Born into the family of an inventor, Alfred Nobel devoted his entire life to his only love - working on a substance that would prevent all wars in the world. A fanatical commitment to explosive substances played a cruel joke on him, but it was his fatal mistake that became the motivation to establish a prize for the greatest achievements in science and art.
Family and childhood
Alfred Nobel was born into the family of a gifted inventor and mechanic, Emmanuel, and was the third child of eight born. Unfortunately, of all the children in the family, only four were able to survive - besides Alfred, three more of his brothers.
The year the future famous chemist was born, his parents’ house burned to the ground. Over time, they will see some symbolism in this - after all, fire and explosions will become part of Nobel’s life.
After the fire, the family had to move to a much smaller house on the outskirts of Stockholm. And the father began to look for work in order to somehow feed his large family. But he managed this with difficulty. Therefore, in 1837, he fled the country to escape his creditors. First he went to the Finnish city of Turku, then moved to St. Petersburg. At that time he was working on his new project - explosive mines.
While the father was looking for happiness abroad, three children and their mother were waiting for him at home, barely making ends meet. But after five years, Emmanuel invited his family to Russia - the authorities appreciated his invention and offered to work on the project further. Emmanuel moved his wife and children to St. Petersburg - out of dire need, the family suddenly found themselves in the upper echelons of society. And Emmanuel’s children have a chance to get a good education. At the age of 17, Alfred could boast of knowing five languages: Russian, Swedish, German, English and French.
Despite his good knowledge of technology and engineering, Alfred was also very interested in literature. But the father was not very happy when his son announced his desire to devote his life to writing. Therefore, the father resorts to a trick: he gives his son the opportunity to go on an expedition around the world, but in return he forever forgets about literature. The young man could not resist the temptation of travel and went to Europe, and then to America. But even after making a promise to his father, Alfred was never able to give up literature forever: in secret, he continues to write poetry. Although he still lacks the courage to publish them. Over time, he will burn everything he has written, showing readers only his only work - the play "Nemesis", which he wrote almost at the point of death.
Meanwhile, things are going very well for Alfred's father - during the Crimean War his inventions were very useful Russian government. Therefore, he was finally able to get rid of long-standing debts in Sweden. His experiments with explosives were later refined by Alfred, who made a career for himself in this area.
Alfred and the explosives
While traveling in Italy, Alfred met the chemist Ascanio Sobrero. The main development of his life was nitroglycerin, an explosive substance. Although the researcher himself did not fully understand where it could be used, Alfred appreciated the new product immediately - in 1860 he wrote in his diary that he was “working on a new project and has already achieved very great success in experiments with nitroglycerin.”
After the end of the Crimean War, the need for explosives in Russian Empire were reduced, and Emmanuel's affairs began to go poorly again. He returned to Sweden with his family, and soon Alfred came to them, who continued his experiments on a new invention - dynamite.
In 1864, an explosion occurred at the Nobel plant - 140 kg of nitroglycerin detonated. As a result of the accident, five workers died, among them was Alfred's younger brother Emil.
The Stockholm authorities forbade Alfred from further experimenting in the city, so he had to move his workshop to the shore of Lake Malaren. There he worked on an old barge, trying to figure out how to make nitroglycerin explode when needed. After some time, he achieved a result: nitroglycerin was now absorbed into another substance, and the mixture became solid and no longer exploded on its own. So Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, and he also developed a detonator.
In 1867, he officially patented his development, becoming the sole copyright holder for the production of dynamite.
In 1871, Nobel moved to Paris, where he wrote his only play, Nemesis. But almost the entire circulation was destroyed - the church decided that the drama was blasphemous. Only three copies survived, on the basis of which the play was staged in 1896.
For the first time after this, the play was published only 100 years later - in 2003 in Sweden, and two years later it premiered in one of the theaters in Stockholm.
"King of Dynamite"
In 1889, another brother of Alfred, Ludwik, died. But the reporters were mistaken and decided that the researcher himself had died, so they “buried him alive”, publishing an obituary in which they called Nobel “a millionaire who made a fortune on blood” and “a merchant of death.” These articles unpleasantly struck the scientist, because in fact he had a completely different motivation when he invented dynamite. He was an idealist and wanted to create a weapon whose destructive power alone would prevent people from even thinking about conquering other countries.
