Dynamite

Dynamite is an explosive made of nit roglycerin, sorbent s (such as powdered shells or clay), and
st abilizers.[1] It was invent ed by t he Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geest hacht ,
Nort hern Germany, and was pat ent ed in 1867. It rapidly gained wide-scale use as a more robust
alt ernat ive t o t he t radit ional black powder explosives. It allows t he use of nit roglycerine's
favorable explosive propert ies while great ly reducing it s risk of accident al det onat ion.

Diagram
A. Diatomaceous earth (or any
other type of absorbent
material) soaked in nitroglycerin.

B. Protective coating surrounding

the explosive material.

C. Blasting cap.

D. Electrical cable (or fuse)

connected to the blasting cap.
 Preparation of dynamite during the
construction of the Douglas Dam,
1942.

History

"Nobels extradynamit" manufactured

by Nobel's old company, Nitroglycerin
Aktiebolaget

Women mixing dynamite at Nobel's

Ardeer factory, 1897

Dynamit e was invent ed by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel in 1866 and was t he first safely
manageable explosive st ronger t han black powder.

Alfred Nobel's fat her, Immanuel Nobel, was an indust rialist , engineer, and invent or. He built
bridges and buildings in St ockholm and founded Sweden's first rubber fact ory. His const ruct ion
work inspired him t o research new met hods of blast ing rock t hat were more effect ive t han black
powder. Aft er some bad business deals in Sweden, in 1838 Immanuel moved his family t o Saint
Pet ersburg, where Alfred and his brot hers were educat ed privat ely under Swedish and Russian
t ut ors. At t he age of 17, Alfred Nobel was sent abroad for t wo years; in t he Unit ed St at es he
met Swedish engineer John Ericsson and in France st udied under famed chemist Théophile-Jules
Pelouze and his pupil Ascanio Sobrero, who had first synt hesized nit roglycerin in 1847. Pelouze
caut ioned Nobel against using nit roglycerine as a commercial explosive because of it s great
sensit ivit y t o shock.[2]

In 1857, Nobel filed t he first of several hundred pat ent s, most ly concerning air pressure, gas and
fluid gauges, but remained fascinat ed wit h nit roglycerin's pot ent ial as an explosive. Nobel, along
wit h his fat her and brot her Emil, experiment ed wit h various combinat ions of nit roglycerin and
black powder. Nobel came up wit h a way t o safely det onat e nit roglycerin by invent ing t he
det onat or, or blast ing cap, t hat allowed a cont rolled explosion set off from a dist ance using a
fuse. In 1863 Nobel performed his first successful det onat ion of pure nit roglycerin, using a
blast ing cap made of a copper percussion cap and mercury fulminat e. In 1864, Alfred Nobel filed
pat ent s for bot h t he blast ing cap and his met hod of synt hesizing nit roglycerin, using sulfuric acid,
nit ric acid and glycerin. On 3 Sept ember 1864, while experiment ing wit h nit roglycerin, Emil and
several ot hers were killed in an explosion at t he fact ory at Immanuel Nobel's est at e at
Heleneborg. Aft er t his, Alfred founded t he company Nit roglycerin Akt iebolaget in Vint erviken t o
cont inue work in a more isolat ed area and t he following year moved t o Germany, where he
founded anot her company, Dynamit Nobel.[2]

Despit e t he invent ion of t he blast ing cap, t he inst abilit y of nit roglycerin rendered it useless as a
commercial explosive. To solve t his problem, Nobel sought t o combine it wit h anot her subst ance
t hat would make it safe for t ransport and handling but would not reduce it s effect iveness as an
explosive. He t ried combinat ions of cement , coal, and sawdust , but was unsuccessful. Finally, he
t ried diat omaceous eart h, which is fossilized algae, t hat he brought from t he Elbe River near his
fact ory in Hamburg, which successfully st abilized t he nit roglycerin int o a port able explosive.[2]

