The father of dynamite: Alfred Bernhard Nobel

When it comes to the name Nobel, almost everyone in the world knows it. Nobel was a Swedish scientist and inventor. He became a rich man by inventing dynamite and detonators and operating and producing these two things. Before Nobel died, he left a will and decided to use part of his estate as a fund after his death, with all the interest divided into five equal parts, as prizes for "the most contributors to human happiness", namely: Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry Five awards include physiology or medicine, literature, and peace (an economics award was added in 1968).

The Nobel family are native Swedes. His father was an invention maniac and had many inventions in his life. Nobel was influenced by his father since he was a child and has a strong interest in science.

When Nobel was young, his family was not in a good situation. In order to make a living for the family, his father went to Poland alone, but he still could not find a good job, and later moved to Russia. Due to an extremely difficult life, Nobel was malnourished, thin and sickly, and often had colds and fevers. His mother was constantly worried about him. When he was 8 years old, he studied in a primary school in the town. He had to take leave frequently due to his physical frailty. However, he was so talented and intelligent that not only did he not fall behind in his grades, he actually did better than other classmates.

Nobel is thin and does not have many playmates. He is not as lively as other children, but often plays alone. He likes to read fairy tales quietly, or go for a walk on the grassland, touch the grass, insects, and pick up small stones to enjoy. On campus, he often stayed away from his classmates, sitting alone in the shade of a tree and watching the changing clouds in the sky or the various dynamics of insects on the ground. Therefore, the teacher thought that he might become a poet or writer in the future. Nobel's grandmother loved him very much and often told him some Swedish and Danish fairy tales. At this time, he always listened obediently and quietly, and his mind was filled with endless reverie. The countless fantasies ignited in his young mind may be the germs of future inventions and creations!

When Nobel was 9 years old, his father wrote from Russia saying that he had opened a factory in St. Petersburg to manufacture military machinery and that Russia valued him. The father asked the whole family to settle with him. On December 22, 1843, Nobel’s 10th birthday, the family left Sweden and took a ship across the Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg.

The father went to the dock to greet them. Nobel sat on the carriage and looked around, looking at the towering temple towers and onion-shaped roofs, and was amazed by everything in the foreign big city. After arriving at the new home and settling down, the father said to the three children: "From now on, you three brothers must encourage each other and study hard to achieve great things." The father asked the eldest brother, Robert: "What do you plan to do when you grow up?" Robert said: "I must become a great technician!" His father asked the second child Ludwig: "What about you?" Ludwig said: "Our family has always been poor, so I want to be a big entrepreneur. Make a lot of money." Nobel didn't wait for his father to ask him, but he rushed to say: "Dad, I will be an inventor in the future!" His mother said seriously: "Okay, okay, you can do whatever you want in the future. The most important thing is to study hard."

Nobel lived up to his parents' expectations. He studied hard and quickly learned Russian, and then English and German. He has a wide range of learning interests. He not only reads books on mechanics, physics, and chemistry, but also likes literature. He occasionally writes poems for self-appreciation.

Sometimes, Nobel and his brothers went to his father's factory. He was always deeply attracted by the rotating machines, but he discovered something more interesting and fun. It's gunpowder loaded into mines. The gunpowder at that time, whether used in guns or mines, was all black. Nobel would secretly bring gunpowder home. To avoid being scolded by his father, he would often put the gunpowder powder into a paper bag and take it away quietly.

Nobel used the gunpowder he brought home to make fireworks. He put the gunpowder in a paper tube and stood it up on the grass. After lighting the fire, the gunpowder would make a "whoosh" sound in the dark. Beautiful sparks erupt in the night. He imitated his father's invention and tried to play with it by making mines. He first wrapped the gunpowder powder into a round ball with paper, and then rolled it into a long strip with tougher and unbreakable paper to make a fuse. He thought this was not fun, so he put gunpowder into a small empty can, sealed the lid tightly, and lit the fuse. "Bang!" The exploded jar made a loud noise and the lid flew up. Everyone was startled and ran out to see what was going on. Nobel's naughty nature was soon known to his father, who severely forbade him from playing with gunpowder again.

