Dynamite

Dynamite is an explosive made by absorbing nitroglycerin in an inert material so that it can be handled and transported more safely. It was patented in 1867 by the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who also devised the blasting cap used to set it off. Dynamite made roads, tunnels, canals and mines cheaper to build in the second half of the 1800s, and the fortune Nobel made from it later funded the Nobel Prizes.

History of dynamite

Dynamite grew out of a dangerous chemical. The Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero first prepared nitroglycerin, a highly explosive oily liquid, in 1846. It was considered too dangerous to be of practical use.

Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm on 21 October 1833. His father, Immanuel Nobel, was an engineer and inventor who built bridges and buildings and experimented with ways of blasting rock. The family moved to St. Petersburg in 1842, where Immanuel supplied equipment to the Russian army, including sea mines.

Alfred and his two older brothers, Robert and Ludvig, received a first-class education from private tutors in the natural sciences, languages and literature. By the age of 17 Alfred could speak and write Swedish, Russian, French, English and German. Robert and Ludvig later stayed in Russia and helped develop the oil industry in the south of the country.

His father later sent Alfred abroad to study chemical engineering. In Paris he worked in the laboratory of the chemist Théophile Pelouze and met Sobrero there. He also spent time in the United States with the Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson.

After the Crimean War ended in 1856, his father’s business failed. Alfred worked with his father on making nitroglycerin useful in construction. The family returned to Sweden in 1863, and Alfred concentrated on the explosive.

According to the Science History Institute, Nobel began manufacturing nitroglycerin in 1862 at a small plant outside Stockholm, a venture that cost the life of his youngest brother, Emil. His father had hoped Alfred would follow him into engineering rather than poetry, which Alfred also loved.

The experiments led to deadly accidents that killed several people, including his younger brother Emil. Authorities banned such experiments within Stockholm. Nobel moved his work to a flat-bottomed boat on Lake Mälaren, and in 1864 he began mass production of nitroglycerin while still searching for ways to make it safer.

Inventor and origins of dynamite

Nobel is credited with inventing dynamite, but the chain of discovery was longer. Sobrero prepared the nitroglycerin, Immanuel Nobel experimented with blasting, and Alfred found a way to make the liquid practical.

The sources give slightly different dates. The Nobel Foundation says Alfred discovered in 1866 that mixing nitroglycerin with a fine siliceous earth called kieselguhr turned the liquid into a paste that could be shaped into rods. He received a patent the next year and named the material dynamite. The Science History Institute states that dynamite was invented in 1867.

Nobel first invented the blasting cap, a detonator that could be set off by lighting a fuse, and then found that kieselguhr would stabilize the nitroglycerin. Both steps were needed, because dynamite is meant to be set off on purpose and not by accident.

How dynamite works

An explosive is a substance that undergoes chemical reactions that release heat and rapidly expanding gases. The sudden growth in volume produces the blast. The release of heat and gas follows the rules of thermodynamics, which describe how energy changes form.

In dynamite, nitroglycerin is the active ingredient. On its own the liquid is dangerously sensitive. Mixed with kieselguhr, it forms a paste that holds the liquid in the pores of an inert earth and is far safer to handle.

The paste can be shaped into rods that fit into drill holes, so that the explosive can be placed exactly where the rock is to be broken. A blasting cap, set off by a lit fuse, then triggers the main charge.

Types of dynamite and related explosives

Nobel kept developing explosives after the original invention. In 1875 he created blasting gelatin, a related explosive that uses nitrocellulose. In 1887 he introduced ballistite, a nearly smokeless powder suited to propelling military projectiles.

Nobel’s own explosives share a common idea, which is to combine an energetic ingredient with a material or process that makes it safer to use.

Impact of dynamite

Dynamite arrived when new drilling tools were coming into general use, including the diamond drilling crown and the pneumatic drill. Together these inventions reduced the cost of many construction jobs, such as drilling tunnels, blasting rocks and building bridges, work that belongs to structural engineering. Work like excavating foundations and rock tunnels belongs to geotechnical engineering, and dynamite gave that work a new tool.

Demand was strong. Nobel built factories in 90 different places and traveled to plants in more than 20 countries, living mostly in Paris. He was once described as Europe’s richest vagabond, and he worked intensively in Stockholm, Hamburg, Ardeer in Scotland, Paris, Sevran, Karlskoga and San Remo. The DuPont Company in the United States became one of the main companies associated with him, and he made his wealth by setting up companies and selling patent rights.

The Science History Institute describes dynamite as speeding the building of roads, tunnels, canals and other construction projects around the world.

Legacy of dynamite

Nobel was deeply troubled by the destructiveness of his inventions. Having tried to make explosives safe for workers, he became concerned with establishing peace in the world.

He died in 1896 and left his considerable estate to fund annual awards in chemistry, physics, medicine or physiology, literature and peace, which reflected his lifelong interests. Today his name is better known for those prizes than for explosives.

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 4, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue