Nitroglycerin

Nitroglycerin (NG, alternative spelling nitroglycerine), also known as trinitroglycerol (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless or pale yellow, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating glycerol with white fuming nitric acid under conditions appropriate to the formation of the nitric acid ester. Chemically, the substance is a nitrate ester rather than a nitro compound, but the traditional name is retained. Discovered in 1846 by Ascanio Sobrero, nitroglycerin has been used as an active ingredient in the manufacture of explosives, namely dynamite, and as such it is employed in the construction, demolition, and mining industries. It is combined with nitrocellulose to form double-based smokeless powder, used as a propellant in artillery and firearms since the 1880s. As is the case for many other explosives, nitroglycerin becomes more and more prone to exploding (i.e., spontaneous decomposition) as the temperature is increased. Upon exposure to heat above 218 °C at sea-level atmospheric pressure, nitroglycerin becomes extremely unstable and tends to explode. When placed in vacuum, it has an autoignition temperature of 270 °C instead. With a melting point of 12.8 °C, the chemical is almost always encountered as a thick and viscous fluid, changing to a crystalline solid when frozen. Although the pure compound itself is colorless, in practice the presence of nitric oxide impurities left over during production tends to give it a slight yellowish tint. Due to its high boiling point and consequently low vapor pressure (0.00026 mmHg at 20 °C), pure nitroglycerin has practically no odor at room temperature, with a sweet and burning taste when ingested. Unintentional detonation may ensue when dropped, shaken, lit on fire, rapidly heated, exposed to sunlight and ozone, subjected to sparks and electrical discharges, or roughly handled. Its sensitivity to exploding is responsible for numerous devastating industrial accidents...