NAME – Nitroglycerin
CHEMICAL NAME – Glyceryl trinitrate
FOREIGN NAMES – huile de Nobel, huile explosive (France), Sprengöl, Glonoin, Nitroglyzerinsprengstoff (Germany), Robbanóolaj (Hungary), Olio esplosive, Olio detonante (Italy), aceite explosive (Spain)
TYPE – High explosive
DATE OF DISCOVERY – 1846
DATE FIRST USED AS AN EXPLOSIVE – 1847
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN – Italy
MOLECULAR FORMULA – C3H5N3O9
MOLECULAR WEIGHT – 227
DENSITY – 1.596 g per ml @ 20o C.(68o F.)
NORMAL STATE – Liquid
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE/COLOR – Oily, colorless liquid when pure, Yellowish to pale brown commercial product
INITIATION – Impact or friction
SENSITIVITY – Very sensitive to impact or shock
STABILITY – Stable at temperatures below 50o C. (122o F.)
DETONATION VELOCITY -7,700 m/s (25,263 fps)
RE FACTOR (BRISANCE) [TNT=1.0] – 1.54
TOXICITY – Very toxic, contact with the skin or inhalation of fumes cause circulatory problems
MELTING POINT – 13.2o C.(55.8o F.)
IGNITION POINT – 145o C.(293o F.) Decomposes rapidly
BOILING POINT – 222o C. (432o F.) explodes
FREEZING POINT – 13.2o C.(55.8o F.)
SOLUBILITY – Relatively insoluble in water
APPLICATIONS – PRINCIPLE USES – Too sensitive to be used alone, component of propellants, dynamites, and some composite military explosives.
This was the first high explosive to see wide use in spite of it being very dangerous to use in its normal state. The liquid explosive is very sensitive to shock and was almost unusable in the field due to the risk of premature explosions. It was found that by mixing Nitroglycerine with up to 50% Acetone, the sensitivity of the explosive was lessened, but it was still extremely dangerous to use. The invention of the blasting cap in 1864 by Alfred Nobel made the application and detonation of Nitroglycerine at least somewhat more practical. It was the further Alfred Nobel invention of dynamite in 1866 that made Nitroglycerine part of a practical, useful, high explosive. The original dynamite formula was simply up to 75% Nitroglycerine absorbed into Kieselguhr (Diatomaceous earth), a fine, porous mineral sand. The new explosive was called “Nobel’s Safety Blasting Powder” as a marketing attempt, but the name “dynamite” was quickly and widely adopted. Nitroglycerine remains in wide use in the explosives industry today, but only as a component of various explosive and propellant mixtures. Its use as a stand-alone explosive has been supplanted by a number of safer products.
