Page 99 - (DK) Danger! Open with Extreme Caution!

Safety fuse

In the 10th century,
the Chinese developed a fuse to
delay the ignition of gunpowder.
An English leather tanner named
William Bickford went one better and
invented the modern safety fuse in 1831.
After watching a friend make rope, he
wrapped a core of gunpowder inside
a twist of string and, voilà!—the modern
fuse was born, enabling miners to set off
explosives from a safe distance.
Phews all around.

Dynamite discovery

Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero discovered
the highly unstable liquid explosive nitroglycerin
in 1847. Then, in the 1860s, Swedish
entrepreneur Alfred Nobel mixed the more stable
solid nitroglycerin with sodium carbonate and
a shock-absorbing powder to make dynamite.
The creator of this weapon of mass destruction
gave his name to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dams to diamonds

Dynamite, usually sold in paper-wrapped sticks, was a smash hit in industry. It
was used to mine important materials such as steel, copper, silver, and gold,
and the transportation system, from roads to tunnels, was built by blasting
away rock with dynamite. Other large-scale construction projects, from
dams to canals, also relied on its useful obliterating
capabilities, as well as the
precious South African
diamond mines.

TNT
In 1863, German scientist Joseph Wilbrand
discovered TNT (trinitrotoluene)—a yellow
chemical explosive that is more stable than
dynamite. TNT can be melted down and poured into
shell casings, making it valuable in weapon making,
although its yellowness rubs off on anyone who
handles it; workers who used TNT in World War I
weapon factories were nicknamed “canaries,” as
the chemical turned their skin bright yellow.

HISTORY OF EXPLOSIVES 99
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