What is the relationship between dynamite and Nobel Prizes?

Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist and engineer whose family owned an explosives factory. When Alfred's brother died from an explosion at the plant, the chemist became obsessed with finding a way to make explosives safer to handle.

Nitroglycerin was a general-purpose explosive then, but it is so unstable that it can explode when simply shaken. Nobel found that nitroglycerin can be much more stable - and safely handled - if it was soaked inside, or mixed with certain absorbent substances such as wood pulp or sawdust.

In 1867, he was granted a patent for his new explosive, which he called dynamite, from the Greek word meaning "potency.

When the Swedish chemist died in 1896, he provided in his will that his fortune should be used to establish five annual prizes in the achievements of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace. These awards, called Nobel Prizes, are still presented each year. A sixth distinction, in economics, was added in 1969.

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