What makes nitroglycerin unstable?

An Explosive Combination of Atoms Nitroglycerin is an oily, colourless liquid, but also a high explosive that is so unstable that the slightest jolt, impact or friction can cause it to spontaneously detonate. It is the speed of the decomposition reaction which makes nitroglycerin such a violent explosive.

Is explosion of nitroglycerin a physical process?

In its undiluted form, nitroglycerin is a contact explosive, with physical shock causing it to explode. If it has not been adequately purified during manufacture it can degrade over time to even more unstable forms. This makes nitroglycerin highly dangerous to transport or use.

Why is medical nitroglycerin not explosive?

Usually, chemical compounds rely on external sources of oxygen in order to combust or cause an explosive reaction. In nitroglycerin’s case, this step is skipped entirely because it has a vast quantity of oxygen molecules in its chemical structure!

Is Dynamite safer than nitroglycerin?

dynamite, blasting explosive, patented in 1867 by the Swedish physicist Alfred Nobel. Dynamite is based on nitroglycerin but is much safer to handle than nitroglycerin alone.

Is nitroglycerin for heart explosive?

Medical Use In pharmaceutical form, nitroglycerin (sometimes called glyceryl trinitrate, probably to prevent alarming patients) is used as a heart medication, which is unlike its unstable counterpart, as it cannot be rendered even slightly explosive.

Is nitroglycerin unstable?

Nitroglycerin is a powerful and unstable explosive that Alfred Nobel used in his invention of dynamite in the mid 1800s. Being a volatile liquid, fumes of nitroglycerin were constantly inhaled by workers in the dynamite factories in Stockholm.

Is nitroglycerin used in explosives?

nitroglycerin, also called glyceryl trinitrate, a powerful explosive and an important ingredient of most forms of dynamite. It is also used with nitrocellulose in some propellants, especially for rockets and missiles, and it is employed as a vasodilator in the easing of cardiac pain.

Why is liquid nitroglycerin explosive?

Nitroglycerin, with the molecular formula C3H5(ONO2)3, has a high nitrogen content (18.5 percent) and contains sufficient oxygen atoms to oxidize the carbon and hydrogen atoms while nitrogen is being liberated, so that it is one of the most powerful explosives known.

How was nitroglycerin made more stable?

Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel in 1866. Nitroglycerin, a very unstable explosive, was already known. Nobel mixed the nitroglycerin with silica to stabilize it and form a solid material.