Chemistry+Applications+Essay+7

Chemistry Applications Essay 7

Mr. Ceccarelli Period 3 4 January 2013 Explosives and Alfred Nobel __Explosives and Alfred Nobel __  Alfred Nobel is the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize by leaving all his wealth to a group that hadn’t been created yet instead of his relatives of which he had few left because he had never married. On the other end he was the inventor of one of the most violent devices in modern history, dynamite. He originally experimented with the chemical nitroglycerin which was a very unstable explosive, and after an accident at his workshop in 1864 where he mass manufactured the unstable substance when he lost his brother and several workers Nobel’s goal became to create a safe version of nitroglycerin. After the loss of his brother, this goal of his eventually led to the invention of dynamite in 1867 with the blasting cap which allowed users to detonate dynamite safely. The dynamite that Nobel had created was the unstable nitroglycerin mixed with kieselguhr which is the German word meaning a kind of soft rock containing diatoms, and it is used to created dynamite by absorbing the liquid nitroglycerin. When Nobel had figured this out he had created one of the most deadly creation that mankind had seen to his time period and into our time today.

 Now, the chemical reaction that takes place when dynamite goes off is the fun part, and the main chemical in dynamite, nitroglycerin or C 3H5(NO3)3 . This chemical is highly explosive and unstable. However when combined with some soft earth such as kieselguhr it became stable and was not set off by the slightest bump of amount of heat. Later, Nobel invented the blasting cap which made setting off dynamite safe for the user. When dynamite is set off the following reaction occurs, 2 C7H5N3O6 → 3 N2 + 5 H2O + 7 CO + 7 C2 C7H5N3O6 → 3 N2 + 5 H2 + 12 CO + 2 C ,  which breaks apart the unstable bonds in the chemical and making ones that are stable CO and H2. The breaking apart of the bonds is what creates the explosion portion of the reaction that is visible to us.

 In the world today there are applications for Nobel’s invention such as military explosives, mining, and other construction work. Although Nobel intended his invention to be used for the good of man he soon realized the it would not always be and upon his death created the Nobel Peace Prize, slightly ironic considering he is the inventor of modern explosives. Dynamite and its descendants are still used today in the world and will most likely continue to be for years to come.

Works Cited "Alfred Nobel - His Life and Work." //Alfred Nobel - His Life and Work//. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2013. [] "What Is the Chemical Formula for Dynamite?" //WikiAnswers//. Answers, n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2013. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_chemical_formula_for_dynamite "When Dynamite Explodes What Is the Chemical Reaction?" //WikiAnswers//. Answers, n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2013. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_dynamite_explodes_what_is_the_chemical_reaction