­ nate—was discovered. Mercury used thousands of years ago, through the tions burn more slowly thàn fine grains. is very sensitive, easily ignited, and has a création of nitroglycerin, to the discovery Grain sizes are designated with a compli- rapid -to- transi­ of dynamite. Next month's Historical Note cated System of letters and numerals. tion. will describe the development of nitrocel- The beginnings of modem energetic lulosic explosives such as gun-cotton, as materials research, however, did not begin well as TNT and other explosives used in until a cenrury later, when Italian chemist World Warsl and E. Italian chemist Ascania Ascanio Sobrero discovered nitroglycerin Dynamite, discovered by Alfred B. No­ in 1846. At first Sobrero called his concoc- bel in 1866, was one of the first detonating, Sobrero discovered tion pyroglycerin, or blasting oil. or "high" explosives, which are character- "blasting-oil" Nitroglycerin was extremely dangerous, ized by extremely rapid décomposition with great risks inhérent in its manufacture and the development of high- —nitroglycerin— and application. No dependable means shocks. Earlier materials used deflagrating in 1846. could be found to detonate it other than the or "low" explosives, which were simply chancey ignition Systems known at the fast-burning powders that produced rela- time. Pure nitroglycerin is relatively insen- tively low . The most familiar low sitive when frozen, and since it freezes at explosive had been used for many The saltpeter for black powder was origi- 52 °F (11 °C), merely packing it in ice will centuries—black powder. nally extracted from compost piles and ani­ keep it safe. For perhaps 2000 years the Chinese used mal dung; later, large deposits in India By the 1850s some nitroglycerin was be- black powder in their and to supplied needs. During ing used instead of black powder for cer­ send smoke signais. Called "Greek fire," the 1850s, enormous quantifies of sodium tain applications, but the "blasting oil" was black powder (or some similar low explo­ nitrate, which could be converted to saltpe­ seen as merely a curiosity. How­ sive) was also used for pyrotechnies in east- ter through reaction with readily available ever, about a décade later, Swedish re- ern Europe in the 700s A.D. By the late chloride, were discovered in searchers and his son 13th cenrury, the Arabs were using black Chile. Alfred began working (independently) on powder in a "gun"—a bamboo tube rein- Chilean absorbed a great the commercial potentials of large-scale forced with iron, which used an explosive deal of moisture, fhough, and manuf actur- production and application of nitroglyc­ charge to fire an arrow. About this same ers did not initially consider it good erin. time, on another continent, English médi­ enough for use in black powder. In 1858, The elder Nobel had been working on éval scholar Roger Bacon at Oxford Univer- American industrialist Lammot du Pont developing munitions, especially subma­ sity included thorough instructions for began to make sodium nitrate, from which rine mines, charged with black powder for preparing black powder in a published he made his own blasting powder. Du the Russian Tsar. At the same time, young volume—but he encoded the détails in a Pont's sodium nitrate blasting powder pro­ had been studying in the difficult Latin anagram to conceal the in­ duced an explosive inferior to black pow­ United States for four years; he saw a wild structions. der, but it remained good enough for many country being opened up for civilization, Black powder, a mixture of 75% saltpe- mining and construction applications— and he envisioned roads and canals ter (), 10% , and and it was a good deal cheaper. The potas­ blasted out of the rock through the con- 15% (), is relatively insensi- sium nitrate composition came to be called trolled use of explosive materials. Alfred tive to shôck and , but is easily ig- "blasting powder A" and was used mainly returned to his father, who had just dem-

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onstrated a comparatively simple way of glycerin and black powder for most though, that the inert substance of the producing nitroglycerin, simÛar to So- blasting purposes. kieselguhr added nothing to the explosive brero's original method. Dynamite is a ductile and easily handled power (and actually detracted, since it ab- That year, 1862, Immanuel and Alfred energetic material. The heat liberated in a sorbed some of the heat). He began to use Nobel built a nitroglycerin plant, Nitro­ dynamite explosion ranges from about 900 active materials such as wood pulp, rye glycerin, Ltd., at Heleneborg, Sweden. to 1200 calories per gram, depending on its flour, starch, and sugarcane pith for the ni­ American chemist George Mowbray nitroglycerin