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Is medical nitroglycerin different than the explodey kind?
by lifeformed 10y ago
Is medical nitroglycerin different than the explodey kind?
- JshWright 10y agoChemically? No. It's just a very small amount (a few hundred micrograms), mixed with a lot of 'filler'.
- bzbarsky 10y agoThe actual molecule is not. In medical use you don't use pure nitroglycerin; you typically dilute it with other stuff. For example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitroglycerin_(drug)#/media/File:Nitro.JPG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitroglycerin_(drug)#/media/Fi... shows that the IV solution is 40mg of nitroglycerin per 100 mL of solution, or about .04% by mass. I doubt it's very explodey. Of course even if you want to explode stuff you normally don't use pure nitroglycerin either, because it's _too_ explodey. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamite#Form https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamite#Form dynamite is 20-60% nitroglycerin nowadays. Still a lot more than 0.04%.
- robryk 10y agoAs my siblings are saying, the same molecule but different concentration. This is the reason why you should handle dynamite in gloves: otherwise you absorb nitroglycerin through skin, lower your BP and faint.
- lighttower 10y agoDynamite is trinitrotoluene. Not nitroglycerin. Totally different biological activity.
- fnj 10y agoExcuse me; I don't think so. TNT is trinitrotoluene. Dynamite is a mixture of nitroglycerin, absorbents, and stabilizers.