>> Narrator: MOUNT RUSHMORE. THE PANAMA CANAL. THE HOOVER DAM. THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON? DYNAMITE. NOW, ON<i> MODERN MARVELS.</i> <font color="#FFFF00"> [Captioning sponsored by</font> <font color="#FFFF00"> A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS]</font> (<i> thunderous rumbling</i> ) >> Narrator: DYNAMITE... ITS POWER IS SPECTACULAR. AND YET, WHEN WE STOP AND CONSIDER THE TECHNOLOGIES BEHIND THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, MOST OF US PROBABLY WOULDN'T GIVE IT A THOUGHT. COMPUTERS... SATELLITES... JETS... ATOMIC ENERGY... THESE ARE THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS THAT TRANSFORM OUR WORLD AND COMMAND OUR RESPECT. BUT IF DYNAMITE HAD NEVER BEEN INVENTED, WHERE WOULD WE HAVE GOTTEN ALL THE WIRING FOR THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY WE TRAVEL ON EVERY DAY? WITHOUT DYNAMITE, THE STEEL AND ALUMINUM FOR THE JETS AND SATELLITES, THE URANIUM AND PLUTONIUM THAT RUN OUR NUCLEAR REACTORS, MIGHT ALL HAVE REMAINED TRAPPED IN THE EARTH. (<i> explosions</i> ) DYNAMITE IS A TECHNOLOGICAL TOOL WITH WHICH WE RARELY COME INTO CONTACT, AND YET, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN, WITH A BOOM, IT MAKES US PAY ATTENTION. NEARLY A CENTURY-AND-A-HALF AFTER IT WAS FIRST INVENTED, DYNAMITE IS OFTEN THE EXPLOSIVE OF CHOICE IN THE DEMOLITION BUSINESS. JUST A FEW HUNDRED WELL-PLACED STICKS CAN TOPPLE A HUGE BUILDING WITH LITTLE DANGER OF CAUSING ANY PERIPHERAL DAMAGE. SO TIDY. SO DEPENDABLE. SO AFFORDABLE. >> Van Romero: IT'S STILL USED BECAUSE IT'S A VERY SAFE PRODUCT. AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WHEN WE USE EXPLOSIVES IS TO BE SAFE. AND SO THAT'S WHY DYNAMITE STILL HAS A PLACE IN THE ARSENAL THAT WE USE. >> Narrator: ERIC KELLY IS AN EXPLOSIVES EXPERT IN THE DEMOLITION INDUSTRY. TOGETHER WITH HIS WIFE, ANNA CHONG, THEY WORK IN A SPECIALIZED FIELD ARMED WITH WITH A SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE THAT ONLY A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE SHARE. >> Anna Chong: WE MUST RESPECT THE EXPLOSIVE AT ALL TIMES, BUT WE CANNOT BE AFRAID OF IT. >> Narrator: ERIC, ANNA AND THEIR CREW HAVE COME TO TAMPA, FLORIDA. THEIR COMPANY, ENGINEERED DEMOLITION, HAS BEEN HIRED TO TOPPLE THE SKYBOX STRUCTURE THAT ONCE OFFERED PRIME SEATING NEXT TO THE BIG SOMBRERO STADIUM. THE WRECKING BALL AND CONVENTIONAL DEMOLITION TOOK CARE OF THE ARENA, BUT THE SKYBOX IS A DIFFERENT STORY. >> Eric Kelly: WE THOUGHT THAT THE LUXURY SUITES WERE BEST-SUITED TO BE DEMOLISHED BY EXPLOSIVES JUST BECAUSE OF THE FACT... THE PREDICTABILITY, WHEN YOU TRY TO CONVENTIONALLY DEMOLISH THESE STRUCTURES, THERE WAS TOO MUCH OF A VARIABLE. IF YOU TRIPPED OUT ONE PART OF THE BUILDING TO MAKE IT COME DOWN, ANOTHER PART MIGHT FAIL AND COME IN THE WRONG DIRECTION ON THE OPERATOR. UNDER THOSE CONSIDERATIONS, EXPLOSIVES WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE IT'S THE SAFEST. >> Narrator: ERIC AND ANNA ARE IN THE MIDST OF FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR A "SHOT," WHICH IS WHAT THE EXPLOSION IS CALLED. BLASTING CAPS ARE INSERTED INTO THE EXPLOSIVES, WHICH ARE IN TURN PLACED AND THEN TAMPED INTO OVER 200 STRATEGICALLY POSITIONED BOREHOLES THROUGHOUT THE STRUCTURE. THE CREW WORKS CAREFULLY TO MAKE SURE THE BLAST IS CONTROLLED. THE STRUCTURE IS SITUATED, AFTER ALL, IN THE HEART OF A CITY. >> Chong: SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER ONE CONCERN FROM THE TIME THAT WE STEP IN ON A PROJECT. AND IT MUST BE, AT ANY TIME, SOMETHING THAT WE THINK ABOUT AT ALL TIMES. >> Narrator: WORKERS WRAP CHAIN-LINK FENCING AND THEN HEAVY CLOTH MATERIAL AROUND THE AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN LOADED WITH DYNAMITE TO KEEP RUBBLE AND DEBRIS FROM FLYING OUT OF THE DEMOLITION AREA. ERIC AND ANNA ATTEND A LAST-MINUTE FINAL MEETING TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ONLOOKERS AND NEWS CHOPPERS. IN AN AGE OF WORLD'S WILDEST, WACKIEST VIDEOS, AN EXPLOSION MAKES GOOD TELEVISION. >> Officer: WE CAN HAVE OUR POLICE HELICOPTER UP THERE AND HE CAN SHOO AWAY ANYBODY THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, GETS IN THE AREA. >> Narrator: WHEN THE MEETING IS OVER, ERIC AND ANNA RETURN TO THE SITE. THEY ATTACH THE DETONATING CORD, MASTER WIRING THAT WILL COORDINATE THE SEQUENCE OF THE BLASTS. EVERYTHING IS NEARLY SET. (<i> helicopter whirring</i> ) IT IS SUNDAY MORNING, THE FOLLOWING DAY, AND JUST AS EXPECTED, THE NEWS CHOPPERS ARE OUT. FOR THEM, IT'S A BIT OF SHOW BUSINESS, BUT FOR ERIC AND HIS CREW, IT IS BUSINESS AS USUAL. FINAL DETAILS ARE CHECKED AND RECHECKED. AND THEN, JUST FOR SOME EXTRA INSURANCE, A MOMENT OF PRAYER. >> Kelly: JESUS, I ASK YOU