Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-11-24
From Chambers Jcurn,

Inc assertion tuHN tue UcIc UtHtTutlifG
war is made the greater the tendency to
shorten its duration il, PEI haps, not lar
from the truth Nevertheless, one recog-
nizes with something Of feeling of hor.
ror that many OF the terrible IN ans in
vogue for the slauQ liter OF the human lace
have their origin in Investigations under
taken by scientific men with the view Of
increasing the knowledge or ameliorNting
The condition of mankind in general This
is o sentially the case with the substance
whose name heads this article Invented
originally for the purpose of assisting the
peaceful labors of the miner and the en-
giaeer il is now employed rs the explosive
agent of the sorpedoes which defend the
rivers md harbors OF Germany against the
nperessions of the French fleet.
Every one knows what glycerine is-a
clear, syrupy fluid, sweet to the taste, and
so newhat greasy to the touch. It's scope
Of employment ranges from the surgeons
dispensary to the lady boudoir Chemists
term il Il triatomic alcohol, and ii may be
derived from fat or tallow by the action of
lime or sulphuric acid. It's properties are
many and various, but as they have no
bearing'upon the resent subject, we shall
abstain from not VIug them. II n quantity
of nitric acid be d.. ded to twice its weight
OF sulpLuric aoid, and glycerjne be poured
into this, and car, .d,ly stirred the whole
being surrounded n freezing mixture
va obtain tia. o.-lertul Substances known
as nitro-gly cefine, which has more than
4 n times the ex, .oSive force OF gunpow-
der. 1t forms o. he surface, as an oily
! okiug liquid, OF a pale yellow color, is
perfectly moloroIs ~ has u sweet aro-
matte taste 1t IS poisonous, whether
taken internally OF absorbed through the
skin, and small doses of it produce dis
tressing headac, s. Although practically
insoluble in wafer, it dissolyes readily il
ether, alcohol, or wood spirit.
Nitro.glycerne was discovered in the
year lsi7 by an Italian named Ascogne So
oero but its practical application il en-
,irely due to the researches OF Alfred
Nobel, a Swedish mining engineer. 1t
does not explode when brought into con-
tact with fire, and remains unchanged even
VIXEN raised to the temperature of boiling
water; but at about forty degrees Fahren-
heit it becomes converted into an icy mass
which merely requires friction to develop
all ia explosive qualities. This peculiar
ity had been the came of many lamentab,e
accidents, when NJ. Nobel commenced
series of cxheriments with the view OF
rendering its employment comparatively
safe After some time, he found that mix
ing IL with about ten por cent. OF wood
spirit rendered il practically harmless, and
this method ~ now generally adopted.
When required for use, the woOd-spirit can
be removed, and all the properties of the
nitro glycerine restored by the simple ad-
dition OF water, which, mixing with the
spirit, sets free, as 1t We're, tho nltro-gly-
cerine. The only drawback to this plan
is, that when the nitro-glycerine is recon-
verted iuto its original state, it is of
course quite as dangerous as ever. To OBJ
waite tins M. Nobel has invented new
mixture, which he terms "dynamite. 1t
consists of seventy-fve per cent. OF nitro
glycerine. and twenty five per cent. Of very
fine sand, and is n brownish looking pow
der, something like sawdust, only greasy
to the touch. 1t burns without ex-
plosion when placed in fire or brought
into contact with lighted match. If
struck with nm hammer on an anvil the
portion struck takes ire without infaming
the dynamite around it, AS proof of the
perfect security with which 1t may be
handled we may mention that nj. Nobel
has placed case containing about eight
pounds of it equal TO nearly eighty pounds
of ordinary powder) on brisk fire, and
that the dynamite was consumed without
noise or shock /; while Il similar case was
flung from a height OF sixty-tive feet on to
q hard rock without producing the slight
es, ex plosion. A weight of over two hun
dred pounds was then let fall from
heighth oftwenty feet upon box of dyna-
mite; the boz was smashed, but again there
was no explosion.
The usual method of firing dynamite is
by means OF Il copper capsule containing
eliminate of silver-the latter being in-
famed either by the ordinary siow-match.
or by the electric spark. The employment
of this capsule and decorating compost
ton is absolutely essential for the explo-
sion of dynamite. In order to give some
idea Of the force developed by such an ex.
plOsion, it may be mentioned that spoon
tul OF it placed upon IL block of quartz,
covered with bricks and fired, caused the
quartz to be broken up INTO pieces about
the size Of pea, and reduced the bricks
TO powder. Like nitro glycerine, dyna-
mite congeals ut comparatively high tenn
perature but to restore 1t to its proper
condition, il is only necessary to put it in
warm place. or, if 1t Is contained IN clos
ed cartridges, to plunge 1t into warm wa
ter.
In mining operations, dynamite posses
ses many advantages over nitro Iycerine,
besides those already mentioned Ii has
been usual, for instance, to pour the
nitro-glycerine in liquid state into the
holes bored in the rock Tor its reception;
and running from these into some an
known crevice, it has frequently when
fred, produced an explosion. under the
very feet of the miners causing, OF cours.
a disastrous loss OF life. To obviate tn,r
it has been necessary to employ cartridges
which do not completely fill up the bor,
holes, SO that portion of the explosive
force is wasted. Dynamite, on the other
hand, being Of a pasty consistence yields
to the least pressure, and completely fills
q u the holes 30 that given Weight OF this