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Revision as of 19:16, 12 December 2005
Black powder is a type of gunpowder invented in the 9th century and was practically the only known propellant and explosive until the middle of the 19th century. It has been superseded by more efficient explosives such as smokeless powders and TNT. It is still manufactured today but primarily for use in fireworks, model rocket engines, and reproductions of muzzleloading weapons.
Description
Black powder consists of the granular ingredients sulphur (S), charcoal (provides carbon to the reaction) and saltpetre (saltpetre, potassium nitrate, KNO3; provides oxygen to the reaction).
A simple, commonly cited, chemical equation for the combustion of black powder is:
- 2 KNO3 + S + 3C → K2S + N2 + 3CO2
A more accurate, but still simplified[1], equation is
The products of burning do not follow any simple equation. One study's results showed it produced (in order of descending quantities): 55.91% solid products: Potassium carbonate, Potassium sulfate, Potassium sulfide, Sulfur, Potassium nitrate, Potassium thiocyanate, Carbon, Ammonium carbonate. 42.98% gaseous products: Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen, Carbon monoxide, Hydrogen sulfide, Hydrogen, Methane. 1.11% water
The optimum proportions for gunpowder are: 74.64% saltpetre, 13.51% charcoal, and 11.85% sulphur (by weight). The current standard for black powder manufactured by pyrotechnicians today is 75% potassium nitrate, 15% softwood charcoal and 10% sulfur.
For the most powerful black powder "meal" a wood charcoal is used. The best wood for the purpose is buckthorn, but others such as balsa or willow can be used. The ingredients are mixed as thoroughly as possible. This is achieved using a ball mill with non-sparking grinding apparatus (lead), or similar device.
Black powder is also corned to change its burn rate. Corning is a process which first compresses the fine black powder "meal" into blocks with a fixed density (1.7 g/cm³). The blocks are then broken up into granules. These granules are then sorted by size to give the various grades of black powder. Standard grades of black powder run from the coarse Fg grade used in large bore rifles and small cannon though FFg (medium and smallbore rifles), FFFg (pistols), and FFFFg (smallbore, short pistols and priming flintlocks). Very coarse black powder was used in mining before the development of nitroglycerine and dynamite.
Black powder is classified as a low explosive, that is, it deflagrates (burns) rapidly. High explosives detonate at a rate approximately 10 times faster than the burning of black powder.
Although black powder is not a high explosive, the United States Department of Transportation classifies it as a "Class A High Explosive" for shipment because it is so easily ignited. Highly destructive explosions at fireworks manufacturing plants are rather common events, especially in Asia. Complete manufactured devices containing black powder are usually classified as "Class C Firework", "Class C Model Rocket Engine", etc. for shipment because they are harder to ignite than the loose powder.
History
Many modern cultures have claimed their historical role in the invention of black powder. Different scholars have contended that black powder was invented by either the Arabs, the Chinese, the English friar and alchemist Roger Bacon, the ancient Hindus or the German/Greek alchemist Berthold Schwarz. While the Indian claim has been found to be a case of forgery, and the German claim completely mythical (it was nonetheless widely accepted up till 1900), the three remaining theories all have some merit. It is also possible that black powder was invented by independently by several different people at about the same time. In any case, the debate regarding the exact date and inventors of black powder will continue.
Many credible sources attribute the invention of black powder (火藥, huo3 yao4; lit. fire medicine) to ancient China in the 9th century during the late Tang dynasty (618 - 907 CE). The invention appears to have been made accidentally, by Taoist alchemists seeking the elixir of immortality, or possibly as a fire starter for the easy ignition of tinder by sparks. The first references to gunpowder appear as warnings in alchemy texts not to mix certain materials together. However these early mixtures contain large amounts of incombustible material and are pyrotechnic in nature rather than truly explosive. By the 11th century, gunpowder began to be used for military purposes in China in the form of rockets and explosive bombs fired from catapults. The first reference to missile throwing weapons appears in 1259 when bamboo or copper tubes were used to launch baked clay bullets or shrapnel consisting of pebbles and small stones at the enemy. This type of weapon was primarily a nuisance, rather than a danger on the battlefield. Many early mixtures of Chinese gunpowder contained toxic substances such as mercury and arsenic compounds, and could be considered an early form of chemical warfare. The oldest metal cannon in China dates from 1323.