ALLOW ALL OF US TO USE THE ABILITIES THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN US TO MAKE THIS JOB A SUCCESS AND TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH ALL THE WORK THAT YOU WANT US TO DO. >> Narrator: NEWS CREWS HAVE ARRIVED. CROWDS HAVE TAKEN THEIR POSITIONS. THEY'VE COME TO HAVE A BLAST. THEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH. >> Kelly on P.A.: FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE, FIRE IT OFF. (<i> cheers and applause)</i> >> Narrator: INCREDIBLY, WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS, IT APPEARS A SPECIALLY-REINFORCED COLUMN HAS WITHSTOOD THE EXPLOSION, BUT NOT FOR LONG. WEAKENED BY THE BLASTS, ALL IT TAKES IS A SHOVE BY THE EARTH MOVERS AND DOWN IT GOES. (<i> crowd cheering</i> ) >> Kelly: THIS PARTICULAR SHOT WAS, IN OUR OPINION, A 100% SUCCESSFUL SHOT. THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE'S ON THE GROUND. WE HAD NO PROPERTY OR PERSONNEL DAMAGE. AND THE CONTRACTOR AND ALL THE PEOPLE WERE ENTERTAINED AND THEY'RE HAPPY. JUST LIKE US. >> Narrator: AND IT ALL WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY DYNAMITE. SO JUST WHAT IS THE ALCHEMY BEHIND DYNAMITE'S EXPLOSIVE PROCESS? >> Phil Kozushko: SEE, DYNAMITE NEEDS A SHOCK TO SET IT OFF. YOU NEED TO HIT IT HARD, SO THIS IS WHY THE DETONATORS ARE IN USE TO GIVE IT THAT HARD HIT TO SHOCK THE EXPLOSIVE TO INITIATE THE DYNAMITE. >> Narrator: THE DETONATOR IS A SMALL EXPLODING DEVICE WHICH CREATES THE INITIAL SHOCK WAVE. THAT SETS OFF A FAST-MOVING CHEMICAL REACTION, SO FAST IT IS MEASURED IN NANOSECONDS. BEHIND THE CHEMICAL REACTION, AN ABUNDANCE OF HOT GAS IS FORMED. THAT GAS CAUSES VERY HIGH PRESSURE. IN FRONT OF THE CHEMICAL REACTION, NOTHING HAS OCCURRED YET, SO THERE IS TEMPORARILY LOW PRESSURE. IT ALL HAPPENS SO QUICKLY, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO PRESSURE SYSTEMS CREATES A TREMENDOUS FORCE IN THE HOST ENVIRONMENT, A FORCE THAT CANNOT BE CONTAINED. THE RESULT? AN EXPLOSION WHICH BREAKS AND HEAVES BRICKS OR METAL OR ROCKS WITH GREAT FORCE. WHILE IT LACKS THE SOPHISTICATION OF COMPUTERS OR THE GRACE AND SPEED OF THE LATEST MILITARY HARDWARE, DYNAMITE HOLDS ITS OWN IN TERMS OF ITS IMPACT ON THE 20th CENTURY. >> Bob Hopler: WITHOUT DYNAMITE, WE WOULDN'T HAVE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE TODAY. THE RAILROADS, THE HIGHWAYS, TUNNELS-- ALL THESE THINGS THAT NEEDED BROKEN ROCK. MAKING ORES FOR THE VARIOUS MINERAL PRODUCTION OF COPPER AND IRON AND LEAD AND ZINC AND ALL THE OTHER METALS WOULD BE DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, IF WE HAD NOT HAD THE INTRODUCTION OF DYNAMITE AT THE TIME WE HAD IT, AT THE UNITED STATES INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. >> Narrator: DYNAMITE PLAYED A LEADING ROLE IN THE BUILDING OF DAMS, WHICH GAVE US HYDROELECTRIC POWER TO RUN OUR CITIES. IT WAS CRUCIAL FOR THE CREATION OF THE PANAMA CANAL, WHICH UNITED TWO OCEANS. IT WAS EVEN USED TO CREATE ART. MOUNT RUSHMORE WAS CARVED OUT OF SOLID GRANITE, THANKS TO DYNAMITE. THIS AMAZING CHAIN OF EVENTS ALL BEGAN HERE IN A LABORATORY IN SWEDEN, WHERE ITS INVENTOR DREAMED HE WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD. FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, MANKIND SOUGHT A POWER SOURCE, ONE THAT COULD DRAMATICALLY ALTER THE PHYSICAL WORLD. >> Aimone-Martin: MAN HAS ALWAYS NEEDED TO BREAK INTO THE EARTH, IF YOU WILL. MINING AND CONSTRUCTION WERE ACTIVITIES THAT EVOLVED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF MAN. MAN NEEDED RESOURCES. MAN NEEDED TO BREAK THE ROCK TO REFINE THE ROCK, TO GET THE METALS TO BUILD HIS INFRASTRUCTURE. >> Narrator: IN ANCIENT TIMES, MEN BUILT HUGE FIRES NEXT TO ROCK THAT THEY WANTED TO BREAK OPEN. ONCE THE ROCK WAS RED-HOT, THEY THREW COLD WATER AGAINST IT AND THE SUDDEN TEMPERATURE SHIFT CAUSED IT TO CRACK. 2,000 YEARS AGO THE ROMANS SET LEGIONS OF MEN TO TASK BUILDING ROADS AND TUNNELS. IN THE 1400s, THE AZTECS PUT THOUSANDS TO WORK MINING GOLD AND SILVER. BUT DYNAMITE WOULD HAVE MADE THESE ENDEAVORS MUCH EASIER. >> Van Romero: FROM AN ECONOMIC STANDPOINT, THERE'S A GREAT ADVANTAGE TO BE ABLE TO MOVE A LOT OF MATERIAL WITH THE MINIMAL AMOUNT OF LABOR. WHEN WE THINK ABOUT BUILDING ROADS, DIGGING TUNNELS, MINING ORE, IF WE HAVE TO DO IT WITH A PICK AND A SHOVEL, IT TAKES A HORRENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT IF WE CAN DO IT WITH AN EXPLOSIVE, WE CAN MOVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MATERIAL IN AN INSTANT. >> Narrator: THE STORY OF DYNAMITE BEGINS A THOUSAND YEARS AGO WHEN THE CHINESE INVENTED THE FIRST EXPLOSIVE-- GUNPOWDER. NOT REALIZING ITS ENORMOUS POTENTIAL, THEY INITIALLY USED IT FOR FIREWORKS, SIGNALS AND ROCKETS. THIS