This timeline lists the development of explosives and related events.

Timeline

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

See also

References

  1. ^ Padmanabhan 2019, p. 59.
  2. ^ Romane 2020, p. 220.
  3. ^ "Roger Bacon | Philosophy, Biography, & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  4. ^ Gibbens, Sarah (2020-08-06). "The deadly history of ammonium nitrate, the explosive linked to the Beirut blast". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  5. ^ Watson, William (October–December 1745). "Experiments and Observations, trending to illustrate the Nature and Properties of Electricity". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 43 (477): 500. London: Royal Society.
  6. ^ "Explosive – Nitramon, Nitramex, and Smokeless Powder". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  7. ^ Eschner, Kat. "The Man Who Invented Nitroglycerin Was Horrified By Dynamite". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  8. ^ "Explosive – Black Powder, Gunpowder, Glazing, and Safety Fuse". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  9. ^ 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 sv-SE). Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology. Archived 3 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Explosive – Nitroglycerin, Ammonium Nitrate, and TNT Isomers". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  13. ^ "How to handle gelignite". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  14. ^ "PETN | chemical compound". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  15. ^ "RDX | explosive". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  16. ^ "Explosive - Detonating Cord, Primacord, TNT, and Shaped Charge". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  17. ^ "Halifax Explosion". Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  18. ^ "Texas City explosion of 1947 | industrial disaster, Texas City, Texas, United States [1947]". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "Beirut explosion: What we know so far". BBC News. 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2023-06-27.

Sources

  • 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"