The Italian chemist Sobrero synthesized nitrogylcerin. After an accident, the substance seemed so dangerous that he did not want to deal with it furthermore.
By nitration of glycerine:
Nitroglycerin is a colorless liquid, often slightly yellowish due to impurities. It is very slightly soluble in water, but soluble in less polar solvents:
The explosion is risky. It occurs due to shock, sparks, temperature elevations. Nitroglycerin is a liquid that must be kept in the fridge but not stirred !
A paperboard was moistened with a small amount of nitroglycerin. A wick is lit.....
If the temperature during the explosion exceeds 2,000o C, N and oxygen combine to form nitrogen monoxide NO.
The son of a Swedish industrialist, Alfred Nobel, as a result of various tests that claimed the life of his brother and three other people, noticed that by mixing nitroglycerin with kieselgur (diatomaceous earth) the explosive was domesticated. He took patents on the discovery of dynamite.
In dilute solution, nitroglycerin is a vasodilator and is used to treat heart disease (heart failure, angina)..
Dynamite is the most used explosive in quarries, for tunneling..
but also during the war..
