Nitroglycerin

Nitroglycerin is a highly sensitive liquid explosive discovered by Ascanio Sobrero in 1847. It is also used in carefully controlled doses as a medicine that relaxes blood vessels.

Detonation: A supersonic reaction front propagates through an explosive, driving a pressure wave. Nitroglycerin can detonate, releasing energy and gas far faster than ordinary burning.
Ascanio Sobrero: An Italian chemist who discovered nitroglycerin in 1847. Sobrero first prepared the compound and warned of its extreme sensitivity.
Blasting: The controlled use of explosives to break or move rock and other materials. Nitroglycerin-based explosives enabled powerful blasting in mines and construction.
Trinitrotoluene: An aromatic explosive commonly abbreviated TNT, valued for greater handling stability than nitroglycerin. TNT is less sensitive to shock and handling than liquid nitroglycerin.
Nitrate Ester: An organic compound containing a nitrate group bonded to carbon through oxygen. Nitroglycerin’s nitrate ester groups underpin its energetic decomposition.
Alfred Nobel: A Swedish chemist, inventor, and industrialist who developed dynamite and established the Nobel Prizes. Nobel found a practical way to stabilize nitroglycerin in dynamite.
Angina Pectoris: Chest discomfort caused when the heart muscle receives insufficient oxygen-rich blood. Nitroglycerin relieves angina by widening blood vessels and reducing the heart’s workload.
Ammonium Nitrate: An inorganic salt used widely in fertilizers and, in mixtures, as an industrial explosive. Ammonium-nitrate explosives differ from nitroglycerin in composition and typical handling sensitivity.
Exothermic Reaction: A chemical reaction that releases energy to its surroundings, usually as heat. Nitroglycerin decomposition releases heat that accelerates the reaction and supports detonation.
Dynamite: An explosive made by absorbing nitroglycerin into a porous material, developed by Alfred Nobel. Dynamite made nitroglycerin safer to transport and use in controlled blasting.

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