Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833 from the couple Immanuel Nobel and Andriette Ahlsell. The father is an engineer and businessman in the construction field who also likes to experiment, especially in terms of destruction of buildings and stone which is strongly associated with the profession. Later, this is the business lines that drive to find a dynamite Alfred Nobel as explosives.

When Alfred was born, Immanuel business crash. This prompted him to move to other countries, namely Finland and Russia. His family was left in Stockholm. Despite coming from a wealthy family, Andriette have tenacity and ability to work hard are amazing. In order to make ends meet his family, he opened a grocery store in Stockholm and reap the wealth is not small.

In 1842 Immanuel Nobel family reunited in Russia. Immanuel is a new business, namely the field of machinery on the rise and success because of the contract with the Russian military as a provider of equipment used in the Crimean War against England. His company also makes marine and land mines needed for the Russian government.

Nobel family settled in Saint Petersburg and the simple life, although actually be engaged in luxury. Immanuel invest his fortune in the education of their children. Alfred and his brother did not undergo any formal education in schools. They are privately educated at home under educated teachers who are competent in their respective fields.

The results of such education is very visible in Alfred. Under the guidance of a Swedish teacher, Lars Santesson, he finally has a very deep interest in literature and philosophy. Ivan Peterov Immanuel teach kids math, physics, and chemistry. All children Immanuel fluent in Swedish, Russian, Russia, France, Britain, and Germany. Alfred himself to master the language at the age of 17.

Although education receives the same base, Alfred chose a different path with his brothers. Ludvig and Robert engaged in the engineering field, while Alfred chose to explore the science of chemistry. Professor Nikolai N. Zinin, the chemistry teacher, is the person who introduced Alfred and Immanuel will nitroglycerine in the future.

Studying chemical engineering

Alfred Nobel was very interested in youth literature, physics, and chemistry. He also classified as a melancholic personal because it is very like making poetry. After him, he recorded a personal library consisting of 1,500 books ranging from science, philosophy, to theology and history. The works of Lord Byron, poet from England, so he enjoy doing.

Philosophy helped fill his youth. Just because you want to test the ability of berbahasanya (and of course the intellectual as well), Alfred Nobel Voltaire translated from French to Swedish language and re-wrote it in French. Thought Locke, Alexander von Humboldt, and Benedict Spinoza was dilahapnya with ease.

Apparently, Immanuel do not agree with Alfred craze. He hoped that Alfred joined the family enterprise, especially as an engineer. Immanuel effort to divert attention from the literary world Alfred realized by sending Alfred abroad. Immanuel want for their children quiet and introverted little was studying chemical engineering science and open their horizons.

Alfred began traveling since 1850 until 1852. The first country he visited was the United States. There he learned the latest technologies. His education was continued in Paris, France. Professor T.J. Pelouze accept to work in his private laboratory on the recommendation given by Professor Zinin, a former chemistry teacher.

Zinin himself was a disciple of Pelouze. Pelouze is a professor at the Collge de France and also a close friend of Berzelius, Swedish chemist.

What happened in Paris was long tails on the business of Alfred Nobel later. The town also makes a chemist Alfred acquainted with young students who come from Italy Pelouze, Ascanio Sobrero. Sobrero three years earlier, in 1847, found liquid chemicals called with pyroglicerine (now called nitroglycerin). He explains to Alfred, this material has a high explosive power, but he did not know how to control the resulting explosion.

Nitroglycerin produced from mixing the glycerin with nitric and sulfuric acid or the nitrated glycerol. This material is dangerous because it is explosive. Although it has destroyed the power exceeds gunpowder (Gunpowder), but this fluid can easily explode if pressure and temperature increase. Alfred Nobel was interested in knowing more about the nitroglycerine and wants to involve its use in the construction business.

Insolvent

In 1852 Immanuel Nobel business progressed very rapidly in line with the increasing severity of the Crimean War. The Russian government will order the equipment of war increases. Alfred Emmanuel commanded to return to Russia to help his family business.

Based on the knowledge gained during in Paris, Alfred and his father conducted a series of experiments to produce the nitroglycerin in large quantities and can be used in commercial purposes.

The idea will be studies of nitroglycerin comes also from Professor Zinin who held a demonstration would be the use of nitroglycerin for military purposes. At the demonstration, Zinin poured a few drops of nitroglycerine which then hit causing a loud explosion. However, it turns out that react only fluid that is in contact with the pressure, the rest remain.