Nobel obt ained pat ent s for his invent ions in England on 7 May 1867 and in Sweden on 19 Oct ober
1867.[3] Aft er it s int roduct ion, dynamit e rapidly gained wide-scale use as a safe alt ernat ive t o
black powder and nit roglycerin. Nobel t ight ly cont rolled t he pat ent s, and unlicensed duplicat ing
companies were quickly shut down. A few American businessmen got around t he pat ent by using
absorbent s ot her t han diat omaceous eart h, such as resin.[4]

Nobel originally sold dynamit e as "Nobel's Blast ing Powder" and lat er changed t he name t o
dynamit e, from t he Ancient Greek word dýnamis (δύναμις), meaning "power".[5][6]
Manufacture

Form
Dynamit e is usually sold in t he form of cardboard cylinders about 200 mm (8 in) long and about
32 mm (11⁄4 in) in diamet er, wit h a mass of about 190 grams (1⁄2 t roy pound).[7] A st ick of
dynamit e t hus produced cont ains roughly 1 MJ (megajoule) of energy.[8] Ot her sizes also exist ,
rat ed by eit her port ion (Quart er-St ick or Half-St ick) or by weight .

Dynamit e is usually rat ed by "weight st rengt h" (t he amount of nit roglycerin it cont ains), usually
from 20% t o 60%. For example, 40% dynamite is composed of 40% nit roglycerin and 60% "dope"
(t he absorbent st orage medium mixed wit h t he st abilizer and any addit ives).

Storage considerations
The maximum shelf life of nit roglycerin-based dynamit e is recommended as one year from t he
dat e of manufact ure under good st orage condit ions.[7]

Over t ime, regardless of t he sorbent used, st icks of dynamit e will "weep" or "sweat " nit roglycerin,
which can t hen pool in t he bot t om of t he box or st orage area. For t hat reason, explosive manuals
recommend t he regular up-ending of boxes of dynamit e in st orage. Cryst als will form on t he
out side of t he st icks, causing t hem t o be even more sensit ive t o shock, frict ion, and
t emperat ure. Therefore, while t he risk of an explosion wit hout t he use of a blast ing cap is
minimal for fresh dynamit e, old dynamit e is dangerous. Modern packaging helps eliminat e t his by
placing t he dynamit e int o sealed plast ic bags and using wax-coat ed cardboard.

Dynamit e is moderat ely sensit ive t o shock. Shock resist ance t est s are usually carried out wit h a
drop-hammer: about 100 mg of explosive is placed on an anvil, upon which a weight of bet ween
0.5 and 10 kg (1 and 22 lb) is dropped from different height s unt il det onat ion is achieved.[9] Wit h a
hammer of 2 kg, mercury fulminat e det onat es wit h a drop dist ance of 1 t o 2 cm, nit roglycerin
wit h 4 t o 5 cm, dynamit e wit h 15 t o 30 cm, and ammoniacal explosives wit h 40 t o 50 cm.

Major manufacturers

Advertisement for the Ætna

Explosives Company of New
York.

South Africa
For several decades beginning in t he 1940s, t he largest producer of dynamit e in t he world was
t he Union of Sout h Africa. There t he De Beers company est ablished a fact ory in 1902 at
Somerset West . The explosives fact ory was lat er operat ed by AECI (African Explosives and
Chemical Indust ries). The demand for t he product came mainly from t he count ry's vast gold
mines, cent ered on t he Wit wat ersrand. The fact ory at Somerset West was in operat ion in 1903
and by 1907 it was already producing 340,000 cases, 23 kilograms (50 lb) each, annually. A rival
fact ory at Modderfont ein was producing anot her 200,000 cases per year.[10]

