Dynamite

This article is about a high explosive. For other uses of this word see Dynamite (disambiguation).

Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin using diatomaceous earth (Kieselguhr) as an adsorbent. It was invented by Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in 1866 and patented in 1867. It is usually sold in the form of a stick roughly eight inches (20 cm) long and one inch (2.5 cm) in diameter but other sizes also exist. Dynamite is considered a "high explosive", which means it detonates rather than deflagrates.

Etymology

The word dynamite comes from the Greek word δυναμις (dunamis), meaning power, and the Greek suffix -ιτης (-itēs).

Uses and composition

The chief uses of dynamite used to be in construction, mining and demolition. However, newer explosives and techniques have replaced dynamite in many applications. Dynamite is still used, mainly as bottom charge or in underwater blasting. Dynamite has been used in armed conflicts, mainly to destroy bridges and other ways of travel, to slow the advance of supplies or enemy troops. Criminals interested in safe-cracking have deliberately extracted nitroglycerin from dynamite by boiling the sticks and 'skimming' the nitroglycerin as it is forced out.

Dynamite consists of three parts nitroglycerin, one part diatomaceous earth and a small admixture of sodium carbonate. This mixture is formed into short sticks and wrapped in paper. Nitroglycerin by itself is a very strong explosive and in its pure form it is shock-sensitive (i.e., physical shock can cause it to explode), degrading over time to even more unstable forms. This makes it highly dangerous to transport or use in its pure form. Absorbed into diatomaceous earth, nitroglycerin is less shock-sensitive.

Over time, the dynamite will "weep" or "sweat" its nitroglycerine, which can then pool in the bottom of the box or storage area. Crystals will form on the outside of the sticks. This creates a very dangerous situation. While the actual possibility of explosion without a cap is minimal, old dynamite should not be handled. Qualified assistance should be sought immediately.

A priming device is used for initiating dynamite. Device include shell preferably formed of a material in a compartment at one end for housing a sensitive explosive material which is more sensitive than the dynamite to be detonated. Also included in primer units are passageways which is open at both ends of the shell for receiving and housing an electric blasting cap.

History

Dynamite was the first safely manageable explosive stronger than black powder. Nobel patented his discovery in October 1867. He originally sold dynamite as "Nobel's Safety Blasting Powder". After its introduction, dynamite rapidly gained popularity as a safe alternative to gunpowder and nitroglycerin. Nobel tightly controlled the patent and unlicensed duplicators were quickly shut down. However, a few United States businessmen got around the patent by using a slightly different formula. Despite this, dynamite brought Nobel a great fortune, which he used to found the Nobel Prize.

For several decades from the 1940s the biggest producer of dynamite in the world was the Republic of South Africa, where De Beers established a factory in 1902 at Somerset West. The explosives factory was later operated by AECI (African Explosives and Chemical Industries). The demand for the product came mainly from the country's vast gold mines, centred on the Witwatersrand. The factory at Somerset West was in operation in 1903 and by 1907 was already producing 340,000 cases (50 lb each) annually. In addition, a rival factory at Modderfontein was producing another 200,000 cases a year.[1]

One of the drawbacks of dynamite was that it was dangerous to manufacture. There were two massive explosions at the Somerset West plant in the 1960s. Some workers died but loss of life was limited by the modular design of the factory and earth works and plantations of trees that directed the blasts upwards. After 1985 production of dynamite at the factory was phased out.[2]

In the United States, dynamite was manufactured by the DuPont corporation well into the 1990's. Dynamite was eventually eclipsed by Water gel explosives, which are safer to handle. [3]

Dynamite in popular culture

The familiar thin reddish cylinder, equipped with a fuse or blasting cap, is a stock movie prop. In comedies and cartoons, dynamite commonly explodes with the only effect being a blackened face and wild hair. In dramas, the impending explosion of lit dynamite parcels provides movie tension. In action films, dynamite is often used as a weapon.
In the television series Lost, episode Exodus Part II, Jack, Kate and Locke go into the Black Rock and find the crate of dynamite which has sweat a great deal of nitroglycerin that has begun to crystalize on the sticks. While attempting to handle the explosives carefully, Arzt triggers one of the sticks and is blown up.
In a 1963 episode of The Andy Griffith Show titled "The Loaded Goat", Jimmy the goat devours a case-load of dynamite before roaming the streets of Mayberry. The episode is considered by many to be one of the funniest of the show's eight-year run.
In the 1977 film, Sorcerer, directed by William Friedkin, the main plot focused on four fugitives working for a South American oil camp after they had escaped their respective criminal pasts. An oil well is sabotaged, and the four drivers volunteer to transport four cases of old dynamite that had "sweated" out nitroglycerin to put out the well fire and thereby earn enough money and legal status to escape the hellish camp. The four characters are forced to travel through 220 miles of jungle, mountain and desert terrain. They confront obstacles such as: crossing a rope bridge in a storm (which the trucks were actually driven across during filming), clearing a giant tree, and confronting rebels. The title, Sorcerer, refers to the name painted on one of the trucks that is visible only briefly--however, there are competing alternative explanations. This film was a remake of The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la peur) by Henri-Georges Clouzot which had the drivers transporting nitroglycerin in cans.

Patent

U.S. patent 0,078,317, Improved explosive compound
U.S. patent 3,931,763, Explosive priming device

External links