Dynamite in 1857

After reading some stuff about battles during the ACW and war for the unification of Italy and Germany I started to wonder how would they be affected by an earlier discovery of dynamite.

Though at first I thought it would favour the agressors I realised Dynamite sticks would be far better deffensive weapon against infantry formations.

What do you think would dynamite alter history or would everything go as it did?
 
Though at first I thought it would favour the agressors I realised Dynamite sticks would be far better deffensive weapon against infantry formations.


Anyone have that double face palm icon?

Ask yourself this question: At any time in their nearly century long existence, did any version of the modern hand grenade every use dynamite? Not improvised explosives mind you, but mass produced and issued weapons.
 
Anyone have that double face palm icon?

Ask yourself this question: At any time in their nearly century long existence, did any version of the modern hand grenade every use dynamite? Not improvised explosives mind you, but mass produced and issued weapons.

He might be imagining throwing sticks of it, which sounds even worse... :eek:
 
Phew, I'm glad I'm not the only one who had brought to mind one of those cartoons where Wile E. Coyote throws it at the Roadrunner...:D:eek:

It would be a sad, sad day if only one person imagined Wile E. Coyote when it came to the issue of misuse of explosives. Or technology of any sort. :D

Rocket powered roller skates. Enough said.

In a more serious observation for purposes of the original poster, earlier dynamite probably won't alter warfare very much - but it might mean explosives in general develop faster, which can only be a good thing for a given definition of good. Also useful for railroad construction through mountains.
 
I remember the 'Magnificent 7' movies, starring Yul Brynner, et al. In one film, I seem to remember Yul and his buddies throwing sticks of dynamite at a horde of Mexicans that were attacking them. It looked so cool on the screen.
 
The question should be "What would be the effect of nitroglycerin discovered prior to the ACW?" considering that cordite powder was a tangential discovery the butterflies would be huge.

As for the first modern hand grenade, the "Mills bomb" was a steel case filled with TnT, the blasting cap was located in the base with the fuse running up the middle.
 
An explosive idea...

You might be better looking at 'poudre brun' (Brown Powder) for better nitrate/charcoal/sulphur blending and then making corned or prismatic powders.

Here's wiki on Nitroglycerine's origin :-

Nitroglycerin was the first practical explosive stronger than black powder. It was synthesized by chemist Ascanio Sobrero in 1847, working under Théophile-Jules Pelouze at the University of Turin. Sobrero initially called his discovery pyroglycerine, and warned vigorously against its use as an explosive. It was later adopted as a commercially useful explosive by Alfred Nobel. He experimented with safer ways to handle the dangerous substance; his younger brother Emil and several workers were killed in 1864 in a nitroglycerin explosion at the family's armaments factory in Heleneborg, Sweden

In essence, you need some kind of absorbtion material - kieselguhr, yes, but also powdered shells or sawdust.
 
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