The “Nobel Igniter”, also called percussion cap or detonator, is considered by many to be a more important invention than dynamite itself.
Nobel’s closest associate during his last years, was one of those who felt that the percussion cap, as a technical construction, should be ranked ahead of dynamite. Others have described it as the greatest discovery ever made in both the theory and practice of explosives. And Nobel himself seems to have shared this view, saying, ten years later, that the “real nytroglycerine age” had begun with his invention in 1864. It is thus apparent that the determination and self-confidence which were to become ever more apparent in Alfred were already in place at this early stage of his career. He himself wrote that he was “the first person to move these substances out of the science laboratory and into the world of industry”. He now succeeded in securing a sizeable loan from a French bank.
Fuse Preload
Wooden case of igniter Black gunpowder load of igniter
Surrounding rock Cardboard case
alfred nobel ✲
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