MAGICAL MIXTURE OF CHARCOAL, SULFUR AND POTASSIUM NITRATE WAS A JEALOUSLY GUARDED SECRET. THEN, IN 1242, ROGER BACON, AN ENGLISH MONK WHO WAS ALSO A SCIENTIST, WAS CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS WHEN HE DISCOVERED THE FORMULA FOR THE EXPLOSIVE CHINESE INVENTION. HE WAS SO TERRIFIED OF ITS POWER THAT HE WROTE ITS FORMULA IN CODE. BUT OTHERS SOON UNLOCKED THE SECRET OF MAKING GUNPOWDER, AND IT WAS INTRODUCED IN EUROPE. IT SUBSEQUENTLY SPAWNED A REVOLUTION. LOWLY SERFS ARMED WITH CANNONS SOON ROSE UP AND OVERTHREW THE HARSH FEUDAL SYSTEM. AND WITHIN FOUR OR FIVE CENTURIES, GUNPOWDER WAS ALSO USED IN MINING. >> Bob Hopler: IT'S UNCLEAR WHY IT TOOK THAT LONG. IT MAY HAVE BEEN THAT THERE WAS NO WAY TO DRILL BOREHOLES PRIOR TO THAT TIME TO PUT THE GUNPOWDER IN TO BREAK THE ROCK. >> Narrator: BUT EVEN WHEN GUNPOWDER WAS INTRODUCED IN MINING ACTIVITY, IT HAD ITS LIMITATIONS. >> Romero: GUNPOWDER ITSELF DOESN'T DETONATE. YOU HAVE TO CONFINE GUNPOWDER FOR IT TO DETONATE. IT ACTUALLY BURNS, OR WHAT WE CALL DEFLAGRATION. SO GUNPOWDER BURNS. AND AS SUCH, GUNPOWDER CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH WORK. >> Aimone-Martin: THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT COMES OUT OF THE REACTION IS VERY SMALL. ITS APPLICATION IN MOVING ROCK WAS VERY LIMITED. IT WOULD LOOSEN ROCK AND PUSH THE ROCK ASIDE, BUT THEN A GREAT DEAL OF MANUAL LABOR HAD TO BE EXPENDED TO ACTUALLY HAMMER AND BREAK AND SHATTER THE ROCK INTO PIECES TO WHERE IT COULD BE MOVED EFFECTIVELY. >> Narrator: GUNPOWDER, KNOWN IN THE MINING INDUSTRY AS BLASTING POWDER, WHILE BEING UNRELIABLE, WAS ALSO QUITE DANGEROUS. >> Phil Kozushko: SOMETIMES IT WOULD BURN FAST. SOMETIMES IT WOULD BURN SLOW. YOU HOPED IT BURNED SLOW. IF IT BURNED FAST, YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE CHANCE TO GET OUT OF THE WAY. AND THIS BABY WOULD GO OFF AND BRING THE MINE DOWN ON YOU. >> Narrator: WITH ALL OF GUNPOWDER'S PROBLEMS, INVENTORS WERE LOOKING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE. IN 1846, AN ITALIAN SCIENTIST, ASCANIO SUBRARO, INVENTED NITROGLYCERIN. BUT THE YELLOWISH OIL-LIKE SUBSTANCE WAS DANGEROUS TO MANUFACTURE AND HANDLE, AND WAS KNOWN TO CAUSE SUDDEN EXPLOSIONS. >> Hopler: NITROGLYCERIN AS AN EXPLOSIVE WAS AN IMPORTANT BREAKTHROUGH IN THAT IT OPENED A NEW FAMILY OF EXPLOSIVES. IT DETONATED. IT GAVE A VERY HIGH SHOCK FACTOR. AND IT WOULD BREAK ROCK VIOLENTLY AND WITH MUCH MORE ENERGY AND BREAKING ABILITY THAN BLACK POWDER COULD EVER HAVE. >> Narrator: BUT SUBRARO, LIKE ROGER BACON, WAS FRIGHTENED OF HIS DISCOVERY. >> Aimone: THE DEVELOPER UNDERSTOOD HOW DANGEROUS IT WAS, AND RECOMMENDED IN ALL HIS LITERATURE AND DESCRIBING THE FORMULATION THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE USED. >> Narrator: NITROGLYCERIN WAS INCREDIBLY EXPLOSIVE, BUT ALSO EXTREMELY UNPREDICTABLE, WHICH MADE IT QUITE DANGEROUS TO USE. WHILE THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY WAS BACKING AWAY FROM IT, THE SON OF A SWEDISH INVENTOR WAS ABOUT TO TIE HIS FATE TO THIS NEW COMPOUND AND CHANGE THE WORLD FOREVER. HIS NAME WAS ALFRED NOBEL. >> Hopler: WHEN HE WAS 17, HE WENT TO GERMANY AND ITALY AND TO NORTH AMERICA FOR TWO FULL YEARS, AND HE WENT BY HIMSELF. WHEN HE CAME BACK, HE HAD SOMEWHAT OF A WORLDLY EDUCATION, BUT HE WAS, EVEN AT THAT TIME, A SOMEWHAT LONELY PERSON AND HAD A MELANCHOLY ASPECT TO HIM. >> Narrator: THAT TEMPERAMENT WAS PARTICULARLY SUITABLE TO SPENDING LONG HOURS IN THE LABORATORY, EXPERIMENTING WITH NITROGLYCERIN. DESPITE THE DANGERS, NOBEL WAS CONVINCED THAT IF HE COULD HARNESS ITS ENERGY, HE'D REVOLUTIONIZE THE USE OF EXPLOSIVES. >> Romero: BUT NITROGLYCERIN DOESN'T BURN. IT HAS TO BE INITIATED WITH A SHOCK. >> Narrator: IN THE COURSE OF NOBEL'S SCIENTIFIC WORK, HE FIRST DEVELOPED A BLASTING OR DETONATING CAP USED TO SET OFF OR INITIATE THE EXPLOSION WITH A FUSE OR AN ELECTRICAL CHARGE. >> Romero: HE REALIZED THAT THE BEST WAY TO PUT A SHOCK OR A PRESSURE PULSE INTO THE NITROGLYCERIN WAS TO BUILD A SMALL CAP, FILL IT WITH A DIFFERENT MATERIAL, LIKE GUNPOWDER, THAT COULD BE LIT WITH A FUSE. THAT FUSE WOULD BURN DOWN INTO THE POWDER, THE POWDER WOULD BURN VERY RAPIDLY, CREATE A SMALL SHOCK WAVE AND THAT SHOCK WAVE WOULD THEN IN TURN IGNITE THE NITROGLYCERIN. WITH THAT STEP, NITROGLYCERIN CAN NOW BE DETONATED WITH GREAT ACCURACY. >> Hopler: BY PUTTING THAT SMALL CYLINDER WITH ITS ATTACHED FUSE INTO NITROGLYCERIN, HE CREATED THE FIRST INITIATION SYSTEM FOR A DETONATING EXPLOSIVE. >> Narrator: BUT THERE WAS AN AWFUL PRICE TO NOBEL'S EXPERIMENTS AND THE PROMOTION OF THE USE OF NITROGLYCERIN. NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS OCCURRED AND MANY PEOPLE WERE KILLED. >> Hopler: THE