Although Alfred Nobel officially settled in San Remo in 1891, this does not mean that during his later years from 1891 to 1896, he was already content with his reputation, or just spent his time in a sunny Mediterranean resort. This is not his character. From the many letters he sent there, it can be seen that he has been running endlessly because of his work needs, and even now it can't calm him down. He visited several European capitals and many places where his factory and company were located. Paris accounted for half of his visits, and he stayed there the longest. Although the French government and newspapers persecuted him, he still had many connections with the capital. He tries his best to avoid getting involved in political and business disputes, but if he gets involved in these disputes, he is fearless and quickly fights with his mouth and pen. If he thinks that something is wrong and threatens to interfere with his research work, he still has a knack for escaping. He used an old notebook and stationery that can be rolled up, a fountain pen designed by himself, which must be a unique new play art at that time, and a special suitcase. All these things have accompanied him in his travels, and show that he has to bury himself in his work even in trains, ships and hotel rooms.

In the mid-199s, the episode of political propaganda for that kind of explosive, which is far from smokeless, was played by the French government and the explosive authorities, and it was already quiet. The era of Babu and Panama scandal is gone, and the troublesome lawsuit of linear smokeless explosives is over. The inventor's huge business affairs have developed favorably and brought great income. The new general managers and independent companies and cartels have shared a lot of heavy work on his shoulders, especially now that he has resigned from all the board positions. This old man with a base camp in San Remo has been exhausted by what happened in his life. However, although he feels tired, he still thinks that there are still many things waiting for him to finish. Those interesting problems that need to be solved urgently give him the strength to stick to his work. He once said at this time: "I work off and on." Sometimes I feel lonely and then go on doing it. I often work like that, but for those things that I think will succeed in the end. I will hold on to it from beginning to end. " This is a typical Nobel Prize.

George Ferenbac, whom the inventor trusted, was regarded as a theoretical chemist in the prolific Parisian era, and he didn't want to leave his hometown. Therefore, Nobel allowed him to get a pension and leave; He hired an Englishman, Hugh Beckett, as the chief chemist of the new laboratory; His laboratory, built in the big garden of Villa San Remo, is equipped with the latest German instruments.

in 1893, he also hired ragnar Sohlman (187-1948), a 23-year-old Swedish explosives chemist, who had just returned from a technical post in the United States. Practice has proved that this is an important step. Sohlman, a talented, modest, honest and noble man, not only became what Nobel himself called "one of my proud people" but also became the main executor of his will. He is one of those who have contributed to the realization of this unusual will that benefits the world. He made unremitting efforts, often under striking circumstances, to overcome many difficulties and obstacles on the road of establishing the Nobel Foundation and receiving the fund for awarding prizes contained in this will. He also devoted his life to the affairs left by Nobel in many aspects.

Nobel built a small dock in San Remo, which extended into the sea, and was used to test explosives and firearms. He worked there for five years under intense pressure. The basic work of several important inventions that Nobel did not complete before his death was done there. Later, these inventions were successfully tested by others and played a driving role in some major events. Nobel's last discovery in the field of explosives, the so-called "improved smokeless explosive" (the first invention patent right registered in Sweden was No.7552 in 1896), was a mixed smokeless explosive that was further developed to meet some special purposes, and it was made in this laboratory. If we want to explain this invention thoroughly, we must involve the technical details of artillery and internal ballistics; Therefore, it can only be simply said here that its purpose is to "increase the initial velocity of the projectile without increasing the maximum pressure inside the weapon; This is done by inducing a certain increased incremental force when the explosive burns, so that when the projectile advances in the gun chamber, the pressure can be maintained and the whole ballistic effect can be increased. This advanced explosive consumption comes from two aspects: from the mechanical point of view, it is through the progressive increase of the surface layer of explosive pellets during combustion; Therefore, in terms of chemistry, it is through a single explosive pellet, which is made into various layers. This variety of layers makes the burning rate of the inner layer higher, thus increasing the effect in the combustion process. "