Since he was already very famous and rich, he began to donate a lot to charity, especially sponsoring those organizations that promoted peace.
But after those articles, Nobel became more withdrawn and rarely left his home or his laboratories.
In 1893 he was given an honorary doctorate from the Swedish University of Uppsala.
Living in France, he continued his experiments: he developed so-called “Nobel lighters” that would help remotely ignite detonators. But the French authorities were not interested in the development. Unlike Italy. As a result of the scandal, Alfred was accused of high treason and he had to leave France - he moved to Italy and settled in the town of San Remo.
On December 10, 1896, Nobel died in his villa from a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried in his native Stockholm at the Norra Begravningsplatsen cemetery
Nobel Prize
In his will, the “dynamite king” indicated that all his property should go to charity. Its 93 factories produced about 66.3 thousand tons of explosives per year. He invested huge sums in various projects during his lifetime. In total, it was about 31 million Swedish marks.
Nobel ordered all his property to be converted into capital and securities- from them to form a fund, the profit from which should be divided every year between the most outstanding scientists of the outgoing year.
The money was to be given to scientists in three categories sciences: chemistry, physics, medicine and physiology, as well as in the field of literature (Nobel emphasized that this must necessarily be idealistic literature), and activities for the benefit of the world. The trials dragged on for five years after the death of the scientist - after all general state valued at almost $1 billion.
The first Nobel Prize ceremony was held in 1901.
- Alfred Nobel did not indicate in his will the need to issue a prize for achievements in the field of economic sciences. The Nobel Prize in Economics was only awarded to the Bank of Sweden in 1969.
- There is an opinion that Alfred Nobel did not include mathematics in the list of disciplines of his prize because his wife cheated on him with a mathematician. In fact, Nobel never married. The real reason Nobel ignored mathematics is unknown, but there are several assumptions. For example, at that time there was already a prize in mathematics from the Swedish king. Another thing is that mathematicians do not make important inventions for humanity, since this science is purely theoretical.
- The synthesized product is named after Nobel chemical element Nobelium with atomic number 102;
- The asteroid (6032) Nobel, discovered by astronomer Lyudmila Karachkina at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory on August 4, 1983, is named in honor of A. Nobel.
Alfred Nobel is the richest chemist in the history of mankind. Where did Alfred receive the education that revealed his talents? What connects the famous inventor with Russia? How did a millionaire without children and a wife manage his wealth? What goal did the scientist pursue when approving the Nobel Prize?
The founder of the Nobel Prize was born in Sweden in 1883. In addition to Alfred, there were seven more children in the family, but only four brothers lived to adulthood. When Alfred was nine years old, the Nobel family moved to Russia, where he grew up and became involved in the affairs of his father’s company.
The youth of the inventor
Albert received his education at home, and at the age of 16 his father sent him on a journey that lasted two years. In France, the future scientist completed courses in chemistry and physics. Immanuel Nobel (Alfred's father) became rich in Russia thanks to the production of mines, which were in demand during the Crimean War. But after the war, the plant stopped making a profit, Nobel Sr. returned to Sweden. Young Alfred remained to run the business and began chemical experiments with his brother Emil. In 1864, during one experiment, a tragedy occurred; Emil and several other people died from an explosion. However, the research did not stop; Alfred continued to work in the laboratory.
Great invention
In his youth, the young scientist experienced heartfelt disappointment - his beloved, the daughter of a pharmacist, chose to marry a mathematician. Saddened, Alfred plunged headlong into business. In 1867, he made his famous discovery - he invented dynamite. The discovery brought him fame and fortune. Ill-wishers spread a rumor in the newspapers that the discovery was accidental: the flask broke, the contents mixed with the soil, and the result was dynamite. Nobel himself always disputed this version; he insisted that he purposefully selected a substance that would reduce the explosiveness of nitroglycerin.
The chemist organized a chemical laboratory in the middle of the lake, far from people, equipped with everything necessary. He managed to convince several investors to invest in dynamite production. In addition to the patent for the invention in Sweden itself, the scientist patented the rights to produce dynamite in international organizations. In the course of further research, Nobel invented a number of explosives.
Nobel's personality
Alfred's interests were not limited only to chemistry and explosives. Nobel was well versed and worked successfully in the fields of optics, medicine, and biology. In total, 350 patents were registered in the name of Alfred Nobel, including a water meter, a refrigerator, a gas burner, and a barometer.
Based on even such a modest listing of his works, it becomes clear how talented person was Alfred Nobel. In addition to science, the scientist was interested in fiction, his favorite writers were Turgenev, Balzac, Hugo and Maupassant. Nobel himself wrote, but only one of his plays, Nemesis, has survived to this day.
Nobel Prize
Contemporaries describe Nobel as a modest and even gloomy man, prone to loneliness. He did not smoke, did not drink, and did not gamble. His lifestyle can be called Spartan; the millionaire did not squander his capital, but used it wisely. Alfred Nobel was against violence and war, even his dynamite was initially used only for peaceful purposes - construction, tunneling. Nobel paid for many congresses dedicated to peace throughout the planet. The scientist did not like journalists for their importunity and even nicknamed them “bipedal bacilli.”
In his will, Nobel placed all his acquired wealth in a specialized fund, and ordered the income to be divided into five parts and awarded every year to the most talented chemist, physicist, physician, physiologist and writer. Special attention The scientist paid attention to the point that states that the nationality of the candidate should not matter. In this way, Alfred Nobel tried to make a feasible contribution to maintaining peace throughout the planet.
Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village
Foundation "Dialogue of Cultures - One World» initiated an installation project for the famous humanist on the territory of the Cultural and Educational Tourist Center “ETNOMIR”. The author of the sculpture, Alexei Leonov, depicted Alfred Nobel at a turning point in his life: sitting in a chair with a newspaper in which his obituary was mistakenly published. It was then that the inventor decided to direct the enormous fortune he had accumulated to achieve the highest goal - eternal peace and prosperity.
Today, every guest of ETNOMIR can see the monument: the monument is installed between the 6th pavilion of the Street of Peace “Caravanserai” and the 7th pavilion “Around the World”. In the future, the bronze Nobel will take pride of place on the pedestal of the “Norway” ethno-court. Sweden. Iceland". Come to the main ethnographic park-museum of Russia to learn the testimonies of one of the greatest teachers of mankind!
Alfred Nobel, talented Swedish inventor. Photo: Wikipedia
On October 21, 1833, the phenomenon of experimental chemistry was born, an academician without formal education, Doctor of Philosophy, founder of the foundation for awarding the prize named after Alfred Nobel.
The talented Swedish inventor, who spent most of his life in Russia, “blew up” global community invention of dynamite. In 1863, he patented the use of nitroglycerin in technology in Sweden - for the first time after eight hundred years of the dominance of black gunpowder, civilization received a new explosive! Soon - patents for a detonator, dynamite...
Alfred Nobel wanted to see the application of his scientific developments exclusively in peaceful life. Paradoxically, he also created explosives. They were adopted by the army. But creative projects with the help of his explosives rapidly changed the world: rapid mining of rocks for the extraction of ores, coal, oil and gas, tunneling, and later rocket flights became possible. So the dynamite invented by Nobel was in demand all over the world, and its creator became incredibly rich in a few years. Although Alfred Nobel, being an ascetic in everyday life, spent a lot of money on the development of science, by the end of his life he had 31 million crowns left, which he donated to the creation of the Nobel Prize.
The great Swede was not deprived of a peculiar sense of humor. For example, in last years In his life he was especially tormented by heart pain, and he remarked about his treatment: “Isn’t it ironic that I was prescribed nitroglycerin! Doctors call it trinitrine so as not to scare off pharmacists and patients.”
Alfred Nobel was not an exceptional case in his family - his father Immanuel, an architect, builder, entrepreneur, became famous for his inventions in various fields, and his siblings Robert and Ludwig radically re-equipped and developed the oil industry. Alfred himself filed 355 patents, including the right to the design of a gas burner, water meter, barometer, refrigeration apparatus, and an improved method for producing sulfuric acid. Alfred Nobel was a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London and the Paris Society of Civil Engineers.
