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Timeline of explosives

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This timeline lists the development of explosives and related events.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Timeline

[edit]
Year(s) Event Source
1st millennium Gunpowder, the first explosive, is developed. [1][2]
1040 - 1044 The book Wujing Zongyao contains three formulas for gunpowder, the first such reference.
1267 Roger Bacon's Opus Majus contains the first European reference to gunpowder. [3]
1659 Ammonium nitrate is first synthesized by Johann Rudolf Glauber; it wasn't used as an explosive until World War I. [4]
1745 William Watson shows that an electric spark can ignite gunpowder, demonstrating the first detonator. [5]
1845 Nitrocellulose is invented by Christian Schoenbein. [6]
1846 Nitroglycerin is invented by Ascanio Sobrero. It is the first practical explosive stronger than gunpowder. [7][8]
1863 TNT is invented by Julius Wilbrand, but used only as a yellow dye. [9]
Sep 3, 1864 A nitroglycerin explosion at Immanuel Nobel's factory kills Alfred Nobel's youngest brother Emil Oskar Nobel and five other factory workers. [8][10]
Nov 28, 1864 Alfred Nobel establishes his first company, Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget, the first commercial manufacturer of nitroglycerin. [11]
1865 Alfred Nobel develops a detonator using mercury fulminate in a copper capsule to detonate nitroglycerin. [8]
1866 Dynamite is invented by Alfred Nobel by mixing nitroglycerin with silica. It is the first safely manageable explosive stronger than gunpowder. [12]
1867 The use of ammonium nitrate in explosives is patented in Sweden. [13]
1875 Gelignite, the first plastic explosive, is invented by Alfred Nobel. [14][13]
1884 Paul Marie Eugène Vieille creates Poudre B, the first practical smokeless powder. [6]
1891 The explosive properties of TNT are discovered by Carl Häussermann. [9]
1894 PETN is patented by the Rheinisch-Westfälische Sprengstoff A.G. [de] [15]
1898 RDX is invented by Georg Friedrich Henning, but not used until World War II. [16]
1906 Dunnite is invented by US Army Major Beverly W. Dunn.
1908 The first detonating cord, a lead tube filled with TNT, is patented in France. [17]
Dec 6, 1917 Halifax Explosion: A cargo of TNT, picric acid, benzol, and guncotton aboard aboard a ship explodes after a collision, killing at least 1,782 people. It was the largest artificial explosion at the time. [18]
Apr 16, 1947 Texas City disaster: 2,100 metric tons of ammonium nitrate aboard a docked ship explode, ultimately killing at least 581 people, the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history. [19]
1952 Semtex, a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and PETN, is invented by Stanislav Brebera. [20]
1955 ANFO is developed, consisting of 94% ammonium nitrate. [6]
1956 C-4 is developed as part of the Composition C family of plastic explosives; it contains 91% RDX.
Aug 4, 2020 Beirut explosion: A large amount of ammonium nitrate explodes, causing at least 218 deaths. [21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Padmanabhan 2019, p. 59.
  2. ^ Romane 2020, p. 220.
  3. ^ "Roger Bacon | Philosophy, Biography, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  4. ^ "The deadly history of ammonium nitrate, the explosive linked to the Beirut blast". Science. 2020-08-06. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  5. ^ Royal Society (Great Britain); Britain), Royal Society (Great; Hutton, Charles; Maty, Paul Henry; Pearson, Richard; Shaw, George; Stuart, Alexander; Britain), Royal Society (Great; Britain), Royal Society (Great (1744). Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Vol. 43. London: Royal Society of London.
  6. ^ a b c "Explosive - Nitramon, Nitramex, and Smokeless Powder | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  7. ^ Magazine, Smithsonian; Eschner, Kat. "The Man Who Invented Nitroglycerin Was Horrified By Dynamite". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  8. ^ a b c "Explosive - Black Powder, Gunpowder, Glazing, and Safety Fuse | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  9. ^ a b Szondy, David (2018-06-15). "New explosive could render toxic TNT obsolete". New Atlas. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  10. ^ "Alfred Nobel's Industrial Activities in Vinterviken". NobelPrize.org. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  11. ^ "Alfred Nobel – Dynamit" (in Swedish). Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Alfred Nobel Was the Inventor of This Explosive Substance". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  13. ^ a b "Explosive - Nitroglycerin, Ammonium Nitrate, and TNT Isomers | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  14. ^ "How to handle gelignite". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  15. ^ "PETN | chemical compound | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  16. ^ "RDX | explosive | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  17. ^ "Explosive - Detonating Cord, Primacord, TNT, and Shaped Charge | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  18. ^ "Halifax Explosion". Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  19. ^ "Texas City explosion of 1947 | industrial disaster, Texas City, Texas, United States [1947] | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  20. ^ "Czech inventions that took the world by storm: the verzatilka, the patentka and Semtex". Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  21. ^ "Beirut explosion: What we know so far". BBC News. 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2023-06-27.

Sources

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  • Padmanabhan, Thanu (2019), The Dawn of Science: Glimpses from History for the Curious Mind, Bibcode:2019dsgh.book.....P
  • Romane, Julian (2020), The First & Second Italian Wars 1494-1504
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