Dynamite transformed the construction industry, clearing the way for railroads and highways and blasting tunnels through rocks. Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero discovered Liquid Nitroglycerin in 1847, but this explosive was so dangerous that even a knock could set it off. Explosives needed to become more stable if they were ever to be beneficial.
Swedish scientist, Alfred Nobel was determined to make more stable explosives. He found that mixing nitroglycerin with Kieselguhr resulted in the safe explosive that could be dropped without exploding and yet detonated on demand. Nobel believed dynamite would aid the construction of roads tunnels and mines. However, dynamite also became a weapon of war.