NITROGLYCERIN WAS HANDLED IN A VERY POOR MANNER. IT WAS SENT ON NORMAL CARRIAGES AND NORMAL SHIPS WITH NO IDENTIFICATION THAT IT WAS AN EXPLOSIVE. AND MANY PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND COUNTRIES BEGAN TO OUTLAW THE USE OF HIS EXPLOSIVE. >> Narrator: ONE LAB EXPLOSION TOOK THE LIFE OF NOBEL'S YOUNGER BROTHER, EMILE. NOBEL WAS DEVASTATED, NOT ONLY FROM THE LOSS, BUT FROM THE DAMAGE TO HIS REPUTATION. THE DEATH OF HIS BROTHER SPURRED ALFRED NOBEL TO FIND A SAFE WAY TO HARNESS THE EXPLOSIVE POWER OF NITROGLYCERIN. HE TRIED COMBINING IT WITH MANY SUBSTANCES. FINALLY, HE DISCOVERED THAT BY MIXING IT WITH DIATOMACEOUS EARTH, A CLAY-LIKE MATERIAL FORMED OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS BY HUGE DEPOSITS OF FOSSILS, HE COULD STABILIZE IT AND CONTROL IT. >> Romero: IT FORMED KIND OF A PASTY PLAYDOUGHISH KIND OF SUBSTANCE. AND THAT WAS LESS SENSITIVE, UH, WITHSTOOD SHOCK MUCH BETTER, BUT STILL COULD BE DETONATED WITH A DETONATING CAP, AND COULD BE PACKED INTO CARDBOARD TUBES AND SHIPPED ALL OVER THE WORLD AND WAS A VERY SAFE SUBSTANCE. >> Narrator: ALFRED NOBEL NAMED HIS NEW PRODUCT DYNAMITE, AFTER THE GREEK WORD "DYNAMOS," WHICH MEANS POWER. THE NAME WAS APPROPRIATE, AS HIS INVENTION WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD FOREVER. osion ) >> Narrator: IN 1867, AFTER ALFRED NOBEL'S INVENTIONS OF THE BLASTING CAP AND DYNAMITE, HE AND HIS SURVIVING BROTHERS, ROBERT AND LUDWIG, EMBARKED ON A WORLD PROMOTIONAL TOUR. EVERYWHERE THEY WENT, ENTHUSIASM FOR THEIR PRODUCT'S SAFETY AND USEFULNESS WAS HIGH, ESPECIALLY IN AMERICA. THE UNITED STATES WAS RAPIDLY INDUSTRIALIZING, EXPANDING, AND DEVELOPING THE WEST. THE BUILDING OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD WAS A MAJOR ENDEAVOR. >> Dr. Van Romero: WE HAD TO BUILD TRAINS, BUILD RAILROADS, GO IN AND MINE NATURAL RESOURCES THAT WE KNEW WERE AVAILABLE TO US, SO THERE WAS A POTENTIAL OF GREAT WEALTH, BUT IT TOOK A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK, AND WHILE WE HAD CHEAP LABOR, THE AMOUNT OF LABOR TO DO SOME OF THESE JOBS IS JUST ENORMOUS, SO THE USE OF SOMETHING LIKE DYNAMITE REALLY HASTENED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WEST. >> Narrator: WHEN THE RAILROAD GOT TO THE WEST, IT MET MOUNTAINS. >> Bob Hopler: THEY HAD TO BE GONE AROUND OR GONE THROUGH, AND WITHOUT THE EXPLOSIVE DYNAMITE, THESE THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE IN SOME CASES, TO MANAGE. >> Narrator: WHEN THE RAILWAY BEGAN, BLACK POWDER WAS USED FOR BLASTING. THEN, AFTER 1846, NITROGLYCERIN WAS USED. BUT CHINESE IMMIGRANTS BROUGHT OVER TO HELP BUILD THE RAILWAYS WERE BEING KILLED BY THE HUNDREDS FROM ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSIONS. SO WHEN THEY BEGAN USING DYNAMITE, IT NOT ONLY SPEEDED UP THE PROCESS, BUT ACTUALLY SAVED MANY MORE HUNDREDS OF LIVES. WHILE DYNAMITE WAS USED TO TAME THE WEST, THERE WERE THOSE WHO WERE UNTAMABLE, AND THEY SOUGHT TO USE IT IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, AS IMMORTALIZED EARLY ON IN FILM. >> Romero: A LOT OF DYNAMITE WAS BEING TRANSPORTED ACROSS THE FRONTIER. BECAUSE OF THAT, IT WAS VERY EASY FOR ROBBERS AND THIEVES TO GO OUT AND STEAL IT, SO THEN THEY COULD GO DYNAMITE RAILROAD TRACKS, STOP TRAINS, ROB THE TRAINS, GO INTO TOWN, ATTACK THE LOCAL BANK, AND THE PRODUCT OF CHOICE WOULD BE DYNAMITE BECAUSE OF ITS AVAILABILITY. >> Narrator: BUT THE OCCASIONAL PROBLEMS WITH CRIMINALS WERE FAR OUTWEIGHED BY THE MANY BENEFITS DYNAMITE OFFERED. DYNAMITE PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MINING ACTIVITIES DURING THE GOLD RUSH, AND THE GOLD RUSH RETURNED THE FAVOR. >> Aimone-Martin: IT WAS THE GOLD RUSH IN THE LATE 1800s THAT ACTUALLY SPURRED THE DEVELOPMENT OF... APPLICATION OF DYNAMITE IN THE MINES. >> Narrator: THE GIANT POWDER COMPANY BUILT THE FIRST DYNAMITE FACTORY IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1868. THOUGH DESTROYED BY A BLAST AND LATER RELOCATED, IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, WHERE IT SERVICED THE CALIFORNIA GOLD MINES. WHEN WATER BLASTING, KNOWN AS "HYDRAULIC MINING," FAILED TO EXPOSE THE COVETED ORE, DYNAMITE WAS USED TO BREAK AWAY ROCK, REVEALING RICH VEINS OF GOLD. GOLD MAY HAVE PRODUCED THE FEVER, BUT WHEN THE FORTUNE- SEEKERS COOLED DOWN, THEY STAYED AND SETTLED THE WEST. WHILE DISCOVERIES OF ORE DEPOSITS OF COPPER, LEAD, AND IRON DIDN'T PRODUCE FEVER, THEY CREATED JOBS AND COMMUNITIES, AND HELPED BUILD AMERICA. >> Romero: AS WE SAY IN THE MINING INDUSTRY, IF YOU DON'T GROW IT, YOU GOT TO MINE IT. IF IT'S NOT AN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT, IT'S PROBABLY A MINING PRODUCT. WE HAVE TO MINE ORE-- EITHER UNDERGROUND MINES OR OPEN-PIT MINES-- AND BEFORE THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, DYNAMITE WAS REALLY THE EXPLOSIVE OF CHOICE. IT WAS USED TREMENDOUSLY ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES, AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD TO DEVELOP THE MINING INDUSTRY. >> Hopler: DYNAMITE HAD A GREAT EFFECT ON THE POPULATION OF THESE AREAS BECAUSE SOME OF THESE ORES COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MINED ECONOMICALLY BY THE USE OF ANY OTHER TYPE OF EXPLOSIVE. >> Narrator: DYNAMITE REPLACED GUNPOWDER, WHICH HAD BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY DEATHS IN MINING, AS IT HAD IN RAILROADING. >> Phil Kozushko: WHEN THESE OLD KINDS OF EXPLOSIVES WERE USED, ANYWHERE FROM 3,000 TO 5,000 MINERS WERE DYING A YEAR. >> Hopler: DYNAMITE IS A MUCH SAFER MATERIAL THAN BLACK POWDER OR GUNPOWDER IN THAT IT IS NOT IGNITABLE SIMPLY BY A FLAME OR A SPARK. IN THE DAYS OF THE EARLY MINING, MINERS USED A CANDLE ON THEIR CAP, OR THEY USED, LATER ON, A CARBIDE LAMP, WHICH IS JUST SIMPLY AN ACETYLENE FLAME ON THEIR CAP. A DROP, SOMETHING BURNING, AN EMBER INTO A KEG OF BLACK POWDER WAS A DISASTER IN THOSE DAYS. >> Narrator: NONETHELESS, IN ITS EARLY INCARNATION, DYNAMITE ITSELF ALSO POSED ITS OWN DANGERS. >> Kozushko: OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, IT DETERIORATES. THERE'S A SEPARATION OF THE NITROGLYCERIN OUT OF THE MIXTURE TO THE SURFACE, OR THE SKIN, OF THE STICK, ESSENTIALLY, AND IT COULD ACTUALLY PUDDLE UP AND FLOOD SOME OF THESE OLD WOODEN BOXES THAT MAY HAVE HALF A CASE OF DYNAMITE IN, SO THEY'RE STILL VERY, VERY SENSITIVE, VERY DANGEROUS. >> Narrator: IN COLD WEATHER, THE NITROGLYCERIN CRYSTALLIZED INSIDE THE STICKS, MAKING IT SENSITIVE TO SHOCK, AND ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSIONS OCCURRED. BUT OVER TIME, NOBEL AND OTHER SCIENTISTS ALTERED DYNAMITE'S FORMULA TO MAKE IT SAFER UNDER A VARIETY OF CONDITIONS. NOBEL HIMSELF DEVELOPED A GELATIN VERSION OF DYNAMITE WHICH WORKED IN DAMP CONDITIONS AND EVEN UNDERWATER. THIS ALTERNATIVE VERSION OF DYNAMITE WAS USED TO DEEPEN AND IMPROVE HARBORS. >> J. Christoper Ronay: MANY COMPANIES BEGAN TO PRODUCE THE PRODUCT, SOME UNDER LICENSE TO ALFRED NOBEL HIMSELF, AND SOME COMPETITORS, AND ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT COMPANIES HAD DIFFERENT WAYS OF MANUFACTURING THE PRODUCT, DIFFERENT PRODUCT SIZES AND CONFIGURATIONS, AND THERE WERE VERY FEW REGULATIONS THAT WERE ABLE TO CONTEND WITH THESE VARIATIONS, SO THE INDUSTRY AND THE GOVERNMENT AGREED THAT IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO FORM AN ORGANIZATION TO ASSIST IN THE CODIFICATION, OR BRINGING TOGETHER, OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE EXPLOSIVES INDUSTRY, AND THE INSTITUTE OF MAKERS OF EXPLOSIVES WAS FOUNDED IN 1913. >> Narrator: AS THE WORLD EMBRACED THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY, ITS INVENTOR, ALFRED NOBEL, GREW RICH, BUT THE DU PONT FAMILY, HEADED BY GENERAL HENRY DU PONT, WAS HEAVILY INVESTED IN THE GUNPOWDER BUSINESS, AND AT FIRST REJECTED DYNAMITE AS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE. BUT HIS NEPHEW, LAMOTT DU PONT, DISAGREED, AND SECRETLY BEGAN TO GET THE DU PONT COMPANY INVOLVED WITH THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY. >> Hopler: AS SOON AS THE DU PONT COMPANY SAW THAT DYNAMITE WAS, IN FACT, A GOOD PRODUCT, AND IT WAS BEGINNING TO MAKE TREMENDOUS INROADS ON THEIR SALES OF BLACK POWDER, THEY BEGAN BUYING INTO THESE INDEPENDENT EXPLOSIVE COMPANIES, SURREPTITIOUSLY AT THE BEGINNING, AND THEN MORE OPENLY, AND BY THE MID-1880s, THEY HAD ALREADY ACQUIRED A GREAT STAKE IN ALMOST ALL THE EXPLOSIVE COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES. >> Narrator: EVENTUALLY, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT GREW CONCERNED OVER DU PONT'S MONOPOLY POSITION, AND IN 1912, BROKE UP THE DU PONT EXPLOSIVE BUSINESS INTO THREE SEPARATE COMPANIES. BUT WHILE THE DU PONTS SUFFERED A SETBACK, DYNAMITE WAS JUST GETTING STARTED. NOBEL'S DUAL INVENTIONS OF DYNAMITE AND THE BLASTING CAP SPED UP THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF AMERICA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD, BUT IN THE 20th CENTURY, THEIR IMPACT WAS EVEN GREATER. THEY PROVIDED MAN WITH AN AWESOME POWER-- THE ABILITY TO DRAMATICALLY CHANGE THE FACE OF THE EARTH. >> Romero: PROJECTS LIKE THE PANAMA CANAL PROBABLY COULDN'T EVEN BE ATTEMPTED IF WE DIDN'T HAVE SOMETHING LIKE DYNAMITE. IF YOU HAD TO RELY ON LABOR, IT WOULD TAKE JUST A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME. >> Narrator: REMARKABLY, A CENTRAL AMERICAN CANAL THAT WOULD CONNECT THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS WAS FIRST PROPOSED BY SPANISH COLONIALISTS IN 1529. THEY STOOD TO BENEFIT FROM THE OBVIOUS EASE OF NAVIGATION BETWEEN THE TWO OCEANS THAT WOULD HAVE RESULTED, BUT IT JUST WASN'T FEASIBLE. 