There were t wo large explosions at t he Somerset West plant during t he 1960s. Some workers
died, but t he loss of life was limit ed by t he modular design of t he fact ory and it s eart h works,
and t he plant ing of t rees t hat direct ed t he blast s upward. There were several ot her explosions
at t he Modderfont ein fact ory. Aft er 1985, pressure from t rade unions forced AECI t o phase out
t he product ion of dynamit e. The fact ory t hen went on t o produce ammonium nit rat e emulsion-
based explosives t hat are safer t o manufact ure and handle.[11]

United States
Dynamit e was first manufact ured in t he US by t he Giant Powder Company of San Francisco,
California, whose founder had obt ained t he exclusive right s from Nobel in 1867. Giant was
event ually acquired by DuPont , which produced dynamit e under t he Giant name unt il Giant was
dissolved by DuPont in 1905.[12] Thereaft er, DuPont produced dynamit e under it s own name unt il
1911–12, when it s explosives monopoly was broken up by t he U.S. Circuit Court in t he "Powder
Case". Two new companies were formed upon t he breakup, t he Hercules Powder Company and
t he At las Powder Company, which t ook up t he manufact ure of dynamit e (in different
formulat ions).

Current ly, only Dyno Nobel manufact ures dynamit e in t he US. The only facilit y producing it is
locat ed in Cart hage, Missouri, but t he mat erial is purchased from Dyno Nobel by ot her
manufact urers who put t heir labels on t he dynamit e and boxes.

Non-dynamite explosives
Ot her explosives are oft en referred t o or confused wit h dynamit e:

TNT
Trinit rot oluene (TNT) is oft en assumed t o be t he same as (or confused for) dynamit e largely
because of t he ubiquit y of bot h explosives during t he 20t h cent ury. This incorrect connect ion
bet ween TNT and dynamit e was enhanced by cart oons such as Bugs Bunny, where animat ors
labeled any kind of bomb (ranging from st icks of dynamit e t o kegs of black powder) as TNT,
because t he acronym was short er and more memorable and did not require lit eracy t o recognize
t hat TNT meant "bomb".

Aside from bot h being high explosives, TNT and dynamit e have lit t le in common. TNT is a second
generat ion cast able explosive adopt ed by t he milit ary, while dynamit e, in cont rast , has never
been popular in warfare because it degenerat es quickly under severe condit ions and can be
det onat ed by eit her fire or a wayward bullet . The German armed forces adopt ed TNT as a filling
for art illery shells in 1902, some 40 years aft er t he invent ion of dynamit e, which is a first
generat ion phlegmat ized explosive primarily int ended for civilian eart hmoving. TNT has never
been popular or widespread in civilian eart hmoving, as it is considerably more expensive and less
powerful by weight t han dynamit e,[13] as well as being slower t o mix and pack int o boreholes.
TNT's primary asset is it s remarkable insensit ivit y and st abilit y: it is wat erproof and incapable of
det onat ing wit hout t he ext reme shock and heat provided by a blast ing cap (or a sympat het ic
det onat ion); t his st abilit y also allows it t o be melt ed at 81 °C (178 °F), poured int o high explosive
shells and allowed t o re-solidify, wit h no ext ra danger or change in t he TNT's charact erist ics.[14]
Accordingly, more t han 90% of t he TNT produced in America was always for t he milit ary market ,
wit h most TNT used for filling shells, hand grenades and aerial bombs, and t he remainder being
packaged in brown "bricks" (not red cylinders) for use as demolit ion charges by combat
engineers.

"Extra" dynamite
In t he Unit ed St at es, in 1885, t he chemist Russell S. Penniman invent ed "ammonium dynamit e", a
form of explosive t hat used ammonium nit rat e as a subst it ut e for t he more cost ly nit roglycerin.
Ammonium nit rat e has only 85% of t he chemical energy of nit roglycerin.[15]

