Gelignite
Gelignite is an
explosive consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of
nitrocellulose or gun cotton) dissolved in
nitroglycerine and mixed with wood pulp and
sodium or
potassium nitrate. One of the cheapest explosives, it is mostly used for large-scale blasting in the construction and
mining industries. Unlike
gunpowder, it burns slowly and cannot explode without a
detonator, so it can be stored safely. It was invented in 1875 by
Alfred Nobel, who had earlier invented
dynamite. Unlike dynamite, gelignite does not suffer from the dangerous problem of
sweating, the leaking of unstable nitroglycerine from the solid matrix.