Alfred was born in Stockholm, and from the age of 8 he lived with his family in St. Petersburg, therefore he considered Russia his second homeland. He spoke Swedish, Russian, English, German, Italian. A man of high education and phenomenal intelligence, Alfred Nobel officially did not have any education, not even a level high school. After self-education at home, his father sent the young Alfred on an educational journey through the Old and New Worlds. There he met prominent scientists and became infected with invention.
Returning home, he began to actively study nitroglycerin. At that time, many people died from inept handling of this hellish “oil”. Tragedy also happened to the Nobels - during an experiment, an explosion occurred and killed eight people along with the laboratory. Among the dead was a twenty-year-old boy, the younger brother of the Nobels, Emil-Oscar. Their father was paralyzed and died eight years later.
The Nobel brothers continued to be involved in science and industry. They all invested in the development of science. Especially generous - Alfred. Even for the workers at his enterprises, he created comfortable living and working conditions - he built houses, schools and hospitals, where the courtyards were decorated with fountains and flower beds; Provided employees with free transportation to work. About the use of his inventions by the military, he said: “For my part, I wish that all the guns with all their accessories and servants could be sent to hell, that is, to the most appropriate place for them.” Alfred Nobel allocated funds for congresses in defense of peace. On December 10, 1896, his life ended with a cerebral hemorrhage, this happened in the Italian town of San Remo.
Among Alfred Nobel's 355 patented inventions, there were more and less significant ones for the development of mankind. But five of them are an undoubted breakthrough in science and fundamental innovations in practical use.
1. In 1864, Alfred Nobel created a series of ten blasting caps. They differed little from each other, but detonator cap No. 8 found the widest use, and that is what it is still called, although there is no other numbering. Detonators are needed to detonate the charge. The fact is that the charges react poorly to other influences, but they are good at picking up even a tiny explosion near them. And the detonator is created in such a way that it reacts to a minor impact - a flame or even a spark, friction, impact. The detonator easily “picks up” the conditions for an explosion and brings it to the charge.
2. In 1867, Alfred Nobel curbed the uncontrollable nitroglycerine and created dynamite. To do this, he mixed volatile nitroglycerin with kieselguhr, a porous rock also called mountain flour and infusor soil. It is found in abundance at the bottom of reservoirs, so the material is accessible and cheap, but it completely suppresses the explosive nitroglycerin. The paste-like substance can be molded and transported - it does not explode without a detonator, even from shaking and arson. Its power is slightly lower than nitroglycerin, but it is still 5 times more powerful than its predecessor explosive - black powder. Dynamite was first used in the United States when laying the Pacific Ocean. railway. Now the compositions of dynamites are different. They are little used in military affairs, often in the mining industry and for tunneling.
3. In 1876, Alfred Nobel obtained explosive jelly by combining nitroglycerin and deck. The mixture of two explosives created a super-explosive, superior in power to dynamite. This is a jelly-like transparent substance, which is why the first names were explosive jelly, dynamite gelatin. Modern chemists know the substance as gelignite. Kolodium is a thick liquid, a solution of pyroxylin (nitrocellulose) in a mixture of ether and alcohol. And after testing the combination of nitroglycerin with wood, experiments followed with the combination of nitroglycerin with potassium nitrate, with wood pulp. In modern production, explosive jelly is usually used as an intermediate raw material for the preparation of other explosives - ammonium nitrate and gelatin dynamite.
4. Alfred Nobel’s registration of a patent for ballistite in 1887 turned into a scandal. This is one of the first nitroglycerin smokeless powders, consisting of powerful explosives - nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. Ballistites have been used to this day - they are used in mortars, artillery pieces, and also as solid rocket fuel if a little aluminum or magnesium powder is added to them to increase the heat of combustion. But ballistite also has a “descendant” - cordite. The difference in composition is minimal and the preparation methods are almost identical. Nobel assured that the description of the production of ballistite also included a description of the production of cordite. But other scientists, Abel and Dewar, indicated a type of substance with a volatile solvent that was more convenient for the production of cordite, and the right to invent cordite was assigned to them by the court. The final products, ballistite and cordite, have a lot in common in their properties.