From China, the military use of gunpowder appears to have spread to the rest of the world. It was used by the Mongols (1279 - 1368) against the Russians and was mentioned in a European manuscript by Roger Bacon in 1248. Bacon had many contacts with Arab-ruled Al-Andalus and it is likely his formulas originated there. There are Spanish references to the use of "Truenos" ("Thunderers") in Al-Andalus as early as 1248, but it is more likely these were bombs hurled by catapult, or rockets rather than cannon. The first authenticated European reference to cannon is a record of them being exported from Ghent in 1313. By the mid 14th century, early cannon are mentioned extensively both in Europe and in China. Howard Blackmore identified the earliest surviving Chinese cannon, dated 1332 in the late 1980's. It was the Europeans (or possibly the Arabs) who realized that only three ingredients were necessary for effective gunpowder, and who realized the importance of potassium nitrate in increasing the power of the mixture enough to make cannon effective and reliable.
The origins of gunpowder and cannon remains controversial as most of the Chinese written sources are 17th century revisions of earlier texts. Chinese firearms failed to develop beyond the most primitive stage until after contact with European traders. Japanese sources state that hand held firearms were completely unknown (or forgotten) before the Portuguese landed (or rather were shipwrecked) at Tanegashima in 1543. The military adventurism of the Mongols (1279 - 1368) seems to have been the impetus for the development of gunpowder weapons in China, but at the time older forms of siege equipment such as the trebuchet still dominated. Cannon and rockets were extensively used in the Mongol conquests of the 13th and 14th centuries and were a feature of East Asian warfare afterwards. The low, thick city walls of Beijing (started in 1406) for example, were specifically designed to withstand a gunpowder artillery attack, and the Ming dynasty(1368-1644) moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1421 specifically because the hills around Nanjing were good locations for invaders to place artillery.
The early use of gunpowder in the Arab world is complex and sometimes confusing in nature, mainly because of changes in the meaning of words. The Arab alchemists were well acquainted with saltpetre (which they called "Chinese Snow"), and as previously noted Roger Bacon may have learned about gunpowder through his Arabic speaking colleagues in Al-Andalus. Certainly by 1453, the Ottoman Turks were masters of gunpowder manufacture and the use of heavy gunpowder artilliery. The Turks were able to construct enormous cannon with a bore of 90cm firing a 320kg projectile a distance of over 1.6 kilometres.
The 15th through 17th century saw widespread development in gunpowder technology mainly in Europe. Advances in metallurgy led to portable weapons and the development of hand-held firearms such as muskets. Cannon technology in Europe gradually outpaced that of China and these technological improvements transferred back to China through Jesuit missionaries who were put in charge of cannon manufacture by the late Ming and early Qing emperors.
One of the overlooked areas in the history of black powder is its use in civil engineering and mining. Until the invention of explosives, large rocks could only be broken up by hard labour, or heating with large fires followed by rapid quenching. The earliest surviving record for the use of gunpowder in mines comes from Hungary in 1627. It was introduced to Britain in 1638 by German miners, after which records are numerous. Until the invention of safety fuse by William Bickford in 1831, the practice was extremely dangerous. Another reason for danger was the dense fumes given off and the risk of igniting flammable gas when used in coal mines.
The first time gunpowder was used on a large scale in civil engineering was in the construction of the Languedoc canal in Southern France. It was completed in 1681 and linked the Mediterranean sea with the Bay of Biscay with 240km of canal and 100 locks. Another noteworthy consumer of blackpowder was the Erie canal in New York. It was 585km long and took 8 years to complete starting in 1817. Canal construction lead to a frenzy of activity amoung American gunpowder manufacturers.
Black powder was also extensively used in railway construction. At first tracks ran on level ground, but later railways made extensive use of cuttings and tunnels. One 800 metre stretch of the notorious Box Tunnel on the Great Western Railway line between London and Bristol consumed a tonne of gunpowder a week for over two years. Over 100 lives were lost construction the 3.3km tunnel. the 12.9km long Mont Cenis tunnel was completed in 13 years starting in 1857, but even with black powder progress was only 25cm a day until the invention of pneumatic drills sped up the work.
The latter half of the 19th Century saw the invention of nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose and smokeless powders which rapidly led to the replacement of gunpowder in many applications.
See also
Reference
- Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics by Jack Kelly, Basic Books, ISBN 0-4650-3718-6
- A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder by J.R. Partington ISBN 0-8018-5954-9
- Guns and Rifles of the World by Howard Blackmore ISBN 0-6703-5780-4
- The Chemistry of Powder & Explosives by Tenney L. Davis, ISBN 0-9130-2200-4
- Firearms : a global history to 1700 / by Chase, Kenneth Warren. ISBN 0-5218-2274-2
- The Big Bang: A history of Explosives by G I Brown ISBN 0-7509-1878-0