The manufacturing and testing of improved explosives began in several Nobel factories, mainly in the Swedish laboratory built by the inventor in Bonn, Biecque, near Bofors from 1895 to 1896. As an inventor, Nobel's interest is by no means limited to explosives. He has a high degree of imagination, which is an essential quality for those who really invent genius. He is not only capable, but also eager to put his outstanding ideas into practice in the things around him. This includes a wide variety of subjects and applied chemistry-electrical chemistry, optics, mechanics and artillery, biology and physiology. These are just disciplines in the fields of technology and natural science. Like his father Emanuel, his creativity sometimes goes as far as fantasy. This is usually done on purpose in a flash. According to his assistants, he sometimes can't draw a clear line between those utopian ideas and epoch-making invention ideas. When his knowledge of a certain subject is shallow, such as the construction of some cannons and some biological and physiological problems, it is of course more difficult for him to distinguish this line. With the passage of time, Alfred Nobel turned many of these different ideas into patented inventions. The total number of invention patents applied for cannot be accurately stated; However, when he liquidated his property, the registration form with close numbers included no less than 351 invention patents he obtained in various countries, which was an amazing number from a mind.

since the late 198s, and as a direct result of the research on mixed smokeless explosives, Nobel himself has become more and more interested in igniter technology. According to what he has repeatedly told Sohlman and others, this particular aspect has attracted his interest, mainly mental problems. At the same time, because of his strong aversion to war and violence by nature, it is unreasonable that he has become a person who is increasingly strongly opposed to the practical use of these inventions. At this time, he once wrote: "As far as I am concerned, I hope to send all the guns, their accessories and everything to hell, which is the right place to show and use them." Nevertheless, in his later years, his theory and experimental work still made many improvements in this respect, such as the fuse containing nitroglycerin, the silent firing of guns, the quenching and welding of metals, the stability, rotation and cooling of projectiles, their gas sealing and safety, and a rocket for maritime rescue.

an idea he inherited from his father in his early years was unforgettable and painstaking, that is, he tried to make substitutes for rubber, gutta-percha and leather with raw materials closely related to explosives. He also developed various paints on the basis of nitrocellulose dissolved in various semi-volatile solutions. In the experimental stage of these inventions, many new solvents for nitrocellulose were found in the laboratory in San Remo and later in the laboratory in Bonn, Biecque, Sweden. They are not only important for mixing with explosives to reduce combustion temperature and corrosion, but also important as paint components of our modern nitrocellulose model. This kind of paint is now famous all over the world through many products such as Imperial Chemical Company and I·G· Chemical Company. In fact, the early road leading to the production of these things was almost certainly pointed out by Nobel's patented invention.

Nobel's interest in the early manufacture of synthetic rubber, although he didn't make much progress before his death, undoubtedly promoted the later manufacture of artificial rubber and artificial leather. Another use of nitrocellulose that Nobel was interested in at the initial stage was to make rayon. From 1893 to 1894, he worked with Swedish engineer Streele Nutt in the laboratory in San Remo, and conducted experiments in this field. In 1896, he patented the glass pressure nozzle with extremely fine holes. This kind of nozzle is a necessary tool to extrude nitrocellulose or celluloid solution and then harden it into filamentary fibers. Its preparation method is to use a very fine platinum wire to penetrate into the glass of the solution, cool it, and then use aqua regia (1) to corrode it. This idea was developed by many successors later. Rayon or silk, which has been well-known and valued by many trademarks for decades, has now become a best-selling product in the world with countless forms and new names.

since the beginning of this century, rayon products have been produced by some large factories in Germany, Britain, Italy and France. Nobel Company was the first enterprise to form a cartel with them, and Nobel had provided design and financial support to some of his companies.

① The mixed solution of one-part concentrated nitric acid and three-part concentrated hydrochloric acid is extremely corrosive and can dissolve gold and some metals that are insoluble in ordinary acids. -editor's note Alfred

Nobel has also been engaged in experiments to improve the parts of records, telephones, batteries and incandescent lamps, and trial-produced semi-precious stones or all-precious stones (diamonds, rubies, sapphires, etc.) with fused bauxite. All these exploratory works have helped inventors with better equipment to solve many problems. Alfred Nobel once supported many inventors and industrialists. Here, only a few things can be mentioned. We already know that in the 198s, when his brother Ludwig was in the predicament of Russian oil industry, he provided effective assistance. This kind of help is not only financial, but also the technical improvement of this industry has been studied several times. It was he who put forward the first proposal to lay the oil pipeline from the oil producing area to the loading port. Several innovations in crude oil refining and distillation, as well as the use of paraffin lighting and other technologies, are also based on his patented inventions and experiments.

in 1882, he suggested to his brother that "explosive engines should be used instead of steam engines on some ships", which seemed to foresee that the products of Nobel Brothers Oil Company could be used as another fuel. In 1895, together with the Swedish engineer Rudolf Liekvist, he established an electrochemical company in Bengtsfords. It was the first factory in Sweden to produce electroplating products and chemicals for industry and medicine, and later developed into a large enterprise with several factories in Buhus. Nobel trusted Lilek West's personality. When drafting his will, he appointed Lilek West as one of the executors. Two young Swedish engineers wanted to write industrial history with their own inventions, and they got the first financial support from Nobel. These two engineers are Bergel Riyanstrom (1872-1948) and his younger brother Fredrik (born in 1875).

When talking about them, Nobel wrote: "It is a pleasure to work with a man of considerable ability and true modesty like Mr. Riyanstrom." The funded designs can also be mentioned as Svay bicycles with accelerating shafts and a high-powered steam boiler. Many of Riyanstrom's inventions, such as air preheater, steam and gas turbine, turbine locomotive, etc., were later successfully supplied to the world through his Svenska turbine factory and other companies. In 189, he called Johansen, who was a promising young scientist at that time and later became a professor at Caroline Medical College in Stockholm, and asked him to have a blood transfusion test in Sevrain laboratory for six months, which was a new technology that Nobel was very interested in at that time. In his letter to Johnson, he explained that he was considering establishing his own medical experiment Institute, and wrote with the usual foresight: "If this is feasible, many unexpected results will be achieved." The cooperation between Nobel and Johnson prompted him to take out 5, kronor from the money left by his mother in the same year and donate it to Caroline Medical College to establish a "Caroline Andre Nobel Fund for experimental medical research, publishing the above research results and counseling this kind of research". His opinions were taken into account when the Nobel Foundation was established and its rules were drafted, as well as when the Nobel Medical College was established. It would be strange if the versatile Nobel was not interested in airplanes. In 1986, he provided financial support for the Swedish balloonist Andre's plan to reach the North Pole by steamboat.

The reason why Nobel provided a large amount of financial support for this project is noteworthy. He wrote: "If Andre reaches his destination, or if he only flies halfway, then this achievement itself will be a matter of developing imagination and will produce new ideas and reforms. In this respect, I also want to serve the idea of peace, because every new discovery always leaves a trace in the human mind, so that it may be passed down from generation to generation, so that new cultural thoughts can be aroused in more minds. " But these are not everything. Nobel's characteristic is always standing in front of the times. As can be seen from Alfred's correspondence in the early 189s, he is also interested in surveying and making maps through aerial photography. Since there was no plane with a camera in the sky at that time, Nobel suggested using balloons or missiles to achieve this goal.

When reading a letter written by Sohlman four months before his death, it was as if we had tasted the taste of modern space exploration: "... I'm going to send a small balloon with a parachute, a camera and a small clock or a timing lead into the sky. At an appropriate altitude, the balloon will automatically deflate or separate from the parachute, and then, as the parachute gradually descends, the camera will take pictures. " He also clearly foresaw that the future air traffic would not be developed by balloons or spaceships, but by fast aircraft propelled by propellers. In 1892, that is, ten years earlier than the Wright brothers' first flight in Kitty Hawk, he wrote: "Flying really excites me, but we must not think that the problem can be solved by balloon. When a bird flies at high speed, just shake its wings gently.