5. In 1878, Alfred Nobel, while working at a family oil production company, invented an oil pipeline - a method of continuous transportation of a liquid product.
It was built, like everything progressive, also with a scandal, because the oil pipeline, although it reduced the cost of production by 7 times, but unprecedentedly reduced the jobs of carriers of oil in barrels. The construction of the Nobel oil pipeline was completed in 1908, and dismantled not so long ago, that is, it served for more than a hundred years! And when its construction began, oil production was in its infancy - the product flowed by gravity from wells into earthen pits. It was scooped out of the pits in buckets into barrels, which were transported on carts to sailing ships, then along the Caspian Sea and Volga to Nizhny Novgorod, and from there throughout Russia. Ludwig Nobel installed steel tanks instead of pits and invented the cistern and tanker, which still serve industrialists today. Based on the ideas of his brother Alfred, he built steam pumps and applied new methods of chemical oil purification. The product is of excellent quality, the best in the world, truly “black gold”.
Almost all people in the world know about Alfred Nobel today. His famous Nobel Prize is sought by researchers and scientists. This is how this amazing man entered world history. Although many also know that the great Alfred Nobel also invented dynamite during his lifetime. Biography of Nobel – interesting story
life of the inventor and personality.
Relatives and friends of the great inventor October 21, 2833 was born in In Stockholm, the future famous chemist and inventor, engineer and founder of a huge world-scale prize, Alfred Bernhard Nobel. Biography of this interesting person surprises many biographers to this day.
Alfred was born to the family of Emmanuel and Andrietta Nobel, who had a total of eight offspring. But only four remained alive: Alfred, Robert, Emil and Ludwig.
Although later, at the age of twenty, during experiments with dynamite discovered by Alfred Nobel, another son of the Nobel couple, Emil, dies. This grief paralyzes the father of the family and leaves a deep, bitter mark in the soul of Alfred himself. But he still does not give up his ideas and makes discoveries one after another.
Key dates in the life of the founder of the famous Nobel Prize
A brief biography of Alfred Nobel can be represented by the following main events:
- 1842 - the Nobel family moved to St. Petersburg. Alfred Nobel develops the idea of producing torpedoes.
- 1849 - Alfred Nobel begins studying in Europe and America. For two years the young man travels around the world, visiting Denmark, Italy, Germany, France, and then America.
- 1851 - return to Russia. Alfred Nobel becomes a manufacturer, fulfilling orders for the Russian army.
- 1853 - The Crimean War helps the Nobel family business to make good profits and enter a time of prosperity.
- 1859 - Ludwig Emmanuel Nobel becomes a manufacturer. Due to the bankruptcy of the family business, Alfred returns to Sweden with his father and begins to work closely on explosives. At the same time, he receives a loan of 100 thousand francs and begins research work in the field of chemistry, conducting experiments and inventing new elements, compounds and mixtures.
- 1868 - Alfred Nobel discovers dynamite, consisting of a mixture of nitroglycerin with other substances that have the ability to absorb it.
- 1876 - discovery of “explosive jelly” - a combination of nitroglycerin with collodion. This “jelly” had a stronger explosiveness than the previously discovered dynamite. The following years were full of discoveries of other combinations of nitroglycerin with substances. The first smokeless powder, called ballistite, was a huge leap forward that dynamite left far behind. Ballistitis is followed by the discovery of cordite.
- 1889 – participation in the World Peace Congress.
- 1894, 1895 – litigation regarding Nobel's statement that cordite was already included in his previously registered discovery patent.
- 1896, December 10, villa in San Remo in Italy - Alfred Nobel died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of sixty-three. Nobel's grave is located in Stockholm's Norra Begrävningsplatsen cemetery.
This is the fate of Alfred Nobel, presented in a short biography greatest man with a worldwide reputation.