It is rat ed by eit her "weight st rengt h" (t he amount of ammonium nit rat e in t he medium) or
"cart ridge st rengt h" (t he pot ent ial explosive st rengt h generat ed by an amount of explosive of a
cert ain densit y and grain size used in comparison t o t he explosive st rengt h generat ed by an
equivalent densit y and grain size of a st andard explosive). For example, high-explosive 65% Extra
dynamite has a weight st rengt h of 65% ammonium nit rat e and 35% "dope" (t he absorbent
medium mixed wit h t he st abilizers and addit ives). It s "cart ridge st rengt h" would be it s weight in
pounds t imes it s st rengt h in relat ion t o an equal amount of ANFO (t he civilian baseline st andard)
or TNT (t he milit ary baseline st andard). For example, 65% ammonium dynamit e wit h a 20%
cart ridge st rengt h would mean t he st ick was equal t o an equivalent weight st rengt h of 20%
ANFO.

"Military dynamite"
"Milit ary dynamit e" (or M1 dynamit e) is a dynamit e subst it ut e made wit h more st able ingredient s
t han nit roglycerin.[16] It cont ains 75% RDX, 15% TNT and 10 percent desensit izers and
plast icizers. It has only 60 percent equivalent st rengt h as commercial dynamit e, but is much
safer t o st ore and handle.[17]

Regulation
Various count ries around t he world have enact ed explosives laws and require licenses t o
manufact ure, dist ribut e, st ore, use, and possess explosives or ingredient s.

See also

Blast fishing
Blasting machine
Dynamite gun
 Nobel Prize
Relative effectiveness factor

References

1. Liepens, R. (1974). "Characteristics of Non-

Military Explosives" (https://apps.dtic.mil/st
i/pdfs/AD0778207.pdf) (PDF). DEFENSE
TECHNICAL INFORMATION CENTER.
Research Triangle Institute, National
Technical Information Service, U. S.
Department of Commerce. Retrieved
5 December 2023.
2. "Alfred Nobel – Dynamit" (https://www.tekn
iskamuseet.se/lar-dig-mer/svenska-uppfinn
are-och-innovatorer/alfred-nobel-dynamit/)
(in Swedish). Swedish National Museum of
Science and Technology. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20171003064331/htt
ps://www.tekniskamuseet.se/lar-dig-mer/s
venska-uppfinnare-och-innovatorer/alfred-n
obel-dynamit/) from the original on 3
October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.

3. Schück & Sohlman (1929), p. 101.

4. US Patent 234489 issued to Morse 16
November 1880
5. "dynamite". The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language (https://
web.archive.org/web/20200520041505/htt
ps://www.thefreedictionary.com/dynamit
e) (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company.
2003. Archived from the original (http://ww
w.thefreedictionary.com/dynamite) on 20
May 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2013.

6. "dynamite". Collins English Dictionary –

Complete and Unabridged (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20200520041505/https://ww
w.thefreedictionary.com/dynamite) .
HarperCollins. 2003 [1991]. Archived from
the original (http://www.thefreedictionary.c
om/dynamite) on 20 May 2020. Retrieved
19 March 2013.
7. "Austin Powder Guide, Dynamite series
page 2" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012
0321201205/http://www.austinpowder.co
m/BlastersGuide/docs/pib/Dynamite%20S
eries.PDF) (PDF). Archived from the
original (http://www.austinpowder.com/Bla
stersGuide/docs/pib/Dynamite%20Series.P
DF) (PDF) on 21 March 2012. Retrieved
9 June 2012.
8. ChemViews (28 November 2012). "145
Years of Dynamite" (http://www.chemistryvi
ews.org/details/ezine/3622371/145_Years
_of_Dynamite.html) . Chemistry Views.
ChemViews Magazine. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20170818220703/htt
p://www.chemistryviews.org/details/ezine/
3622371/145_Years_of_Dynamite.html)
from the original on 18 August 2017.
Retrieved 6 May 2017.
 9. Carlos López Jimeno, Emilio López Jimeno,
Francisco Javier Ayala-Carcedo, Drilling and
Blasting of Rocks, translated by Yvonne
Visser de Ramiro from Manual de
perforación y voladura de rocas (1987),
Geomining Technological Institute of Spain
(Instituto Tecnológico Geominero de
Espan~a), Taylor & Francis, London and
New York, 1995, ISBN 90-5410-199-7

10. "Home" (https://www.caia.co.za/) .

