Explosive Medicine

You’ve probably heard of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and gelignite. The commercialisation of these explosives enabled him to accumulate great wealth during his lifetime which, by the terms of his will signed in 1895, was used to establish the Nobel Prize. In later life he was prescribed Trinitrin, a medication used to relieve a heart condition known as angina.

What do dynamite, gelignite and Trinitrin all have in common?

They all contain nitroglycerin!

This is not a story about the life of Alfred Nobel.

It is a story about the fascinating chemistry of nitroglycerin…

Read more in the June 2018 issue of AUS-e-NEWS, AUS-e-TUTE's free quarterly newsletter for chemistry students and teachers.

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