The Evolution of Explosives in the Industrial Revolution
Rendre Greyling and Ryan Snyman Grade 8.3 During the Industrial Revolution mining companies were always looking for better and safer explosives to use. They needed to blast their way through rock effectively and easily to mine the precious resources such as coal, sulphur and lead. The three main explosives used in the Industrial Revolution were Gunpowder, Nitroglycerin and Dynamite. (YouTube, 2016), ("Not Yet Published", 2011)
Around the beginning of the Industrial Revolution mining companies used gunpowder which was the first physical explosive used. Gunpowder or Black powder was originally invented in China and dates back to as early as 850 A.D. Gunpowder (Patent number: US 2030096
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It could not be transported on horseback as the vibrating and bumpy road would lead to a major catastrophe. This meant that a chemist needed to be on site to mix the solution every time and everyone who worked with it was at risk to be blown to pieces. ("Not Yet Published", 2011)
Nitroglycerine on its own was too unstable, to use effectively, therefore Alfred Nobel a Swedish scientist and chemist found a substance to add to nitroglycerine that would render it harmless until ready to use. This substance was Diatomaceous Earth. It was soaked inside nitroglycerine and wrapped in paper. Alfred Nobel called this new explosive Dynamite (Patent Number: US 697842 A, 1867) and it revolutionised the way of using explosives making him a very successful entrepreneur. ("Not Yet Published", 2011), (Madehow.com, 2016) Explosives were a key part of the Industrial Revolution, Dynamite being one of the most effective explosives. Without explosives we could not have mined the fossil fuels that powered almost everything in the period of time that revolutionised the world. ("Not Yet Published",
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A patent may even affect the stock price on the stock
The earliest military uses of chemicals were tear-inducing irritants rather than fatal or disabling poisons. During the first World War, the French army was the first to employ gas, using 26 mm grenades filled with tear gas in August 1914. German troops fired fragmentation shells filled with a chemical irritant (agent that stimulates) against British positions at Neuve Chapelle, though the concentration
The French were the first to start experimenting on chemical agents in 1912. They first used it on their people as riot control to capture criminals that who had robbed a bank. They used 26 millimeter grenades filled with chemical agents into the center of the group criminals they were attempting to apprehend. It was not said if it was effective but continued to look into using it for other means. However, the Germans at this time had not been interested in producing any kinds of chemical weapons.
2:Another reason why gunpowder revolutionized Europe was the transition from medieval artillery to modern artillery that contained gunpowder. After the powder was spread along the Silk Road in the 13th century, it landed in the hands of Europeans seeking a more prominent way of using the powder. Before gunpowder, medieval artillery was based of heavy swords, iron armor, axes, knives, and arrows. These items were the basis of medieval artillery and only men who have trained for many years could obtain these weapons. The weapons were used for another 500 years before gunpowder was introduced, and some of the items started to involve the technology of the powder. For example, regular arrows soon transitioned to arrows with tubes of gunpowder on
The industrial revolution was the most important, which started around the eighteenth century towards the nineteenth century in Europe. This great event was the fastest spreading event in human history. The capacity of economy and population growth was unexpected especially at the areas in which it flourished. The industrial revolution benefited almost everyone around the world and brought about new social classes, large cities and many new innovations including medical discoveries especially in Britain as it based it is scientific innovations on experiments and practical work rather than theories and logic.
Before 850 A.D, the most advanced achievements in weaponry and technology included the sword and shield. Chinese alchemists however, would change the world forever through their invention. In an early strive to find an elixir that sustained life, Chinese alchemists mixed sulfur and charcoal creating what is known as salt-pepper. When burned it was said that "smoke and flames result, so that the scientists' hands and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burned down" (Whipps). This invention was later known as gunpowder, a creation that would revolutionize and create a new world. The effects that the creation of gunpowder in 850 A.D had on the world can be shown through the advancements in weaponry, technology, and the impact on culture.
The Encarta Encyclopedia defines a landmine as "an encased explosive device that is concealed below the surface of the ground." It can be made of "metal, plastic, glass, or wood" (n. p.). Probably the concept of landmines is almost as old as the existence of organized armies. Philip C. Winslow, in his book Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, describes how Roman soldiers, before the beginning of the first millennium, used a plant with spikes as a landmine in order "to delay pursuers" (126). The Chinese, according to Delbruck, used "ground mines" made out of explosives in the year 1232 (qtd. in Winslow 126). Six hundred years later, in 1840, the use of landmines was introduced in the United States; they were used "in large quantities" during the Civil War (Winslow 126, 127).