Chemical & Allied Industries' Association.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/202
00423103201/https://www.caia.co.za/)
from the original on 23 April 2020.
Retrieved 8 May 2020.
11. "Historical Highlights 1980's" (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20060630050905/http://w
ww.aeci.co.za/New/History/1980.htm) . 30
June 2006. Archived from the original (htt
p://www.aeci.co.za/New/History/1980.ht
m) on 30 June 2006. Retrieved 9 June
2012.
12. "The Federal Reporter with Key-Number
Annotations, Volume 188: Cases Argued
and Determined in the Circuit Courts of
Appeals and Circuit and District Courts of
the United States, August-October, 1911" (h
ttps://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/met
adc38234/m1/147/) . UNT Digital Library.
8 May 1911. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20180330150647/https://digital.li
brary.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38234/m
1/147/) from the original on 30 March
2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.

13. J. Köhler, R. Meyer, A. Homburg:

Explosivstoffe. Zehnte, vollständig
überarbeitete Auflage. Wiley-VCH Verlag
GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 2008,
ISBN 978-3-527-32009-7.
14. Gibbs, T. R. & Popolato, A. LASL Explosive
Property Data. Los Alamos National
Laboratory, New Mexico. United States
Department of Energy, 1980.

15. "FHWA - Center for Local Aid Support -

Publications" (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/cl
as/ctip/context_sensitive_rock_slope_desig
n/ch_3_3.aspx#3_1_3_1) .
www.fhwa.dot.gov. Retrieved 31 March
2024.
16. Ledgard, Jared (2007). A Soldiers
Handbook, Volume 1: Explosives
Operations (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=U6f-Qlmm6zIC&pg=PA498) . Jared
Ledgard. ISBN 978-0-615-14794-9.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/202
20125091923/https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=U6f-Qlmm6zIC&pg=PA498) from
the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved
13 December 2015.

17. Jones, Jeffrey (19 October 2017). U.S.

Marine Corps School Of Infantry SOI
Complete Training Materials (https://books.
google.com/books?id=g5w6DwAAQBAJ&d
q=military+dynamite+composition&pg=PA2
67) . Jeffrey Frank Jones. pp. AM1401-6.
Further reading

Cartwright, A. P. (1964). The dynamite

Company: The Story of African
Explosives and Chemical Industries
Limited. Cape Town: Purnell & Sons
(S.A.) (Pty) Ltd.
Larabee, Ann (2015). The Wrong Hands:
Popular Weapons Manuals and Their
Historic Challenges to a Democratic
Society. New York: Oxford University
Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-19-
020117-3. OCLC 927145132 (https://ww
w.worldcat.org/oclc/927145132) .
 Schück, H. and Sohlman, R. (1929). The
Life of Alfred Nobel. London: William
Heinemann Ltd.

External links

Alfred Nobel’s Look up

dynami
dynamite companies (h
te in
ttps://www.nobelprize. Wiktion
ary, the
org/alfred-nobel/alfred
free
-nobels-dynamite-comp dictiona
ry.
anies/)
Wikimed
Oregon State Police – ia
Arson and Explosives Commo
ns has
Section (Handling
media
instructions and related
to
photos) (https://web.ar Dynamit
e.
chive.org/web/200606
30065530/http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/
AES/Dynamite.shtml)
US patent 78317 (https://patents.googl
e.com/patent/US78317) , Alfred Nobel,
"Improved explosive compound",
published 1868-05-26, issued 1868-05-
26 (Dynamite US patent)
Dynamite and TNT (http://www.periodicv
ideos.com/videos/mv_dynamite.htm)
at The Periodic Table of Videos
(University of Nottingham)
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Dynamite&oldid=1221975964"

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