Interesting but little known fact
Few people know, but Alfred Nobel not only invented dynamite and established a personal prize, he revealed his dramatic talent. True, the biography of Nobel the playwright cannot boast of an extensive list of works he created. The bulk of the works he wrote - novels, poems, plays - were never published. Only one work is known - a play about Beatrice Cenci called “Nemesis”, which he completed before his death.
This tragedy in four acts was met with hostility by the clergy, so the entire circulation of the publication, published in 1896, was destroyed after Nobel’s death, with the exception of three copies.
But, fortunately, in Sweden in 2003 a bilingual edition of the play was published, written both in Swedish, and in Esperanto. And in 2005, the world had the good fortune to get acquainted with this work, played on the Stockholm stage in memory of the great scientist on the day of his death.
This fact speaks volumes about how versatile this amazing man Alfred Nobel was. And it will seem quite surprising to many that the famous inventor and chemist was seriously thinking about giving up his research and experiments and taking the path of writing.
I wonder if the world's population would have benefited or lost then? After all, perhaps dynamite would not have been invented then or would have been invented much later. And instead we would receive many talented works of the highest level...
The character of a world-famous person
Alfred Nobel surprised his contemporaries with his controversial character. Not everyone understood his paradoxical behavior. Being quite wealthy, Alfred gravitated towards a Spartan lifestyle and longed for solitude. Indeed, in the era of developing capitalism, many successful businessmen were not like that.
However, fate seemed to deliberately place him in conditions that disgusted him. Life forced Nobel, who could not stand the hustle and bustle of the city, to spend most of his time in cities. Being a homebody and preferring to think in quiet solitude, Alfred Nobel spent a lot of time traveling around the world.
Working on explosives and mixtures, Alfred Nobel was opposed to murder and violence, and carried out enormous work in the name of peace on earth. But the fact remains: dynamite was discovered by him.
Alfred Nobel surprised his contemporaries by the fact that he led healthy image life, as they would say today. He had a negative attitude towards alcohol, smoking, gambling.
At that time, the bigwigs, by and large, were doing two things: making money without thinking about its “smell,” and spending millions, trying to “get everything they can from life.” Alfred Nobel, preferring solitude, loved to read. His luxurious library contained the works of great scientists of that time. Nobel Alfred read with pleasure his contemporaries: Maupassant, Balzac, Turgenev, Hugo.
The naturalism that was fashionable at that time, inherent in the writing of Emile Zola, was not to Nobel’s taste. But he could re-read the works of philosophers of all times several times, thinking about this or that position and making his own unique notes and developments on this or that issue. After all, Alfred Nobel himself was not only a chemist, but also a doctor of philosophy.
In memory of discoveries
Alfred Nobel, inventing dynamite and other explosive mixtures, was an ardent pacifist. He saw a different application for his discoveries, which would help develop progress for humanity, and not kill each other. But the persecution that began in the media over the fact that Alfred Nobel was able to invent dynamite pushed him to the idea that he needed to leave another bright mark in this world.
So the inventor came to the decision to establish a personal prize after his death, writing a will on November 27, 1895, according to which most of his accumulated fortune - 31 million crowns - goes to the Nobel Prize fund. This fact of Nobel's life made his biography a historical milestone on a global scale.
Alfred Nobel (full name– Alfred Bernhard Nobel) is a famous Swedish chemist, inventor and engineer. Founder of the Nobel Prize. One of his main inventions was dynamite, which allowed Alfred to earn a huge fortune.
Nobel family
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Stockholm October 21, 1833. His father - Emmanuel Nobel, mother - Andrietta Nobel. He was the third son in a family that consisted of only 8 children.
However, only four of them survived - Alfred, Robert, Ludwig and Emil Nobel. Emil later died at one of the family factories.
Study period
At 9 years old Alfred arrives in St. Petersburg. At that time, Emmanuel, his father, was engaged in the production of steam units in the Russian Empire. The boy had to study, and he was sent to a private school, where he studied until he was 17 years old.
Young Nobel’s favorite subjects were physics and chemistry, which determined his future fate. IN free time he was in his father's company, delving into its essence.
