dynamite
Enable an AI agent to recognise a documented or suspected dynamite item, assess the evidence about its condition, and determine which decisions require qualified explosives personnel.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise a documented or suspected dynamite item, assess the evidence about its condition, and determine which decisions require qualified explosives personnel.
Dynamite is a cap-sensitive high explosive in which a liquid nitrate ester - principally nitroglycerin, often blended with a lower-freezing ester such as ethylene glycol dinitrate - is absorbed into a porous dope (originally inert kieselguhr; later active mixtures of wood meal and sodium or ammonium nitrate) and is usually packed as paper-wrapped cartridges that detonate rather than burn.
It can be Match existing markings and records to product documentation and record identification confidence.; Reconcile cartridge, package and lot records without directing physical handling.; Flag condition anomalies and missing history for qualified explosives assessment.; Check whether a proposed custody or disposition decision has applicable authorisation.; Link professional assessment and disposition evidence to the affected material.; Keep unresolved or suspected material visible in the catalogue until its status is supported..
Distinguishing features
Require product records or qualified identification that explicitly support dynamite; a stick-shaped package alone is insufficient. [ATF recognition guidance](https://www.atf.gov/explosives/tools-services-explosives-industry/current-licensees/suspicious-or-dangerous-items)
Distinguish a documented dynamite formulation from a container of nitroglycerin: the presence of that ingredient alone does not establish product identity. [NIOSH nitroglycerine reference](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0456.html)
Check the exact manufacturer designation against its documentation before distinguishing dynamite from similarly packaged emulsions or other explosives.
Treat gelatin-related names as a boundary requiring documentary interpretation rather than automatically excluding them from dynamite.
Distinguish energetic material from a replica, empty wrapper or certified inert specimen using explicit evidence; appearance and missing accessories do not establish inertness.
Scope
+ Evidence that an item is dynamite and identification of its documented product family
+ Cartridge, package and lot boundaries, quantities and traceability
+ Product-specific hazard documentation and observed condition
+ Known storage history, custody and unexplained inventory differences
+ Restrictions, specialist assessments and documented disposition
- Explosive formulation, manufacture and modification
- Detonators, fuses and initiation systems as independent things
- Blast design, placement, initiation and performance optimisation
- Explosives storage facilities and transport operations as independent systems
- Clinical assessment of exposed people and environmental remediation
- TNT, emulsions, blasting agents and other neighbouring explosive categories
Characteristics
- Identity determination
- suspected dynamite | documented dynamite | specialist-confirmed dynamite | excluded | unresolved Separates a provisional recognition from a supported classification.
- Manufacturer and product designation
- Manufacturer, exact product name and applicable product document Connects the item to evidence specific to its formulation and packaging.
- Documented formulation family
- Source-stated family | unknown | conflicting Prevents the agent from assigning one composition or condition rule to every dynamite product.
- Represented physical unit
- cartridge | package | lot | unidentified material Defines what observations and quantity statements actually cover.
- Recorded quantity
- Cartridge count and documented mass in kg, distinguishing net explosive mass from gross package mass Supports inventory reconciliation without requiring physical measurement of suspect material.
- Lot and date evidence
- Lot identifier and documented manufacture, receipt and review dates; unknown permitted Makes age claims and affected-lot decisions traceable.
- Wrapper and material observations
- No anomaly reported | damage reported | liquid or staining reported | other anomaly reported | unobserved Records warning evidence without treating observation as a diagnosis or clearance.
- Storage-history completeness
- documented | partial | unknown | documented excursion Exposes gaps that may invalidate assumptions about present condition.
- Energetic-status evidence
- energetic | presumed energetic | certified inert | unresolved Prevents an old, damaged or apparently empty item from being treated as harmless without evidence.
- Disposition eligibility
- undetermined | restricted pending assessment | authorised for a specified action | disposition documented Keeps a bounded professional decision separate from a general claim of safety.
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.dynamite
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 5 bundles · 9 layers · 16 findings · 27 questions.
Dynamite identity and boundaries Establish whether the represented material belongs to this registry entry and which product-specific evidence applies.
Dynamite names and cartridge appearance cannot independently establish composition, identity or inertness.
Product identification
Connect markings and claims to a supported dynamite designation.
Supported dynamite designation
Record the exact claimed identity, its evidence and any conflicting identification.
- Which manufacturer record, label record or qualified assessment identifies this material as dynamite? provenance
- Is the designation a verified product identity, a historical name or an unsupported description? definition
Adjacent explosive boundaries
Resolve ambiguity with other explosives, related names and non-energetic representations.
Classification boundary evidence
Keep uncertain family membership explicit without inventing registry subdivisions.
- What documentation distinguishes this product from another explosive sold in similar packaging? boundary
- Does a gelatin-related or historical designation belong within this entry under the registry's intended definition? boundary
- If inertness is claimed, which assessment or certificate supports that claim for this exact item? provenance
Cartridges, packages and lots Define the physical material represented and preserve its inventory identity.
A package record, individual cartridge observation and lot-level assessment have different coverage.
