History of Explosives, Propellants

Explosive also known as black powder or gunpowder is believed to

originate in china around 10th to 11th Century. This is a mixture of potassium
nitrate (saltpeter), charcoal and sulfur.

It was originally used in fireworks and signals

Trivia: Black powder was not popular until Berthol Schwartz invented
gun in the early 1300s.

1300- Explosives were used in propelling missiles.

1627 - Explosives were used in blasting for digging of canals.

1800 Mercury fulminate, a highly friction, sparks and shock- sensitive

explosive, was first prepared by Edward Charles Howard. It was prepared
by mixing ethanol and mercury in nitric acid and has been used as a
trigger for other explosives in blasting cups.

In 1846 the discoveries of the nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose takes place

Nitroglycerine- discovered by Ascanio Sobrero an Italian chemist

- A colorless and oily liquid that is highly explosive and is a

made by adding glycerol to a mixture of concentrated nitric
acid and sulfuric acid.

Nitrocellulose- discovered by Christian Schonbein

- Also known as guncotton, nitrocellulose is a highly

flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through
exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent

1862- Nitroglycerine was produced commercially by Emmanuel Nobel and

his son Alfred , a Swedish inventors, .

Additional Note: However the transportation and handling of the

nitroglycerine were very hazardous and eventually

1867- Alfred Nobel , a Swedish chemist, discovered that nitroglycerine

absorbed by a porous siliceous earth material (called KIESELGUHR) was still
 explosive but was much safer to handle and to use than the straight liquid.
This new invention was called DYNAMITE from the Greek word dynamis
which means power.

Additional Note: But the invention was difficult to ignite by the usual
method. so in that very same year..

He also devised the Blasting Cap incorporated with mercury fulminate for
easy ignition.

Blasting Cap is a small sensitive metal cap primary explosive device

generally used to detonate a more powerful and less sensitive secondary
explosive such as dynamite.

Additional Note: With this development dynamite became the foundation of

the Commercial Explosive Industry.

1875- Alfred Nobel also invented Blasting Gelatin popularly known as

Gelignite or simply Jelly and Gelatine Dynamite

Blasting gelatin is one of the cheapest explosive material that is consisting

of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocelloluse or guncotton) dissolved in
ntroglycerine and mixed with wood pulp and saltpeter (potassium nitrate)
or sodium nitrate.

Additional Note: Unlike dynamite, gelignite does not suffer from the
dangerous problem of sweating or the leaking of unstable nitroglycerine
from the solid matrix.

Its composition makes it easily moldable and safe to protection, as long

as it is not near anything capable of detonating it. It burns slowly and cannot
explode without a detonator so itcan be stored safely.

1884- A French chemist named Paul Viellie discovered that by treating

guncotton with a mixture of alcohol and ether, it could be gelatinized. The
material could be rolled into sheets cut into small squares or flaks and then
stabilized with a 2% solution of diphenyl amine. The formulation was named
Poudre B or was known as the Smokeless Powder which produced three
times the force of the black powder with the same volume.
 1891- Trinitrotoluene (TNT) was finally put into large-scale production after
Joseph Wilbrand ,a German chemist, had synthesized it in 1863. This is mainly
because TNT was so hard to detonate and less powerful than other
explosive.

Trivia: It was original developed as yellow dye not an explosive.

1894- PETN or Pentaerythritol tetranitrate was first prepared and patented by

the explosives manufacturer Rheinisch-Westfalische Sprenngstoff A.G. in
Cologne, Germany. It is an explosive with high brisance or shattering
capability.

History of Propellant

Black powder was the main propellant of choice until about the later 1800
Explosive is a material that, under the influence of thermal or mechanical
shock, decomposes rapidly and spontaneously with the evolution of great deal
of heat and much gas.

Explosive can be categorize into 3.

1. High Explosive or the True Explosive

2. Propellants
3. Pyrotechnics