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Asked by Ryan.A to Aaron, David, Elaine, Sarah, Zoe on 14 Nov 2014.
Question: what sort of chemicals were used to make the bombs in world war 1 and 2?
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Zoe Roberts answered on 14 Nov 2014:
Chemicals that are very unstable. The were unstable because it takes a very low about of energy to break them.
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David Foley answered on 15 Nov 2014:
Chlorine, phosgene were first employed in WW1. Mustard gas (a dichlorosulphide) and nerve gases such as sarin were developed and employed in WW2. But perhaps the most devastating gas was ammonia – which was used to manufacture the explosives used in all bombs, including the trigger for the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Comments
Rachael F commented on :
Was drug synthesis as evident back in WW1 and WW2 (obviously less advanced)?
David commented on :
Yes, Paul Ehrlich who is described as the father of medicinal chemistry had lived and died by 1915. As such the field of drug discovery was in its infancy during the wars. However, it was during this time that penicillin was discovered which led to post-war explosion in antibiotic drug discovery.