Ascanio Sobrero
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Ascanio Sobrero
Italian chemist (1812–1888)
Born at Casal in Italy, Sobrero began by studying medicine but changed to chemistry, attending the universities at Turin, Paris, and Giessen. He became professor of chemistry at Turin in 1849, staying there until his retirement in 1882.
In 1846 – the year that Christian Schönbein discovered nitrocellulose – Sobrero discovered an even more powerful explosive, nitroglycerin. By slowly stirring drops of glycerin into a cooled mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids he produced a new but unpredictable explosive. Unlike Schönbein, Sobrero showed no desire to exploit the commercial value of his discovery. As it was liable to explode on receiving the slightest vibration there seemed to be no way to develop it, and its liquid nature made it difficult to use as a blaster. It was not utilized until 1866, when Alfred Nobel mixed it with the earth kieselguhr to produce a compound that could be transported and handled without too much difficulty. In this form – dynamite – it was used extensively in the great engineering programs of roads, railroads, and harbors of the late 19th century.
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Ascanio Sobrero
| Ascanio Sobrero | |
|---|---|
 Ascanio Sobrero |
|
| Born | October 12, 1812 Casale Monferrato, French Empire |
| Died | May 26, 1888 (aged 75) Turin , Italy |
| Residence | Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Fields | Organic chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Gießen, University of Turin |
| Alma mater | University of Gießen |
| Doctoral advisor | Justus Liebig |
| Known for | discovery of nitroglycerine |
Ascanio Sobrero (October 12, 1812 – May 26, 1888) was an Italian chemist, born in Casale Monferrato. He was studying under Théophile-Jules Pelouze at the University of Turin, who had worked with the explosive material guncotton.
He studied medicine in Turin and Paris and then chemistry at the University of Gießen with Justus Liebig, and earned his doctorate in 1832. In 1845 he became professor at the University of Turin
During his research he discovered nitroglycerine. He initially called it "pyroglycerine", and warned vigorously against its use in his private letters and in a journal article, stating that it was extremely dangerous and impossible to handle. In fact, he was so frightened by what he created that he kept it a secret for over a year.
Another of Pelouze's students was the young Alfred Nobel, who returned to the Nobel family's defunct armaments factory and began experimenting with the material around 1860; it did, indeed prove to be very difficult to discover how to handle it safely. In the 1860s Nobel received several patents around the world for mixtures, devices and manufacturing methods based on the explosive power of nitroglycerine, eventually leading to the invention of dynamite, ballistite and gelignite from which he made a fortune.
Although Nobel always acknowledged and honored Sobrero as the man who had discovered nitroglycerine, Sobrero was not only dismayed by the uses to which the explosive had been put, but also on occasion claimed that he was not given sufficient recognition.[1]
References
- ^ Kenne Fant (4 October 2006). Alfred Nobel: A Biography. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55970-328-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=-87ReXymessC. Retrieved 8 August 2011. "...recognition for a discovery for which others are now taking partial, or even full credit"
- Icilio Guareschi (1913). "Ascanio Sobrero nel centenario della sua nascita". Isis 1 (3): 351–358. doi:10.1086/357777. JSTOR 224137.
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Mentioned in
nitroglycerin
(in chemistry)
Year 1847
(in Science & Technology)
Explosives
(American history)
1866
(chronology)
1888
(chronology)
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