Sunday, February 27, 2011

Why Nitroglycerin?

Nitroglycerin is now available to the military and to hospitals across the world!
So, you may be wondering, why should I (a military officer or a chief doctor) want to use nitroglycerin?

Well, here are some benefits for you military officers out there who might be interested:
- Nitroglycerin is a fast and easy way to destruct enemy buildings and housings when used in dynamite.
- Nitroglycerin can be used by your medics in the field to cure soldiers with chest pains or soldiers who think they might be having a heart attack because it comes in small white tablets that can be swallowed.
- Nitroglycerin can be used as a weapon as well.


And here are some benefits for you doctors who are interested:
- Nitroglycerin is extremely cheap and might be cheaper than the current chest pain/post-heart attack medicine you use already.
- Nitroglycerin is easy to manage because it is a liquid and it can be administered in a variety of ways.
- Nitroglycerin can be used in surgery just as effectively.

Forces of Attraction

In the situation where two Nitroglycerin molecules cam across each other, there would be three forces of attraction: Hydrogen Bonding (as said before), Dipole/Dipole, and London Dispersion Forces

- Hydrogen Bonding is present because Hydrogen is present with Nitrogen as well as Oxygen.

- Dipole/Dipole attraction is present because of the electrostatic attraction between both polar nitroglycerin molecules.

- London Dispersion Forces are present because every molecule has this weak attraction due to the movement of electrons around two atoms.

Facts

Nitroglycerin is one of the most explosive materials in the world. It is a liquid and is oily and odorless. It is most commonly found in dynamite. Nitroglycerin is the actual explosive in dynamite.

Nitroglycerin is used by the military to gelatinize cellulose, in solid propellents, such as Cordite and Ballistite.

Nitroglycerin is used in the medical field as a vasodilator to treat heart conditions like angina and chronic heart failure. White Nitroglycerin tablets are commonly used as medication for chest pains.

In the early 20th century, Nitroglycerin was in demand by many countries to use as a weapon. This is because of the two world wars. It was most commonly used as a biological weapon in WWI. An artillery battery would launch a canister filled with nitroglycerin and a few other ingredients that made it into a solid powder, and when the canister hit the ground near the enemy, it would rupture and all of the toxic fumes would drastically effect the men who were near it.

In all, Nitroglycerin has many uses. Uses to kill (war) and uses to cure (medical field).

Lewis Structure/Dash Model


This is the Lewis Structure of Nitroglycerin. You can easily see how this molecule is polar because of its uneven ends.

This is the Dash Model of Nitroglycerin. You may notice the positive and negative identifications that tell why the molecule is polar.

Polarity

In Nitroglycerin, there are four bonds. There is Oxygen to Nitrogen, Oxygen to Carbon, Carbon to Hydrogen, and Carbon to Carbon. Also, Nitroglycerin is a polar molecule because of the uneven distribution of electrons, thus an unstable charge.

Oxygen to Nitrogen
Electronegativity Value for O: 3.5
Electronegativity Value for N: 3.0
Difference: .5 - Very Covalent

Oxygen to Carbon
Electronegativity Value for 0: 3.5
Electronegativity Value for C: 2.5
Difference: 1.0 - Moderately Covalent

Carbon to Hydrogen
Electronegativity Value for C: 2.5
Electronegativity Value for H: 2.2
Difference: .3 - Very Covalent

Carbon to Carbon
Electronegativity Value for C: 2.5
Electronegativity Value for C: 2.5
Difference: 0 - Absolutely Covalent

Picture


C3H5N3O9
Guide: C-Black, H-White, N-Blue, O-Red
Obviously, nitroglycerin has a very complex structure at a glance. However, if you look closely there are really only two parts in the structure. The black and white sub-structure is C3H5 grouped together. Then there are three separate N03 molecules attached to the C3H5 structure. One of the Oxygens from each NO3 molecule is attached to one of the three Carbons in the C3H5 sub-structure in the middle. This molecule is capable of hydrogen bonding because Hydrogen is present and so is Oxygen and Nitrogen.