When the factory employees heard about this, they stopped letting Nobel get close to the gunpowder. Nobel thought to himself: "Huh, no? I will make my own gunpowder." He looked through the chemistry textbook and found that he mixed saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur. No wonder the gunpowder was black. Nobel's experiment was successful, so he started playing with fireworks again. This was a very dangerous game, and it was inevitable that his father would eventually discover it and ban it. But from playing, Nobel discovered the basic principle that the tightness of the gunpowder bandage is proportional to the force of the explosion.

In a blink of an eye, Nobel turned 17 years old. By this time his two older brothers were already working in their father's factory. My father discussed with my mother and wanted Nobel to work in the factory, specializing in the research and development of new products.

In order for him to lay a solid foundation first, his father first sent him to the United States to study for a period of time with the Swede who invented the propeller steamboat.

So Nobel left his parents for the first time and traveled across the ocean to the United States. He joined the apprentice of Swedish American inventor Ericson. Ericson welcomed him heartily.

Nobel learned a lot about various mechanical technologies from Ericson, and helped Ericson in his research work on hot air engines. Hot air engines, known today as gas turbines, were not yet in common use. From this research, Nobel learned the principle of how objects burn and heat to expand gases to generate force, and learned a lot of new knowledge.

But Nobel, who came to a distant country alone, had complex emotions intertwined in his heart, which made him more interested in literature than in mechanical research. Whenever he felt homesick and lonely, the poems of the great poet Shelley became his sustenance, and writing poetry became his main pastime.

One year has passed. Nobel bid farewell to Ericson and left the United States on his way home. When he passed through Paris, he wanted to study chemistry and physics here; another intention was to appreciate the beautiful scenery of Paris to cultivate his inspiration for poetry.

Nobel already had a certain foundation in French when he was in St. Petersburg. In order to make his French more fluent, he enrolled in a French conversation cram school. In the cram school, he met a beautiful girl. The two fell in love at first sight, fell in love with each other, and vowed to be a private couple for life. But unfortunately, the girl he loved so much died of illness soon after! This blow made Nobel reluctant to miss Paris. After the girl's funeral, he left this heartbreaking and unforgettable place, devoted himself to his future ideals and career, and returned to his second hometown of St. Petersburg.

Nobel, who just turned 19, returned to his relatives after two years of absence. Both parents are in good health and the company's business is also quite prosperous. His eldest brother served as the company manager; his second brother served as the factory director. They both became excellent technicians and were able to take charge of their own work. His father decided to place Nobel in a unit that directed inventions.

A German tourist stayed at a New York hotel and left a small box at the reception desk when he went out. The waiter didn't know that the box contained nitroglycerin, so he casually placed it under the chair. Soon the waiter noticed yellow smoke coming from the small box. In panic, he picked up the box and threw it onto the road. In a blink of an eye, there was a big explosion. All the door and window glass of nearby houses were shattered, and the place where the box was thrown on the road exploded into a 1-meter deep pit!

This incident immediately became the headline news of the newspaper, with the most eye-catching title and the largest space condemning nitroglycerin.

In March 1866, when a Panamanian ship named the "European" left the port, the nitroglycerin on the deck suddenly exploded, killing 17 people and severely damaging the hull. In a warehouse in San Francisco, an explosion of nitroglycerin killed 14 more people...

The subsequent explosion disasters caused countries to strictly prohibit the storage and manufacture of nitroglycerin. After listening to these appalling news, Shabrino, the first inventor of nitroglycerine, said in shock: "How could I create such a sinful thing that harms living beings? I really regret it!"

Nobel is facing These blows and constant accusations did not discourage me. He thought of the innocent people who were killed in the bombing and his poor brother Emil, and secretly made up his mind to develop a very safe nitroglycerin explosive. After countless experiments, he finally developed a solid state nitroglycerin explosive triggered by a detonator.

In October 1866, the Kluber District of Germany organized a nitroglycerin dynamite review committee to conduct a certain safety review on the safety and power of the dynamite produced by Nobel. After review, all committee members agreed that this is a successful product that can be used and transported with absolute confidence.

Years of hard work have finally come to fruition. At the beginning of the next year, people from the German mining industry came to order a large amount of nitroglycerin explosive. Because the efficiency of mining has improved and no accidents have occurred, the miners are all happy. Then France and the United Kingdom also came to purchase, and even Nobel's home country Sweden also placed an order. Seeing that Sweden was willing to adopt it, Nobel said happily: "I can finally do something for my motherland."