The products of the Industrial Revolution made World War I a war like no other. The Industrial Age brought with it the development of the railroad, a huge factor in the area of transportation of soldiers and supplies. The Revolution also brought changes in warfare at sea. Instead of ships made of wood, iron and steel were the new materials of choice. The products of the Industrial Revolution that had the most impact on the war were by far the weapons created by the new machines and materials of the revolution. The book, Warfare in the Twentieth Century, states that "industrialization dramatically increased the destructive capacity of armies by providing them with weapons of enhanced range, accuracy, and fire..." (3). The weapons of World War I are a perfect example of how reason and progress are not always without consequence; they can sometimes bring about horrible suffering and pain.
Explosions are underestimated daily and can ruin a person’s ability to do simple tasks like walking or thinking for themselves. This wasn’t any different for the people of the eighteen hundreds. In fact, it was more prone to happen. Miners in the eighteen hundreds had to rely on the weak gunpowder or unstable Nitroglycerin for their explosives. Then came Alfred Nobel. Nobel had a long life, debateable leadership, invented dynamite, created dynamite for safety, made up the Nobel Prizes and shows the all out inspiration for explosives.
Most famously recognized as a time of great technological innovation, the Industrial Revolution gave birth too two of the most transforming technologies, which came to spur the revolution on; cotton spinning and steam power. The two technologies are closely linked, the improved Steam Engine, invented by James Watt and patented in 1755, was originally used ...
Successful in his industrial and business ventures, Immanuel Nobel was able, in 1842, to bring his family to St. Petersburg. There, his sons were given a first class education by private teachers. The training included natural sciences, languages and literature. By the age of 17 Alfred Nobel was fluent in Swedish, Russian, French, English and German. His primary interests were in English literature and poetry as well as in chemistry and physics. Alfred's father, who wanted his sons to join his enterprise as engineers, disliked Alfred's interest in poetry and found his son rather introverted. In order to widen Alfred's horizons his father sent him abroad for further training in chemical engineering. During a two year period Alfred Nobel visited Sweden, Germany, France and the United States. In Paris, the city he came to like best, he worked in the private laboratory of Professor T. J. Pelouze, a famous chemist. There he met the young Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero who, three years earlier, had invented nitroglycerine, a highly explosive liquid.
Since the discovery of gunpowder by the Chinese, the world as we know it has made more efficient and powerful weapons. Throughout the history of warfare from the medieval times to present day, explosives have been used as an Offensive and Defensive weapon. When a castle or army was under siege the attacking army would surround the objective and cut off all supply lines and try to starve the enemy into submission. With the invention of gunpowder it made the siege obsolete. This was empowered by the cannon and other forms of field artillery, which allowed the objective to be overthrown quickly. Military grade explosives are used for benign reasons also. Within the past few years an emphasis has been placed upon demining war torn countries that are ravaged by unclaimed and unaccounted mines emplaced by the host nation. This action is being undertaken to make the countries safer for the citizens of those countries. Throughout history stalemates have occurred during war, Engineers or Soldiers with knowledge of explosives were called upon to end the stalemate. This essay will cover one such incident during the Battle of Crater and the siege of Petersburg, Virginia during the American Civil War.
Coal mining came along long before the industrial revolution had even commenced, it was an easy and well paid job until the coal, was pushed further down into the ground.
Great Britain was the first country to experience industrialization due to its abundant natural resources such as coal and iron, immense expansion throughout the world and subsequent economic growth from trade, and its governmental and financial strength. The industrial revolution was fast and maintained strength in Great Britain, whereas other Western countries experienced industrialization much more gradually and with more difficulty, due to political, social, and economic instability. Great Britain’s natural resources were a major factor in its early industrialization. One of the main resources was the abundance of both coal and iron. These two elements could be easily used in many different aspects of industrialization, and the amount of each led innovators to use them in all aspects of manufacturing in order to lower costs.
He continued working with nitroglycerin and mixed it with different chemicals until it became stable. Nobel found that soaking absorbent material in glycerin made the explosion much more stable. He called his new invention “Nobel’s Safety Blasting Powder”. However, his invention is known today as dynamite from the Greek word meaning power.
An argument of why the Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain before anywhere else, and why it took the form it did, needs to look at the advantages that Britain had over other European countries. Its good fortune of having large supplies of coal and the kind of institutions that were conducive to economic development and technological progress gave them the opportunities to lead the charge on industrialization. “The process was long and complicated, not sudden and violent as most revolutions are” (Lines 107). The term revolution is actually relatively misleading because the time period is more an evolution of technological growth ...