Material extent
Identify the unit being modelled and the basis of its quantity.
Bounded explosive quantity
Record counts and masses from existing evidence with explicit unit boundaries.
- Does this record represent one cartridge, a package, an entire lot or material of unknown extent? boundary
- What recorded count or mass applies, and does the mass describe explosive contents or the gross package? measurement
Lot continuity
Track whether material retains a reliable connection to its original identification.
Markings and reconciliation
Connect cartridges and packages to lot evidence while preserving discrepancies.
- Which existing records connect these cartridges or packages to a manufacturer and lot? provenance
- Do recorded receipts, transfers and dispositions account for the current inventory, or is a discrepancy unresolved? measurement
Condition and hazard evidence Represent reported anomalies, historical uncertainty and the limits of condition assessments.
Dynamite condition decisions require product-specific evidence; apparent intactness cannot provide a general clearance.
Reported condition
Capture existing observations without directing inspection, sampling or manipulation.
Cartridge condition observations
Separate reported wrapper damage, staining, liquid or other anomalies from professional interpretation.
- What anomalies have already been reported, by whom, when and for which cartridges or packages? provenance
- Has qualified personnel assessed the reported condition, and what restrictions or uncertainties did they record? action
History and document applicability
Connect known age and storage history to the correct product hazard information.
Condition evidence coverage
Identify missing history and determine whether referenced guidance applies to this material.
- Which manufacture dates and storage-history records are documented, and where are the gaps? provenance
- Which current or historically applicable manufacturer hazard document covers this exact product? provenance
- Does the assessment cover the whole lot or only specifically identified material? boundary
Controlled custody and disposition Determine who is responsible for the material and what documented decisions may proceed.
Identification and inventory ownership do not by themselves establish permission or suitability for an explosives-related action.
Custody and authority
Link the material to responsible parties and applicable decision authority.
Bounded action authorisation
Record the source, scope and validity of authorisation for a proposed action.
- Who is the recorded custodian, and which qualified party is responsible for explosives assessment? relation
- What jurisdiction-specific authority and product-specific assessment support the proposed action for this material? action
Restrictions and closure
Preserve unresolved restrictions and require evidence before closing the material record.
Documented disposition outcome
Distinguish planned transfer or disposal from a completed, evidenced outcome.
- Which unresolved identity, condition or inventory issues prevent authorising the proposed action? action
- Which professional record establishes the completed disposition and the quantity it covers? provenance
- Does any remaining material or unexplained quantity require the record to remain open? boundary
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Guhr (kieselguhr) dynamite - Nobel's original inert-absorbent formulation
- Straight dynamite - nitroglycerin with combustible absorbent and sodium nitrate
- Ammonia dynamite - part of the nitrate ester replaced by ammonium nitrate
- Gelatin dynamite (gelignite) - nitroglycerin gelatinized with nitrocellulose
- Semi-gelatin dynamite - intermediate between ammonia and gelatin grades
- Extra dynamite / extra gelatin - high-strength ammonium-nitrate grades
- Permissible (permitted) dynamite - low-flame formulations for gassy coal mines
- Low-freezing / polar dynamite - nitrate-ester blends made to remain plastic in cold climates
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of dynamite this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Wikidata - Q161498 - Item for dynamite as a class of blasting explosive.
- UN number - UN 0081 - Explosive, blasting, Type A; the usual assignment for nitroglycerin dynamites.
- UN class / division - 1.1D - Typical hazard division and compatibility group in transport documents; confirm on the specific product certificate.
- Harmonized System - 3602.00 - Prepared explosives other than propellent powders; covers dynamite as a manufactured explosive, not a single chemical.
- CAS - no single CAS for the mixture; principal ester 55-63-0 (nitroglycerin) - Dynamite is a formulated mixture, not a pure substance.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of dynamite this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations (UN Committee of Experts / UNECE) - UN 0081, Class 1
- ADR, RID, IMDG Code and ICAO Technical Instructions - modal carriage of Class 1 blasting explosives
- 27 CFR Part 555, Commerce in Explosives (U.S. ATF) and 18 U.S.C. Chapter 40 - licensing, storage and records
- 29 CFR 1926 Subpart U (OSHA) - blasting and use of explosives in construction
- 30 CFR Part 75 (MSHA) - permissible explosives in underground coal mines
- Directive 2014/28/EU on explosives for civil uses (European Union) - placing on the market and CE conformity
- EN 13631 series, Explosives for civil uses - High explosives (CEN) - type testing of civil high explosives
- IME Safety Library Publications (Institute of Makers of Explosives) - industry storage, transport and use practice
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of dynamite this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Cartridge charges in boreholes for hard-rock mining, quarrying and civil tunnelling (historically the default packaged high explosive; now largely displaced by ANFO and emulsions).
- Priming or boosting less sensitive blasting agents that will not reliably take a detonator alone.
- Secondary blasting of boulders and demolition of masonry, concrete and timber structures.
- Avalanche-control charges in mountain-road and ski-area programmes.
- Historical agricultural stump, ditch and land-clearing shots, now tightly restricted in most jurisdictions.
