Chemistry+Applications+Essay+26

Explosives Though many would not know it, explosives have been around for thousands of years. Many believe that explosives originate from China with the use of black powder, which is also known as gun powder. This material was used for many things including fireworks and weaponry. Scientists continued to develop new explosives that were more effective and safer. It was not until nearly a thousand years later that the next “big thing” came out. This new explosive is nitroglycerin, an oily liquid that is highly unstable. Alfred Nobel fixes this issue by mixing the unstable nitroglycerin with cellulose, which forms the much safer solid form of nitroglycerin, dynamite. However, explosives are not at all simple. In fact, there is a great amount of chemistry behind explosives, which explains why they behave the way they do. In addition, explosives are obviously used today in many ways. Explosives are unique chemicals with fascinating properties that are applicable to our everyday lives. What is it about explosives that make them so… explosive? Well, there are multiple properties that a substance must have to be classified as an explosive. First, the substance must decompose exothermically, meaning it gives off heat during decomposition. Next, the products of that decomposition must be gasses. Third, the decomposition must occur very quickly, and lastly, it must be stable enough so that it can be detonated at a predictable point in time. The main chemical making up an explosive typically has weak bonds and will then decompose into molecules with extremely strong bonds. For example, the main gasses emitted during the decomposition of an explosive are CO, N2, CO2, plus a little bit of water vapor. The bonds between the elements of these gasses are some of the strongest bonds known. Energy is stored in bonds, and since the bonds of the gasses released are very strong, they hold massive amounts of energy. Thus, a lot of energy is released when an explosive decomposes / explodes. Many would think that explosives are not good for anything than blowing things up. However, explosives have many other uses in the world today besides being used in weaponry. One use is obviously for military use. Our country is currently fighting in the Middle East, and explosives are a large part of our military operations. Additionally, explosives are used in mining. In order to get raw materials and precious gems from the earth, it is likely that one must go far underground or far into the side of a mountain to find them. Explosives are ideal for this job because they clear a large amount of space with little work required. Yet another use of explosives today is demolition. When an old building needs to be taken down quickly, we use explosives that are detonated with a charge to bring the structure down quickly. There are so many different uses of explosives including logging, destruction of hazardous wastes, fireworks, tunneling, metal working, and even diamond manufacturing. All of the previously mentioned processes involve some sort of explosion using explosive material. The uses of explosives today seem endless, which makes it very applicable indeed to our modern world.

Works Cited
 * "Explosives.org." //Explosives.org//. Society of Explosives Engineers, n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2013.
 * "Explosive Material." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Dec. 2012. Web. 04 Jan. 2013.