content. High-nitroglycerin troglycerin absorbents, and sodium nitrate began his work with nitroglycerin by can produce a shock pressure of for an ; he also added cal­ founding a manufacturing plant in Massa­ atmost a million pounds per square inch, cium carbonate as an anti-acid. By varying chusetts in 1867. Much of Mowbray's prod- traveling between 2000 and 4000 meters thèse "doping" materials, Nobel could uct was used in blasting the Hoosac Tunnel per second. The shattering effect of this manufacture dynamites of differing in nearby North Adams, Massachusetts. shock is useful for breaking hard rock. strengths. Thèse became classed as Before he was forced to shut down his Other dynamite recipes create lower shock "straight dynamites," according to their plant several years later, Mowbray safely pressures, down to about 60,000 pounds percentage of nitroglycerin. For example, shipped about a million pounds of frozen per square inch, which are useful for min- 40% straight dynamite (a standard used by nitroglycerin throughout the eastern ing soft coal in large chunks. the U.S. Bureau of Mines) contains 40% ni­ United States and Canada. Dynamite's abifîty to detonate also dé­ troglycerin, 44% sodium nitrate, 15% In 1863 Alfred Nobel patented his inven­ pends on its porous and granular struc­ wood pulp, and 1% calcium carbonate. tion of the blasting cap, which allowed ture. Coarse-grained dynamites hâve a less In later years, Nobel continued his string safe, reliable détonation of nitroglycerin shattering action. When dynamites are of inventions, developing blasting gelatin from a distance. The blasting cap used a highly compressed, détonation is likely to and , as well as working tiny charge of mercury fulminate in a métal fail. By appropriate compounding and on some non-explosive materials, such as cap, which could then be detonated when granulation, explosives can be prepared to synthetic rubber and artificial silk. desired. Instead of applying heat, the break soft minerais (i.e., coal) or shatter Through his many patented inventions, strong shock from the mercury fulminate hard rock. and also through successful exploitation of detonated the nitroglycerin. This proved to Nobel's "Dynamite No. 1" was 75% ni­ the Baku oil fields in Russia, Nobel became be a tremendously important break- troglycerin and 25% of the diatomaceous- one of the world's richest men. He died on through for the safe use of explosive mate- earth kieselguhr. Nobel soon realized, December 10,1896, in San Remo, Italy. rials. On September 3,1864, Nobel's Helene­ KEVIN J.ANDERSON borg plant exploded, killing several work- ers including Alfred Nobel's youngest brother, Emil Oskar. Other con- tinued to claim lives in applications and in production plants for nitroglycerin. Many of the accidents were caused by care- less handling and by workers who did not appreciate the danger of the material they were dealing with. For a time, in order to be away from potential victims, Alfred No­ bel even lived on a barge moored in the middle of a lake while conducting his ex- periments to find a safer energetic mate­ rial. In 1866, at a newly established explo­ sives factory in Krummel, Germany, Nobel came across a cask of nitroglycerin that had leaked into its diatomaceous-earth packing material, called "kieselguhr." The kiesel- guhr, impregnated with nitroglycerin, had Get the Facts On TVivac® dried into granules. Q Compact Design Nobel experimented with the powder, Q Low Noise Level finding that the material could be roughly handled without danger, but that a blast­ • No Oil Backstreaming ing cap would cause it to explode with • Solvent Résistant Seals nearly as much force as pure liquid nitro­ Ask for the 7 Golden glycerin. Being so insensitive to shocks, the granular substance seemed idéal for Rules for use in handling and shipping. Nobel named this Chemical m LEVBOLD diatomaceous-earth/nitroglycerin mixture "dynamite"—from the Greek dynamis, for LEYBOLD "power." Nobel patented dynamite in Swe­ VACUUM PRODUCTS INC. See Us At den, England, and the United States. 5700 Mellon Road Export, PA 15632 '89 Fall MRS Sticks of the dynamite powder in waxed- 412 327-5700 Ext. 528 Booth #928-929 paper tubes rapidly replaced liquid nitro­