400 YEARS LATER, DYNAMITE MADE THIS DREAM A REALITY. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY, CONSTRUCTION OF THE PANAMA CANAL HAD BEGUN. >> Hopler: THERE WAS SOMEWHERE IN EXCESS OF 67 MILLION POUNDS OF DYNAMITE USED IN THAT CONSTRUCTION, AND THE WAY IT WAS USED WAS THE WAY WE USE EXPLOSIVES IN ROAD CUTS OR MINING-- THEY DRILL HOLES, THEY LOADED THEM WITH EXPLOSIVES, AND THEY BLASTED THEM AND THEY DUG THE MATERIAL. >> Narrator: IN 1914, THE PANAMA CANAL WAS IN OPERATION. DYNAMITE HAD CUT THROUGH 40 MILES OF LAND AND EXCAVATED 175 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF EARTH-- ENOUGH TO FILL THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING 500 TIMES. AS THE 20th CENTURY BROUGHT WIDESPREAD CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY, DYNAMITE PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN NEARLY EVERY FACET. IN A SENSE, DYNAMITE PUT AMERICA ON WHEELS. WHEN HENRY FORD'S MODE BEGAN ROLLING OUT IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 20th CENTURY, THE ASSEMBLY LINE LOOKED LIKE WHERE ALL THE ACTION WAS, BUT BEHIND THE SCENES, DYNAMITE WAS MAKING IT ALL POSSIBLE. AS THE KEY TOOL OF THE MINING INDUSTRY, DYNAMITE BLASTED OUT THE IRON ORE FOR THE STEEL FRAMES AND BODIES, THE COPPER FOR THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WIRING AND THE LEAD FOR THE BATTERIES. AND IT WAS INDISPENSABLE IN CREATING OUR NATION'S HIGHWAYS. IT LEVELED ROUGH TERRAIN AND IT BLASTED GRAVEL OUT OF ROCK QUARRIES-- GRAVEL THAT WAS USED FOR THE ROADWAYS. AS AMERICANS BOUGHT MORE AND MORE CARS, THEY NEEDED FUEL FOR THOSE CARS. ONCE AGAIN, IT WAS DYNAMITE THAT PLAYED A KEY ROLE BEHIND THE SCENES. >> Hopler: DYNAMITE HAS A BROAD HISTORY IN THE OIL INDUSTRY. IT WAS USED TO STIMULATE WELLS BACK IN THE 1860s. WHEN THE WELLS IN PENNSYLVANIA DRIED UP, THEY DRIED UP BECAUSE THERE WAS A FILM OF WAX ON THE INSIDE OF THE BOREHOLES. IT WAS FOUND VERY QUICKLY THAT IF YOU PUT SOME DYNAMITE OR NITROGLYCERIN DOWN IN THOSE HOLES, YOU COULD BEGIN THE FLOW OF OIL AGAIN, JUST AS IT WAS WHEN THE HOLE WAS FIRST DRILLED. >> Narrator: DYNAMITE HAS ALSO BEEN USED IN THE ARE OF SEISMIC EXPLORATION. BY SETTING OFF BLASTS AND MEASURING THE SHOCK WAVES THROUGH THE VARIOUS STRATA BELOW, GEOLOGISTS COULD LOCATE OIL FIELDS. AS AMERICA HIT THE ROAD, DYNAMITE ALSO WAS KEY IN BUILDING ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT TOURIST DESTINATIONS... MOUNT RUSHMORE. >> Romero: WE KNOW ITS CHARACTERISTICS VERY WELL, AND SO, WHEN WE USE IT IN A PARTICULAR ROCK, WE KNOW HOW IT'S GOING TO PERFORM AND WE COULD ACTUALLY SCULPT A PIECE OF ART WITH DYNAMITE BECAUSE IT'S SO REPEATABLE, AND WE CAN RELY ON HOW IT'S GOING TO BEHAVE. >> Narrator: MOUNT RUSHMORE WAS BEGUN IN 1927 AND COMPLETED IN 1939. IN THE END, THE WORKERS HAD BLASTED AWAY A HALF A MILLION TONS OF SOLID GRANITE. AS A VISIONARY ARTIST, GUTZON BORGLUM HAD USED DYNAMITE TO RE-CREATE NATURE IN THE IMAGE OF MAN. DURING THE DEPRESSION, HOOVER DAM WAS YET ANOTHER ENORMOUS ACHIEVEMENT MADE POSSIBLE BY DYNAMITE. >> Romero: WE COULD BLAST CANYONS TO SHAPE THE SURROUNDINGS TO GET A BASE, SO THE DAM COULD BE BUILT-- ESSENTIALLY CARVE THEM OUT SO THAT WE COULD MAKE DAMS, LIKE THE HOOVER DAM. >> Narrator: BUT BEFORE THE DAM ITSELF COULD BE CONSTRUCTED, THE MIGHTY COLORADO RIVER HAD TO BE DIVERTED FROM THE DAM SITE. THIS MONUMENTAL TASK WAS ACCOMPLISHED BY DYNAMITING THE CANYON WALLS, CREATING FOUR TUNNELS. THE GIGANTIC 56-FOOT HIGH TUNNELS AVERAGED THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILE EACH AND CARRIED THE ENTIRE VOLUME OF THE COLORADO RIVER. HOOVER DAM WAS COMPLETED IN 1935, TWO YEARS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. THANKS IN LARGE PART TO THE POWER OF DYNAMITE, IT, IN TURN, IS A POWER SOURCE. THE HYDROELECTRIC GENERATORS OF HOOVER DAM SUPPLY NEARLY 1.5 MILLION KILOWATTS OF ELECTRICITY TO ARIZONA, NEVADA AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. JUST AS DYNAMITE WAS USED TO BUILD THE HOOVER DAM, IT WAS ALSO USED THROUGHOUT AMERICA AND THE WORLD IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF TUNNELS VITAL TO TRANSPORTATION. IN NEW YORK CITY, DYNAMITE WAS USED IN CARVING OUT THE MOUTHS OF THE HOLLAND AND MIDTOWN TUNNELS, AS WELL AS THE NEW YORK SUBWAYS. >> Hopler: THE ROCK UNDER NEW YORK IS AN EXTREMELY HARD SCHIST-TYPE MATERIAL, WHICH IS EXTREMELY HARD TO DRILL, EXTREMELY HARD TO BLAST. IT REQUIRED SOMETHING LIKE DYNAMITE. BLACK POWDER COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT. >> Narrator: AND YET, DESPITE THE ENORMOUS LEGACY CREATED BY DYNAMITE, WHICH IN TURN, WAS