Dynamite is an explosive invented by Alfred Nobel. Its main explosive component is nitroglycerin. Nitroglycerin is very sensitive to movement. It explodes very easily, when moved. For this reason, it is absorbed into diatomaceous earth to make it less sensitive. Diatomaceous earth is a soft, sedimentary rock made of fossil diatoms. In dynamite, about one part of four is diatomaceous earth, the other three are nitroglycerin. A little sodium carbonate is added to stabilize the mixture.