In 1949 father, on the recommendation of the Russian chemist N.N. Zinin, sends his son to study in-depth physics and chemistry in Germany. Then Alfred Nobel left for Paris. After that, he interned and worked in America at a factory John Erickson – famous inventor. There he studied the features of manufacturing steam units: for cars and ships.
Return to family business
In 1853 Alfred Nobel returned to St. Petersburg. He began working in his father's company, whose main activity at that time was the production of ammunition. It was in this year that the Crimean War began, which lasted until 1856.
During the war, the demand for Nobel Sr.'s products was high, and the company flourished. However, after the war, things in family business did not go very well: Russia did not need ammunition, and parts for steamships were required extremely rarely. Therefore, the Nobel family decided return to your homeland - Stockholm.
Discovery of dynamite
In his native land, Alfred continued to study science in the laboratory, which his father built especially for him. The experiments were based on domestication of nitroglycerin, opened in 1842. Alfred tried to control this dangerous substance by conducting various experiments.
He managed to make a capsule filled with mercury - this is how the detonator turned out. And the most important discovery of his life was invention of dynamite. He obtained it by combining nitroglycerin with other substances. In 1867, dynamite was patented by Alfred Nobel.
Immediately after this, Alfred offered the Swedish railway workers his invention, which could help in breaking through tunnels. Since the Swedish landscape is rocky, the proposal was accepted "With a bang" and significantly accelerated the construction of railways.
Big success
First practice using dynamite made this substance popular. Its further use was carried out in a wide variety of industries and for a variety of purposes:
- Under the highest mountain of the Alps - Mont Blanc - a tunnel was built with a length of 11,600 meters.
- Laying the Corinth Canal in Greece.
- Removing underwater rocks from New York's navigable rivers.
- The channel of the Danube was cleared.
Immediately, dynamite factories began to grow in Europe and America. This began to bring huge profits to Alfred Nobel, who owned one fifth of all explosives production.
Second invention
In 1873, Alfred left for the capital of France - Paris. There he continues his scientific and inventive activities. As a result of his labors and experiments, his second miracle was born - smokeless powder called "ballistite".
In the late 80s, Nobel patented this invention and, without hesitation, sold his patent to the Italian government. This fact upset the French leadership, and in 1891 Alfred had to leave Paris. He moved to Italy and settled in the city of San Remo.
Personal life of Alfred Nobel
ABOUT personal life Alfred Nobel knows that he never been married. He lived as a hermit and devoted himself entirely to his beloved science, engineering, and invention.
Nobel was fluent in several languages: French, Russian, English and German. He strove for peace and never wanted to become famous. Therefore, at the end of his days, Nobel devoted all his time to his laboratory in the Italian Riviera, built under an orange grove.
IN last months he felt very tired, he developed angina, and was tormented by constant pain in the heart area.
December 10, 1896 years, at the age of 63, Alfred Nobel died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried in his homeland - in Stockholm.
Nobel Prize
In 1888 One French reporter published the news of Alfred Nobel's death in a newspaper by mistake. In fact, one of his brothers, Ludwig, died that year. Having seen an article in the newspaper about himself, as journalists wrote about him - "millionaire on blood", "dynamite king", "death merchant"“Alfred was very impressed.
He was a pacifist by nature and did not want to remain in the memory of mankind as a global villain. That is why November 27, 1895 he wrote his will:
“I, the undersigned, Alfred Bernhard Nobel, having considered and decided, hereby declare my will in respect of the property acquired by me... The capital my executors are to transfer into securities, creating a fund, the interest from which will be paid in the form of a bonus to those who during the previous year brought the greatest benefit to humanity.
The specified percentages should be divided into five equal parts, which are intended: the first part to the one who made the most important discovery or an invention in the field of physics, the second - in the field of chemistry, the third - in the field of physiology or medicine, the fourth - to the person who created the most significant literary work, reflecting human ideals, the fifth - to those who will make a significant contribution to the unity of peoples, the abolition of slavery, the reduction of the size of existing armies and the promotion of a peace agreement.
...My special wish is that the awarding of prizes should not be influenced by the nationality of the candidate, so that the most deserving ones will receive the prize, regardless of whether they are Scandinavian or not”.