Immanuel was trying to involve them in the Crimean War, but all failed and do not work. According to Alfred in the future, his father, who carried out experiments by mixing nitroglycerin with gunpowder only done on a small scale.

Crimean War was finally over after the signing of the Treaty of Paris on March 30, 1856. This event resulted in a second bankruptcy for Immanuel and forced him to leave Russia and return to Sweden. Robert and Ludvig stayed in Russia and develop a business machine that would later establish the Russian oil company called Brothers Nobel or Branobel.

"Kieselguhr"

Approximately in 1860, Alfred held a series of personal experiments. Eventually she began successfully producing nitroglycerine without any significant problems. Its success is a first advantage over Sobrero.

Alfred then mixing nitroglycerin with gunpowder and burning it with the help axis. The father who did a similar experiment quite furious. She thought it was his idea. Alfred also explained what he was doing, so that any anger subsided Immanuel. The work of Alfred Nobel will be called by blasting liquid oil is also contained in the patent in October 1863, at the age of 30.
After that, the shadow of Alferd Nobel success began to appear gradually. In the spring and next summer, he returned the research and finally find out the mechanism of nitroglycerin production simpler and introduce the use of detonators in blasting. Both also eventually patented his discovery.

Despite relatively melancholy, Alfred Nobel was not the one who slowly recovering from grief. In September 1864, in Stockholm, Alfred factory exploded and killed his brother, Emil Nobel. One month later, he included the company in the stock market.

Great success was achieved. The factory was more scattered across the world. He bought a parcel of land in Hamburg, Germany, and set up factories there. Factories in the United States were built in 1866 after fighting a variety of bureaucratic obstacles and similar business practices.

The success did not dampen the success of Alfred attention on a very favorite area, namely research. He finally knew, nitroglycerin can be absorbed by a porous material that has a shape that are portable, can be brought anywhere, and safe.

While living in Germany, he finally found the material. This material is known as kieselguhr, which is made from silica sand pengabsorb derived from algae diatomae shell. Kieselguhr make nitroglycerine has a shape, being able mengabsorb liquid chemicals. Thus, this mixture can be easily placed in the bombed and taken anywhere without fear of explosion.

This is where the dynamite came from. Dynamite comes from the Greek word dynamis, meaning power or power. 1867 is also a golden age for the Alfred Nobel since his dynamite patent approval in various countries such as Sweden, Britain and the United States. Dynamite was found during pneumatic drilling machines and diamond are used for similar purposes. It is not surprising that the involvement of dynamite greatly reduce the time, effort, and cost in construction projects.

In 1868 Alfred Nobel and his father received an award Letterstedt Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. This award is given to anyone who produces a valuable discovery for mankind. The idea comes also from the Nobel Prize awards earned by Alfred Nobel in Sweden.

The flurry of business and he often traveled abroad only leaving little time for his personal life. At the age of 43 she was feeling lonely. This prompted him to make friends at home and also private secretary to the way advertise in the newspaper. Applicants came. But the choice finally fell on the Countess Bertha Kinsky, an Austrian noblewoman.

Introduction to the Countess did not last long because the Countess Bertha Kinsky had to marry Count Arthur von Suttner. Nevertheless, they kept in touch through letters. Bertha von Suttner was not a woman at random. He was classified as a thinker and world peace activist who later produced a book titled "Lay Down Your Arms". Many people who do not doubt the influence of Bertha von Suttner in shaping the ideas of Alfred Nobel for giving his wealth in the form of prizes for those who strongly supports the peace of the world. Bertha von Suttner himself received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905.

Excess Alfred Nobel that really stand out is its ability to combine the style of a deep thinking philosopher and scientist-style with his view that far-sighted and dynamic that often possessed by an industrialist. He is also interested in social issues and not infrequently also catapult ideas that are categorized as radical for that time. Literature and writing poetry as well they do.

Abundant wealth and the absence of descendants to make him confused about to be given to anyone who owned property. On 27 November 1895 he wrote his will in the presence of the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris. In 1891 in moved from Paris heading to San Remo, Italy where he died of a brain hemorrhage on December 10, 1896. Alfred Nobel produced 355 patents during his lifetime.***