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Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: Corvettaholic on July 15, 2004, 03:50:57 PM

Title: why this compound is written like this
Post by: Corvettaholic on July 15, 2004, 03:50:57 PM

I was reading howstuffworks.com on landmines, and it gave the chemical composition of dynamite:

C₃H₅(ONO₂)₃

Now I understand the basics of explosives is that they should contain their own oxygen, and some nitrogen, and carbon. What I don't get is the second part of this compound. To me it looks like O-N-O-O. Why would it be written ONO₂ instead of NO₃? Obviously they're not the same thing, but why? Is it written like that to describe the physical shape of the molecule?

Title: Re:why this compound is written like this
Post by: jdurg on July 15, 2004, 10:56:41 PM

Dynamite is simply nitroglycerin stabilized by some diatomaceous(sp?) earth.  The formula was written as C₃H₅(ONO₂)₃ because the oxygen atoms is connected to the carbon chain and not the nitrogen atom.  So it was written in order to explain the structure of the molecule.   ;D