The One

Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel, also the founder of the Nobel peace prize foundation. Dynamite is a mixture of two components, the foremost being nitroglycerin. Nitroglycerin is a chemical compound. It is a heavy, colorless, oily, explosive liquid obtained by nitrating glycerol. It is used in the manufacture of explosives, specifically dynamite, and as such is employed in the construction and demolition industries, and as a plasticizer in some solid propellants. It is also used medically as a vasodilator to treat heart conditions. The other component is diatomaceous earth, which is only basically used to absorb the other chemicals.

For several decades from the 1940s the biggest producer of dynamite in the world was the Republic of South Africa, where De Beers established a factory in 1902 at Somerset West. The explosives factory was later operated by AECI (African Explosives and Chemical Industries). The demand for the product came mainly from the country's vast gold mines, centered on the Witwatersrand. The factory at Somerset West was in operation in 1903 and by 1907 was already producing 340,000 cases (50 lb each) annually. In addition, a rival factory at Modderfontein was producing another 200,000 cases a year.[1]

One of the drawbacks of dynamite was that it was dangerous to manufacture. There were two massive explosions at the Somerset West plant in the 1960s. Some workers died but loss of life was limited by the modular design of the factory and earth works and plantations of trees that directed the blasts upwards. After 1985 production of dynamite at the factory was phased out.[2]

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