Dynamite

Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin using diatomaceous earth (Kieselguhr) as an absorbent. It was invented by Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in 1866 and patented in 1867. It is usually sold in the form of a stick roughly eight inches long and one inch in diameter, but other sizes also exist. Dynamite is considered a "high explosive", which means it is much more powerful than gunpowder.

Uses

The chief uses of dynamite used to be in construction,mining,and demolition. During the industrialization there was a large need for such potent explosives for use in the mining industry and in tunnel construction. However, newer explosives and techniques have replaced dynamite in many applications. Dynamite has not been used commercially for decades.

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Dynamite has been used in armed conflicts.

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On occasion, criminals interested in safe-cracking have deliberately extracted nitroglycerin from dynamite by boiling up the sticks and 'skimming' the nitroglycerin as it was forced out.

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