Please visit Booth No. 929 al the MRS Show MRS BULLETIN/NOVEMBER1989 in Boston, November 28-30,1989. 85 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.22, on 28 Sep 2021 at 22:41:36, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1557/S0883769400061303 FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT Owing to an enormous increase in the amount of high quality research in the fields of electronic and médical materials Chapman and Hall are launching two new companion journals to Journal of Materials Science in 1990. thèse twô new journals will maintain the high production and refereeing standards ôf the Journal of Materials Science. They are included in ail subscriptions to their parent Journal and are also available individually. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Editor: Professor Arthur Willoughby, Professorof Electronic Materials, Southampton University, Southampton $09 5NH, UK Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics is à new refereed quarterly compahion to the Journal of Materials Science which will publish papers on materials and their applications in modem eiectronics. The Journal will cover the ground between the fundamental science, such as semiconductor , and work concemed solely with applications. It will feature nbt only the growth ànd préparation of new materials, but also their processing, fabrication, bonding and encapsulàtion, together with the reliability, failure analysis, quality assurance ànd characterisation relatéd to the whole range of applications in eiectronics. It will encourage papers in newly developing fields such as low-dimensional structures and devices, optoelectronics including IM-V compounds, glasses and linear/non-linear crystal materials and iasers, high Te superconductors, conducting polymers, thick film materials and new contact , as well as the establisned eiectronics devicê and circuit materials. New préparation methods such as molecular beam epitaxy, MOMBE and chemical vapour déposition techniques, as well as bulk crystal growth will be covered, while ail aspects of the and fabrication of semiconductor devices and circuits, together with their assessment and reliability, will be included. Materials used in more conventional applications such as resistors, inductors, conductors, capacitors, power semiconductor devices, dielectrics, ferroelectrics, insulàtors and magnetic applications will equallybe encouraged. The journal will bring together those working on the materiais themselves, and those concemed with their applications. It will therefore provide an important and effective applied research and development forum for a vital area of modem eiectronics. SubmissJon of Papers Authors should submit two copies of their paper, with any original artwork, to the Editor, Professor Willoughby. Full instructions to authors are available from the Publishers or the Editor, they also appear on the inside back cover of the Journal of Materials Science. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine Officiai publication of the European Biomaterials Society Editors: Professor William Bonfield, Professorof Materials, Queen Mary Collège, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK Professor D. F. Williams, Institute of Médical and Dental Bioengineering, University fo Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool LB69 3BX, UK It hàs become apparent that progress in the field of biomédical materials, particularly in the development of second génération implants and prostheses with an enhanced lifetime in the body, dépends on a multi-disciplinary approach in which the materials contribution is set in the context of the relevant science, and medicine. Materials in Medicine, a new refereed quarterly companion to the Journal of Material Science will publish a range of topics from the basic underpinning science to clinical applications, around a central thème of materials in medicine ànd dentistry. The core élément of the journal will be the structure, properties and applications of natural materials, as well as the metals, ceramics, polymers and composites used in orthopaedic, maxillo-facial, cardiovascular, neurological, ophthalmic and dental applications. Spécial biomédical topics will include cell-biomaterial interactions, biocompatibility, tissue biomechanics, déformation, fracture, creep, fatigue, fracture mechanics, in vivo implantation, dégradation, X-ray and électron characterisation, surface analysis, metallurgical processing, powder processing, polymer and composite fabrication, prosthesis biomechanics and clinical trials. Submission of Papers Papers for considération should be submitted directly to Professor Bonfield following the instructions on the inside back cover of the Journal of Materials Science. Instructions to Authors are also available from the Editor or Publishers. For more information please contact: USA/Canada Restof World Chapman and Hall Journals Promotion Dept. Journals Promotion Dept. Chapman and Hall Routledge, Chapman and Hall Inc. 11 NewFetterLàne 29 West35th Street London, EC4P4EE New York, N Y10001-2291 UK USA CHAPMAN AND HALL # New York and London

Please vis» Booth No. 925 at the MRS Show in Boston, November 28-30,1989. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.22, on 28 Sep 2021 at 22:41:36, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1557/S0883769400061303