CREATED BY ALFRED NOBEL, WHEN WE HEAR THE NAME NOBEL TODAY, WE DON'T THINK OF THE VIOLENCE OF A DYNAMITE EXPLOSION; WE THINK OF PEACE AND THE NOBEL PRIZE. THE STORY BEHIND THE PRIZE IS AS FASCINATING AS THE STORY OF DYNAMITE ITSELF. WHEN ALFRED NOBEL REACHED HIS 60s, HIS HEALTH WAS FAILING AND HE BEGAN TO WONDER HOW THE WORLD MIGHT REMEMBER HIM. IN A TWIST OF FATE, HE FOUND HIS ANSWER IN THE NEWSPAPER. WHEN HIS BROTHER LUDWIG DIED IN 1892, NOBEL GOT A CHANCE TO LOOK INTO HIS OWN FUTURE. AS HE READ THE NEWSPAPER OBITUARY, HE HAD AN INCREDIBLE SHOCK. THE EDITORS HAD CONFUSED LUDWIG NOBEL WITH ALFRED NOBEL AND HAD PUBLISHED THE OBITUARY OF THE INVENTOR OF DYNAMITE. IT SUMMED UP ALFRED'S LIFE BY CALLING HIM "THE MERCHANT OF DEATH." NOBEL WAS BEWILDERED, BUT HE REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN. NOBEL'S LEGACY HAD BEGUN WITH HIS FATHER, IMMANUEL NOBEL, WHO INVENTED LAND MINES AND WATER MINES. >> Romero: HE WENT TO RUSSIA AND WAS ABLE TO SELL IT TO THE RUSSIANS, AND AS A RESULT, HE OPENED UP A FACTORY IN SAINT PETERSBURG TO BUILD BOTH LAND MINES AND MINES IN HARBORS, AND WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL. THE FAMILY MOVED FROM SWEDEN. ALL THE NOBEL FAMILY WORKED WITH THE FATHER TO DEVELOP THESE DEVICES USED EXTENSIVELY BY THE RUSSIANS IN THE CRIMEAN WAR. >> Narrator: ALFRED HIMSELF HAD ALSO PROFITED FROM WARFARE, FOR HE WAS THE INVENTOR OF SMOKELESS POWDER, TECHNICALLY KNOWN AS BALLASTITE. >> Romero: BLACK POWDER, WHEN IT WOULD BE FIRED, WOULD GIVE OFF A LOT OF SMOKE. IF YOU WERE SHOOTING LOTS OF ROUNDS, YOU'D GET A LOT OF SMOKE IN THE AREA; IT'D BE VERY ANNOYING. ALSO, YOUR ENEMY WOULD USE THAT SMOKE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU WERE AT, SO THEY COULD TARGET YOU, AND SO THE USE OF A SMOKELESS POWDER, SO THAT YOU COULD FIRE AMMUNITION AND STILL HAVE A CLEAR VIEW, PLUS THE ENEMY COULDN'T SEE YOU, WAS A GREAT TACTICAL ADVANTAGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD. >> Narrator: HISTORICAL EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT NOBEL'S INVENTION OF DYNAMITE HAD ONLY A MARGINAL APPLICATION IN WARFARE. TOO LATE FOR THE NAPOLEONIC WARS OR THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, IT WAS USED TO A LIMITED EXTENT FOR SUBMARINE MINES ABOUT THE TIME OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. EXPERTS SPECULATE THERE MAY HAVE BEEN OTHER APPLICATIONS. >> Romero: DYNAMITE IN WARFARE COULD BE USED ALMOST IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT'S USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MINING AND DEMOLITION BUSINESS. UH, YOU COULD USE DYNAMITE TO DYNAMITE A BRIDGE TO STOP YOUR ENEMY FROM CROSSING A BRIDGE; DYNAMITE RAILS SO THAT THE TRAINS WOULD BE STOPPED. >> Narrator: BUT DYNAMITE ON THE BATTLEFIELD COULD BE AS DANGEROUS TO THOSE USING IT AS TO THE OPPOSITION. A CARTLOAD OF DYNAMITE WAS A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. IF AN ENEMY SNIPER'S BULLET HIT A SINGLE STICK, THE SHOCK WOULD SET OFF THE ENTIRE LOAD. >> Aimone-Martin: THE MILITARY NEEDS TO USE EXPLOSIVES THAT ARE EASY TO HANDLE AND ARE NOT SUBJECT TO SHOCK, UH, ACCIDENTAL DETONATION FROM SHOCK. >> Narrator: IN THE 1880s, THE U.S. MILITARY SPENT SEVERAL YEARS TRYING TO CREATE A GUN THAT COULD LAUNCH DYNAMITE. IN 1889, THE NAVY EVEN BUILT A DYNAMITE GUNSHIP, THE U.S.S.<i> VESUVIUS,</i> AND PUT IT INTO SERVICE IN THE SPANISH- AMERICAN WAR, BUT BECAUSE OF THE SHORT RANGE OF THESE GUNS AND ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSIONS OCCURRING AS THE SHOCK-SENSITIVE DYNAMITE WAS LAUNCHED, THEY WERE FAR MORE DANGEROUS TO THE CREW THAN THE ENEMY, AND THE IDEA WAS SCRAPPED. WHILE DYNAMITE HAD LITTLE PLACE IN WAR, ALFRED NOBEL WAS NONETHELESS GOING TO BE REMEMBERED FOR THE BAD AND NOT THE GOOD HE'D ACCOMPLISHED. NOBEL VOWED TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT, TO CLEAR THE NOBEL NAME. NOBEL'S WILL INSTRUCTED HIS EXECUTORS TO USE HIS FORTUNE TO CREATE AN ENDOWMENT WITH LOFTY GOALS. >> Hopler: THE NOBEL FOUNDATION WAS A PRODUCT OF HIS EXECUTORS. NOBEL LEFT A VERY SIMPLE WILL, IN WHICH HE SPECIFIED THAT HIS, UH, BEQUEST BE USED FOR CREATING PRIZES IN THE FIELDS OF PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, LITERATURE, PEACE AND MEDICINE. HE GAVE NO DIRECTIONS AS TO HOW THIS MONEY WOULD BE PUT INTO A FOUNDATION. ALL THAT WAS LEFT UP TO HIS EXECUTORS. >> Narrator: THROUGH JUDICIOUS INVESTMENT, THE ENDOWMENT HAS GROWN TO SUCH PROPORTIONS THAT EACH YEAR, THE VARIOUS WINNERS ARE EACH AWARDED ABOUT $1 MILLION TO PURSUE GOOD WORK IN THE VARIOUS FIELDS NOBEL OUTLINED, BUT IT IS THE PEACE PRIZE THAT SEEMS TO HOLD THE HIGHEST HONOR. >> THOUGH DYNAMITE IS NO LONGER WIDELY USED, THIS EXPLOSIVE IS NONETHELESS STILL