How did Alfred Nobel make nitroglycerin safer to handle?

Alfred Nobel significantly improved the safety of handling nitroglycerin by inventing dynamite in 1867. He discovered that when liquid nitroglycerin was absorbed into kieselguhr—a porous, siliceous earth—it formed a dry, granular solid that was much more resistant to shock and accidental detonation than the liquid form alone.1234

In addition to this stabilization method, Nobel developed the blasting cap in 1865. This device, which utilized a charge of mercury fulminate in a metal capsule, provided a reliable and controlled means to detonate high explosives, replacing earlier, more dangerous methods. Later, Nobel further advanced explosive technology by creating gelatinous dynamite, which mixed nitroglycerin with nitrocellulose to produce a plastic material with high water resistance and greater blasting power. These innovations were essential in transforming nitroglycerin from a volatile laboratory curiosity into a practical, manageable tool for industrial construction and mining.52134