Once regarded as a terrible and dangerous item, it has now become a great contributor to the blessing of mankind. The wide range of uses of nitroglycerin dynamite is difficult to describe. It is needed in tunnel projects, railway development, canal digging, mountain excavation, road paving and bridge building, etc.

Nitroglycerin explosive has promoted the rapid progress of science and technology in the world. Nobel's Kluber gunpowder factory continued to expand. By 1874, the supply of nitroglycerine explosive reached 3,120 tons.

Soon, war broke out between Germany and France. At that time, Germany was called Prussia, which was the famous Franco-Prussian War in history. Unable to withstand the power of the new nitroglycerin explosive, France finally surrendered to Prussia. Nobel heard that the soldiers who were killed and injured in the bombing were terrible, and he felt guilty in his heart. He recalled his young brother Emil who died tragically. He deeply blamed himself and said: "Nitroglycerin dynamite has brought pain and misfortune to mankind! I am guilty..." His factory investment partner comforted him and said: "No, you must not think so, dynamite Not guilty per se, it is war that brings suffering to mankind.

Explosives are used for mining, paving roads, and construction. Aren’t they for the benefit of mankind? ”

On September 3, 1872, Nobel’s father passed away at the age of 71. After his father’s death, his mother remained in her hometown in Stockholm, living a lonely and peaceful old age. Nobel’s two brothers They were also very promising. They discovered oil fields in Baku, Russia, started an oil company, and invented underground pipelines to transport oil. The company's annual output reached 200,000 tons.

Nobel Prize. He made a fortune by operating nitroglycerin dynamite and became a world-famous rich man. He later moved to Italy and stayed there until his death.

Nobel studied and studied hard throughout his life. He not only invented nitroglycerin dynamite, He also invented automatic braking devices for automobiles, continuous petroleum distillation, etc., and obtained 355 patents.

Although Nobel became a rich man, his life with his wife and children was still the same as before. , never extravagant and wasteful. He often donated large sums of money to charity without being stingy. Nobel's reputation for generosity soon spread throughout the country, so there was an endless stream of poor people asking him to help, but Nobel never did. He was bored and always tried his best to help them. As a result, there were large groups of poor people waiting for his relief every day. Nobel was deeply embarrassed and felt overwhelmed. He wrote to his brother about this matter: "I just collect money every day. There were no less than 20 letters of help received, and it is estimated that the daily relief expenses were more than 20,000 crowns. It will cost more than 7 million crowns a year. If this continues, I am afraid that even the richest people in the world will not be able to resist it! "Despite this, Nobel still tried his best to help poor people. What is abominable is that there are always fraudsters and scoundrels among these people.

Nobel is versatile. He has loved literature since he was a child, and no matter how busy he is with his work, , he also likes to read novels and write poems in his spare time. He prefers philosophy. He said: "You don't need to eat, but you can't stop reading philosophy books." "It was philosophical speculation and literary imagination that drove his scientific inventions. He liked Ibsen's dramas, and he had a good relationship with the great French writer Hugo. Not only did he often write poetry, but at the age of 30 he also He wrote a novel called "Brothers" and later a historical novel "The Age of Light in Africa". In 1885, Nobel also wrote a comedy "Patented Germs" before his death in 1896. , and completed a tragedy called "Retribution".

Unlike some inventors who only know how to invent but not run business, Nobel is also a very shrewd entrepreneur who sticks to his own research throughout his life. , create by yourself, produce by yourself, and sell by yourself. He is well aware of the intrigues and ruthless fierce competition in the business world. Nobel unites nitroglycerin explosive companies around the world to form a huge "trust". He has sole control over production, management, technology and other aspects. This kind of trust operation organization has been adopted by major multinational companies in the world. This is a major achievement of Nobel in business.

The trust became a global giant, with assets of US$970 million in 1886.

However, if Nobel was just an inventor and entrepreneur, the Nobel Prize would not have been born. The greatest inventions of Nobel's life are nitroglycerin explosives and flying artillery shells. These two things are neutral in nature and can be used for both defense and aggression. Nobel devoted his life to the benefit of mankind and world peace. and the progress of social civilization. So when he died in 1896, he left an eternal will: part of his property will be used as a Nobel Prize fund. The award ceremony is scheduled for December 10th every year, which is the anniversary of Nobel’s death. On the same day, the award was presented by the King of Sweden in Stockholm.