- Military-engineer demolition training and work, increasingly superseded by plastic explosives; US "military dynamite" is a different RDX/TNT composition.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of dynamite this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- velocity of detonation - 2500-7500 - m/s
- bulk density - 0.8-1.6 - g/cm³
- cartridge diameter - 22-50 - mm
- nitrate-ester content - 10-75 - mass %
- commercial weight-strength grade - 20-60 - %
- practical magazine life (undeteriorated) - 6-24 - months
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of dynamite this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Exudation ("sweating") of liquid nitroglycerin from aged or poorly stored cartridges, leaving free ester that is far more shock-sensitive than the intact dynamite.
- Accidental initiation by impact, friction, fire or lightning during transport, thawing, tamping or loading.
- Frozen NG-rich cartridges: historically a major handling hazard when thawed over fires or by beating.
- Misfires that leave live cartridges in the muckpile, with later initiation by digging equipment.
- Toxic nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in return air from oxygen-negative formulations in poorly ventilated headings.
- Occupational nitroglycerin vapour exposure causing severe headache and hypotension.
- Loss of sensitivity or failure to propagate after wetting (non-gelatin types) or chemical deterioration.
- Sympathetic detonation of adjacent holes or of stocks in a magazine.
- Theft and criminal reuse; dynamite remains a controlled high explosive wherever it is still sold.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of dynamite this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- United States: commercial grades are named by type (straight, ammonia, gelatin, semi-gelatin, extra) and sold by "weight strength" percent; coal mines use "permissible" dynamite under MSHA.
- United Kingdom and much of the Commonwealth: "gelignite" is the everyday mining name for gelatin dynamite; coal uses "permitted explosives" in P-groups rather than the US "permissible" label.
- Nordic origin: dynamit as Nobel's kieselguhr product, with spränggelatin for blasting gelatin.
- Cold-climate trade historically used "polar" or other low-freezing dynamites (NG plus glycol dinitrates).
- In most contemporary mining jurisdictions NG dynamite has been displaced by ANFO, water gels and emulsions; remaining use is niche (priming, some demolition, a few hard-rock headings).
- US "military dynamite" (e.g. M1) is not nitroglycerin dynamite and should not be catalogued as the same article.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of dynamite this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- neat nitroglycerin - Dynamite is NG (or mixed nitrate ester) desensitized by absorption into a dope and packed as a solid cartridge; neat NG is a shock-sensitive liquid, not a commercial blasting cartridge.
- ANFO - ANFO is a blasting agent (ammonium nitrate prills plus fuel oil), not cap-sensitive; dynamite is a cap-sensitive high explosive and is often used only as a primer for ANFO.
- emulsion / water-gel explosives - These are aqueous oxidizer formulations, typically without nitrate esters; they may be packed in similar cartridges but are classified as blasting Type E/B products, not UN 0081 Type A dynamite.
- TNT - TNT is a melt-cast molecular CHNO explosive with no nitrate-ester headache and much lower impact sensitivity; dynamite is an absorbed-ester mixture initiated by an ordinary blasting cap.
- black powder - Black powder is a low explosive that deflagrates; dynamite detonates at kilometres per second and is used as a high explosive, not a propellant or fuse powder.
- blasting gelatin - Blasting gelatin is a colloidal NG-nitrocellulose gel without absorbent dope, denser and faster than cartridge dynamite; gelatin dynamite is that gel cut with an active dope.
- C-4 / other military plastic explosives - C-4 and similar compositions are RDX (or PETN) in a plastic binder, not nitroglycerin absorbates; they do not produce NG exudation or NG headache.
- US military dynamite (M1 and related) - Despite the name, M1 is an RDX/TNT/oil/starch mixture containing no nitroglycerin; commercial dynamite is defined by the absorbed nitrate ester.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of dynamite this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Explosives - Wiley-VCH (Meyer, Köhler, Homburg) - Industrial compositions, density and detonation-velocity ranges, and the working distinction among guhr, straight, ammonia and gelatin dynamites.
- Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations - United Nations - Transport classification of dynamite-type blasting explosives as UN 0081, Explosive, blasting, Type A, Class 1.
- Glossary of Commercial Explosives Industry Terms - Institute of Makers of Explosives - US trade names and tests for straight, ammonia, gelatin, semi-gelatin, extra and permissible dynamite, plus weight strength and fume class.
- 27 CFR Part 555, Commerce in Explosives - U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - US legal treatment of dynamite as a high explosive requiring licences, approved magazines and transaction records.
- dynamite (Q161498) - Wikidata - Stable catalogue identifier for the substance class.
What the second pass must settle
- Does the registry intend dynamite to include all gelatin dynamites, blasting gelatin and products historically marketed as military dynamite?
- Which manufacturer documents establish the formulation families and condition terminology needed for the products this catalogue will encounter?
- What evidence is sufficient to classify an unlabelled historical item as dynamite without physical intervention by the agent?
- Which jurisdiction-specific sources define the relevant custody, assessment and disposition authorities?
- What documentation is sufficient to establish inertness or completed disposition for individual cartridges versus an entire lot?