Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-08-21
DYNAMITE.
,rayx the Dangerous explosive
rosnpounded--HGs Marry Uscss


Although the word dynarnite has been
,,,noat constantly in the newspapers the
~, three or four years, Nat few of the
1.ncral public have a clear idea of its
oaning To be brief dynamite is a
@iant powder. that Il an explosive
s,,aterid varying in strength and safety
n handling ia proportion go the percent
H. Of nitro glycerine contained in it..
5;tro. elycerine. whence iE derives its
.1renofb. is composed OF ordinary glycer-
-ne and nitric acid compounded together
& a certain temperature and in proper
sroporsions. Nitro-glyeertne, although
iot the strongest explosive known, being
exceeded in power of nitrogen, and other
nroducts of chemistry, is thus far the
9ost terrible explosive shat has been
manufactured to any exteHt Yet, while
bundrcds Of thousands OF tons of it have
t,een made. and are still being made,
has been found too unsafe for ordinary
ase AS the result of Ike endeavor to
ssil retain the strength ofBitro- glycerine
as an explosive, coupled with greater
qfety in handling, we haze dynamite.
This article is most extensively manu-
sactured and consumed Sin the United
states under the various lsames OF Giant,
Hercules. Jupiter, and Atlas powders, all
III which contain anywhere from thirty
10 eighty per cent. of sjtro- glycerine,
she balance Of the compound being made
Ip Of rotten stone, non$e2plosive Garth,
saw dust, charcoal, plasierof paris, black
IDowder, or some other. substance that
fakes up the glycerine and makes por-
GUS. sponey mass. Beside being highly
explosive nitro glycerine and its COM
pounds are more or less. poisonous. So
Vicious is it in this respect that even if
touched by the tips Of Che fingers it pro-
iduces violent headache, frequently fol
lowed by collie The smokeand fumes pro-
duced by explosions of it when inhaled
are followed by simitat results, and in
mines where dynamite is.now almost uni
ycrsalIy used both to the exclusion Of
blasting powder andsis nitro glycerine,
powerful drafts of air are inn
mediately turned info a chamber
where blast has besn fired to free
it from the noxioua gases. In
strength. as compared te Blasting powder
dynamite containing scgenty-tive per
cent of nitro-glycerine is about ten or
twelve times as strong.
Both nitro-glycerine and dynamite
CONCEAL at forty-two degrees Fahrenheit,
and when frozen are comparatively safe,
il being next to impossible to explode
them until raised above that temperature.
Above that temperature lit is one of the
easiest things in the world, as sad exper-
fence has shown, to explode dynamite.
Yet, strange as it may seem, it may be
burned in thin Sheets COR thrown in
small quantities into tbs ere without ex-
pIoding. If shock and heat attack it
together, or if heat be gradually applied
to mass of it until raised to temper
ture of $50 degrees detonation will en-
sue.
The discovery of RatTo-glycerine was
made by Sobrero, an Italian chemist, re-
siding in Paris in 1S4T, aud the inventor
/ Of dynamite was Swede named Alfred
Nobel, who began It's manufacture in
1867 at Hamburg, Germany. But while
Europe may claim the hnnor of giving to
the world these valuabse agents. to the
United States is due that of having been
first to utilize and demonstrate their
practical value on a barge scale. This
was done in 1867 by George Mowbray, q
chemist, who took thecantract of manu-
facture supply of -glycerine suf-
fcient to complete the Hoosac tunnel.
From this beginning the use of nitro.
glycerine rapidly spread throughout thus
country and the rest OF the world From
being first used as homeopathic remedy
for h. -
mite has come to hundred important
uses.