Nitro Compounds

           As most people know, explosives have been a big part of history. Explosives are the source to some of the strongest weakens, which have always been very helpful to humans. These weapons have been vital for organization of the world today. Wars were won depending on the man and their weapons, and the destinies of nations were in the hands of these explosives. Without them history could be much more different, and the country we live in today, could be a completely different one.  Most of the explosive molecules have a nitro group in their constitution, being this combination of one nitrogen and two oxygens, and their position in a molecule that create the explosive character of the molecule.

            The first explosive molecule made by man was the well-known gunpowder, composed of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and carbon, was used even during ancient times in China, Arabia and India. At first it main purpose was in firecrackers and fireworks, however by the eleventh century weapons named, fire arrows, were being propelled with gunpowder. As time went by different weapons were developed, most involving the propulsion ability of gunpowder. When the components of this substance would react and originate the products, some of them would be gases. These gases are then the reason that gunpowder is able to launch a cannonball or a bullet. The hot gases produced by the burning of the gunpowder provide the force necessary to launch the object that will be the weapon. As years went by, and weapons started to be developed into more modern and complicated mechanisms, different rates of burning powder were needed. These different gunpowders were produced with the addition of a mixture of alcohol and water.

            Explosive molecules are explosive because their reactions are very exothermic, and the high amounts of heat produced will originate a fast expansion of the gases produced, increasing their volume and creating the shock wave characteristic of explosives. These reactions should happen tremendously fast so that the heat doesn’t dissipate and the gases don’t simply diffuse into the surroundings, and for it to happen at such speed the molecule itself should proportionate the oxygen, since the oxygen from the air wouldn’t be accessible so rapidly. This is also the reason why nitro groups tend to be characteristically explosive, having the oxygen supply needed for the explosion to happen fast, while others with oxygen not bonded to nitrogen are not explosive. In the same way, the more nitro groups a molecule has in its’ constitution, the more explosive it will be, and three derivatives of toluene are the best example of this theory.

During the nineteenth century a new explosive molecule named, nitroglycerin was discovered by Ascanio Sobrero when mixing sulfuric and nitric acid with glycerol. The demand for nitroglycerin increased when people understood how this substance was more powerful than the used gunpowder and that it could be used in medicine due to the nitric oxide that it releases in the body which has the ability to dilate blood vessels. However, there were big concerns about the safety of the production of nitroglycerin, and some countries, like France, even banned this substance. Nitroglycerin is a very unstable and unpredictable molecule, which can explode when heated or struck with a hammer, for example. With further experiments it was possible to control the explosion using a small amount of gunpowder, but it was still not possible to stop undesired explosions. The control of the nitroglycerin was also the production of the first dynamites. This control was possible when mixing liquid nitroglycerin with kieselguhr, which created a plastic mass of diluted nitroglycerin where its’ particles were separated which slowed down the rate of their decomposition and the explosive could be controlled. Dynamite could now be shaped into any form, and would not explode accidently. Nobel was the mind behind this discovery which brought him great fortune which later went to provision of research prizes in different fields. Even though such great progress had been done, people still looked for stronger and better explosives. During World War I pitric acid and trinitrotoluene were the explosives of choice. At first pitric acid was used just as a dye, but it was found that if a powerful detonator was used this substance could be made into an explosive. However this substance was hard to detonate when wet, and due to that trinitrotoluene (TNT) was a better choice. This substance had a lower melting point making it possible for it to be poured into bomb shells and was also able to create a greater impact. TNT gave a big advantage to Germany during WWI during the confrontations with France, since they were still only using pitric acid. This made other countries hurry to develop the TNT explosives too, and the need for more explosives made ammonia very important during this period. Ammonia was the material with which nitric acid could be produced and then used to make the explosive molecules being that one of the reasons why it was so necessary. Ammonia was also used primarily as a fertilizer, being a great innovation to agriculture, making it easier for the production of food. Nowadays other explosive molecules like, ammonium  nitrate or pentaerythritoltetranitrate, have been under the public eye due to being some of the favored explosives for terrorists.

            There is no doubt that nitro compounds have changed the world, the explosive molecules that this nitro groups produce were decisive for wars, and are still shaping us today, due its’ use by the terrorists. Nobel produced and sold nitroglycerin hoping that it would bring hope, however this is not actually true. For sure these molecules have affected and made the world we live, and in the past may have both saved and ended a lot of lives. However, in todays’ world these explosives bring more pain to people than anything else, representing a lot of dangers to innocent people, more than protection itself. The authors have showed to us the development of this nitro compounds and the changes it made in the world, and the reader is able to understand its’ big influence in history. Even today we are influenced by explosive compounds which can induce both fear and a feeling of protection, but we tend not to see this importance in our daily life.