UTILIZED AT THE MILLENNIUM. ONE OF ITS MOST SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCES WAS AFTER THE GULF WAR. DYNAMITE WAS USED TO PUT OUT THE OIL FIELD FIRES IN KUWAIT. WHEN THEY BLEW AWAY THE OXYGEN, THE FIRE COULDN'T BREATHE, AND WORKERS COULD THEN COME IN AND SAFELY CAP THE WELLS. DYNAMITE REMAINS A POPULAR CHOICE FOR CERTAIN JOBS IN THE MINING INDUSTRY AND FOR DEMOLITION USE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. >> Man: FIRE. >> Narrator: AT NEW MEXICO TECH, A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED SCIENTIFIC ENVIRONMENT IS USED TO TEST NEW KINDS OF DYNAMITE, AS WELL AS THE NEXT GENERATION OF EXPLOSIVES. (<i> siren wailing</i> ) >> Man: THREE, TWO, ONE. >> Romero: THE ENERGETIC MATERIALS RESEARCH AND TEST CENTER, OR EMRTC, AS WE CALL IT, IS A RESEARCH DIVISION OF NEW MEXICO TECH. IT FOCUSES ON DOING TESTING AND RESEARCH IN THE AREA OF ENERGETIC MATERIALS, FROM PROPELLANTS TO EXPLOSIVES, INCLUDING DYNAMITE. >> Narrator: TODAY, MOST DYNAMITE USED IN THE UNITED STATES COMES FROM THE DYNO NOBEL PLANT IN CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. THIS IS THE LAST REMAINING DYNAMITE FACTORY IN AMERICA. WHILE THE FACTORY STILL PRODUCES TENS OF MILLIONS OF POUNDS OF DYNAMITE A YEAR, IT REPRESENTS A TINY FRACTION OF THE EXPLOSIVES INDUSTRY IN AMERICA. DYNAMITE'S POPULARITY BEGAN TO WANE DURING THE 1950s, SHORTLY AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL INTRODUCTION OF AMMONIUM NITRATE EXPLOSIVES, WHICH HAD A NUMBER OF KEY ADVANTAGES. >> Ronay: THE AMMONIUM NITRATE AND FUEL OIL EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL THAT IS USED IN MINING, TO A LARGE EXTENT, IS GENERALLY REFERRED TO AS ANFO, A-N-F-O, AND ACCOUNTS FOR PROBABLY ABOUT A LITTLE OVER FOUR BILLION POUNDS OF PRODUCT THAT'S CONSUMED IN THE UNITED STATES EVERY YEAR. >> Narrator: ANFO COSTS ABOUT 30 CENTS A POUND, WHILE DYNAMITE RUNS ABOUT TWO DOLLARS A POUND. >> Romero: IN THE MINING INDUSTRY, COST IS EVERYTHING. WE HAVE TO PRODUCE SOME ORE AT THE CHEAPEST POSSIBLE PRICE, AND SO, THE PRICE OF THE EXPLOSIVES REALLY FACTORS INTO WHAT YOU USE. >> Narrator: BUT COST IS NOT THE ONLY FACTOR. ANFO HAS OTHER BENEFITS. >> Phil Kozushko: WHAT'S NICE ABOUT AMMONIUM NITRATE, IT IS NOT NEAR AS SENSITIVE TO SHOCK AS DYNAMITE SO, IT IS EASIER TO HANDLE, EASIER TO STORE, SAFER TO STORE. >> Narrator: THE NEW GENERATION OF EXPLOSIVES COME IN A VARIETY OF FORMS, INCLUDING SLURRIES AND EMULSIONS. THEY ENJOY INDUSTRY POPULARITY DUE TO THEIR EASE OF APPLICATION. >> Romero: WE CAN PUMP MODERN-DAY EXPLOSIVES THROUGH PUMPS, SO WE CAN USE VERY LARGE TRUCKS. WE BRING THEM ON OUT TO A MINING LOCATION, WE PUMP THE EXPLOSIVE OUT OF THE TRUCK, INTO THE BOREHOLES... UM, CAN LOAD, LIKE, 200 KILOGRAMS PER MINUTE OF EXPLOSIVES. SO RATHER THAN PUTTING IN EACH INDIVIDUAL STICK, WE CAN NOW PUMP IT INTO THE HOLE AND DO A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. >> Man: FIRE IN THE HOLE. >> Narrator: ANOTHER REASON DYNAMITE IS LESS POPULAR IS THAT ITS USERS HAVE AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD. THIS JOB IS ONE POWERFUL HEADACHE. NOT FOR THE REASONS YOU WOULD THINK. THE HEADACHES COME FROM EXPOSURE AND HANDLING THE DYNAMITE ITSELF. NITROGLYCERIN DILATES THE BLOOD VESSELS. IN THE BRAIN, THAT ADDS UP TO PRESSURE, AND A POUNDING HEADACHE. AS DYNAMITE'S USE MAY ONLY LAST A FEW MORE DECADES, WHAT THEN, IS ITS LEGACY? >> Romero: WELL, FROM THE SCIENTIFIC STANDPOINT, THE GREATEST LEGACY THAT NOBEL LEFT US IS THE BLASTING CAP, ACTUALLY. DYNAMITE WAS VERY FAMOUS, AND MADE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT THE BLASTING CAP IS STILL IN USE TODAY, ALMOST IN THE SAME WAY THAT NOBEL HAD DESIGNED IT OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. DYNAMITE REVOLUTIONIZED THE WORLD, REVOLUTIONIZED THE CONSTRUCTION AND MINING INDUSTRY, BUT WE'VE MOVED ON PAST DYNAMITE. WE STILL USE ALFRED NOBEL'S BLASTING CAPS. >> Narrator: BUT EVEN AS THE USE OF DYNAMITE FADES, NOTHING CAN DIMINISH THE ROLE IT PLAYED IN SHAPING OUR CIVILIZATION. >> Hopler: IN LOOKING AT THE HISTORY OF DYNAMITE, I THINK THE BEST THING ABOUT IT IS IT HAS CREATED A WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN TODAY. IT'S ENABLED US TO HAVE OUR TUNNELS, OUR ROADS, OUR HARBORS, OUR METALS THAT WE CREATED OUR INFRASTRUCTURE WITH, THE METALS WE CREATED OUR AUTOMOBILES, OUR RAILROAD TRAINS, OUR RAILROAD RAIL, AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE USE TODAY. WITHOUT DYNAMITE, WE'D HAVE A FAR DIFFERENT WORLD THAN WE HAVE TODAY. aptioning sponsored by <font color="#FFFF00"> A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS</font> Captioned by <font color="#FF0000"> The Caption Center</font> WGBH Educational Foundation]
