What causes old dynamite to “sweat” and why is that so dangerous?
In: Chemistry
Nitroglycerin is an explosive liquid first discovered in 1847 which was the first explosive to really supersede black powder. However, it’s very unstable and can even be detonated by physical shock (e.g. dropping some on the ground) and degrades over time into even more unstable forms.
There were several major industrial accidents related to the use, transport, and manufacture of nitroglycerin; in 1864 Alfred Nobel’s brother Emil was killed in an explosion at the family’s nitroglycerin factory outside Stockholm. A few years later, Alfred Nobel managed to successfully stabilize nitroglycerin by mixing it with diatomaceous earth (a naturally occurring mineral which is composed of the fossilized remains of algae), inventing dynamite.
While dynamite was stable enough to be used as a practical industrial explosive, it does not remain stable indefinitely. Over time, the nitroglycerin will start to leach out, which is called “sweating” and in its pure form will become extremely unstable again. Generally speaking the “shelf life” of dynamite is considered to be one year if it is stored properly.
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