(upbeat music)
(ratchet clicking)
(switch turning)
(bell dinging)
- [Narrator] Behold dynamite,
but where did it come from?
Meet Alfred Nobel, born in Sweden
in 1833.
(explosions popping)
you could say that innovation
ran in Alfred's blood.
His father invented mines
and torpedoes for Russia.
In 1842, Alfred's father
relocated the family
from Stockholm to St. Petersburg.
In 1859, he returned to Sweden and opened
a chemical plant with his family.
Of all the things the Nobels could create
in their new business, nitroglycerine
was perhaps the most dangerous.
In its liquid form, nitroglycerine
is notoriously volatile.
A physical shock can make it explode.
The businesses and governments of the time
were well aware of nitroglycerine's
potential for destruction.
It was illegal to transport it in several
areas of Europe, yet
everything changed when
Alfred accidentally discovered dynamite.
(test tube breaking)
But what exactly is it?
Dynamite is essentially
some absorbent material
soaked in nitroglycerine.
This material stabilizes the explosive
and makes it much safer to handle.
With the help of a blasting cap, dynamite
could pack the same
punch as nitroglycerine
without the looming threat
of a sudden explosion.
(explosion popping)
Alfred expanded operations
and became incredibly wealthy.
It seemed everyone could use dynamite
but not always for peaceful purposes.
(explosion booming)
As a pacifist, Alfred
was racked with guilt,
and his invention
weighed on his conscience
for the rest of his life.
This guilt inspired one
last invention from Alfred,
the Nobel Prizes, which
awarded individuals
that have conferred the
greatest benefit on mankind.
Nowadays, Alfred Nobel is
known as much for these
prestigious awards as he is for dynamite.
(people applauding)
(mysterious music)
