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For other meanings, see gunpowder (disambiguation).

Gunpowder, also called black powder, is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. It burns rapidly, producing a volume of hot gas and a solid residue which can be used as a propellant in firearms and as a pyrotechnic composition in fireworks. The term gunpowder also refers broadly to any propellant powder. Modern firearms do not use the traditional gunpowder (black powder) described in this article, but instead use smokeless powder. Antique firearms or replicas of antique firearms are often used with black powder substitute.

Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate and consequently low brisance. Low explosives deflagrate at subsonic speeds. High explosives detonate, producing a supersonic wave. The gases produced by burning gunpowder generate enough pressure to propel a bullet, but not enough to destroy a gun barrel. This makes gunpowder less suitable for shattering rock or fortifications, where high explosives such as TNT are preferred.

Characteristics

The term black powder was coined in the late 19th century to distinguish prior gunpowder formulations from the new smokeless powders and semi-smokeless powders.(Semi-smokeless powders featured bulk volume properties that approximated black powder in terms of chamber pressure when used in firearms, but had significantly reduced amounts of smoke and combustion products; they ranged in color from brownish tan to yellow to white. Most of the bulk semi-smokeless powders ceased to be manufactured in the 1920s.)^[1]^[2]^[3]

Black powder is a granular mixture of

a nitrate, typically potassium nitrate (KNO₃), which supplies oxygen for the reaction;
charcoal, which provides carbon and other fuel for the reaction, simplified as carbon (C);
sulfur (S), which, while also a fuel, lowers the temperature of ignition and increases the speed of combustion.

Potassium nitrate is the most important ingredient in terms of both bulk and function because the combustion process releases oxygen from the potassium nitrate, promoting the rapid burning of the other ingredients.^[4] To reduce the likelihood of accidental ignition by static electricity, the granules of modern black powder are typically coated with graphite, which prevents the build-up of electrostatic charge.

The current standard composition for the black powders that are manufactured by pyrotechnicians was adopted as long ago as 1780. Proportions by weight are 75% potassium nitrate, 15% softwood charcoal, and 10% sulfur.^[5] These ratios have varied over the centuries and by country, and can be altered somewhat depending on the purpose of the powder. For instance, power grades of black powder, unsuitable for use in firearms but adequate for blasting rock in quarrying operations, is called blasting powder rather than gunpowder with standard proportions of 70% nitrate, 14% charcoal, and 16% sulfur; blasting powder may be made with the cheaper sodium nitrate substituted for potassium nitrate and proportions may be as low as 40% nitrate, 30% charcoal, and 30% sulfur.^[6]

Combustion rate

The burn rate of black powder can be changed by corning. Corning 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. In the United States, standard grades of black powder run from the coarse Fg grade used in large bore rifles and small cannons, through FFg (medium and smallbore arms such as muskets and fusils), FFFg (smallbore rifles and pistols), and FFFFg (extreme small bore, short pistols and most commonly for priming flintlocks). In the United Kingdom, the gunpowder grains are categorised by mesh size: the BSS sieve mesh size, being the smallest mesh size on which no grains were retained. Recognised grain sizes are Gunpowder G 7, G 20, G 40, and G 90.

A simple, commonly cited, chemical equation for the combustion of black powder is

2 KNO₃ + S + 3 C → K₂S + N₂ + 3 CO₂.

A more accurate, but still simplified, equation is^[7]

10 KNO₃ + 3 S + 8 C → 2 K₂CO₃ + 3 K₂SO₄ + 6 CO₂ + 5 N₂.

Another reaction may be:

6 KNO₃ + C₇H₄O + 2 S → 2 K₂S + 4 CO₂ + 3 CO + 2 H₂O + 2 N₂

Charcoal does not consist of pure carbon; rather, it consists of partially pyrolyzed cellulose, in which the wood is not completely decomposed.

The burning of gunpowder does not take place as a single reaction, however, and the byproducts are not easily predicted. One study's results showed that 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.

Black powder formulations where the nitrate used is sodium nitrate tend to be hygroscopic, unlike black powders where the nitrate used is saltpeter (saltpeter (also saltpetre) in the context of this article means specifically potassium nitrate and not other definitions). Because of this, black powder which uses saltpeter can be stored unsealed and remain viable for centuries provided no liquid water is ever introduced. Muzzleloaders have been known to fire after hanging on a wall for decades in a loaded state, provided they remained dry. By contrast, powder that uses sodium nitrate, which is typically intended for blasting, must be sealed from moisture in the air to remain stable for long times.

Advantages

In firearms, black powder allows loading by volumetric measure, where as smokeless powder requires precise measuring of the charge by weight to prevent damage due to overloading, though damage by overloading is still possible with black powder.

In quarrying, high explosives are generally preferred for shattering rock. However, because of its low brisance, black powder causes fewer fractures and results in more usable stone compared to other explosives, making black powder useful for blasting monumental stone such as granite and marble.

Black powder is well suited for blank rounds, signal flares, burst charges, and rescue-line launches. Black powder is also used in fireworks for lifting shells, in rockets as fuel, and in certain special effects.

Disadvantages

Black powder has low energy density compared to modern smokeless powders and produces a thick smoke that can impair aiming and reveal a shooter's position.

Combustion converts less than half the mass of black powder to gas. The rest ends up as a thick layer of soot inside the barrel. In addition to being a nuisance, the residue from burnt black powder is hygroscopic and an anhydrous caustic substance. When moisture from the air is absorbed, the potassium oxide or sodium oxide turns into hydroxide, which will corrode wrought iron or steel gun barrels. Black powder arms must be well cleaned both inside and out to remove the residue. The Matchlock musket (an early gun) would be unusable in wet weather due to powder in the pan being exposed and dampened, in which case soldiers would use the ends as clubs or use bayonets.

Transportation

The UN Model Regulations on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods and national transportation authorities, such as United States Department of Transportation, have classified Gunpowder (black powder) as a Group A: Primary explosive substance for shipment because it ignites so easily. Complete manufactured devices containing black powder are usually classified as Group D: Secondary detonating substance, or black powder, or article containing secondary detonating substance, such as firework, class D model rocket engine, etc., for shipment because they are harder to ignite than loose powder. As explosives, they all fall into the category of Class 1.

Energy content

Gunpowder contains 3 mega joules per kilogram, and contains its own oxidant. For comparison, the energy density of TNT is 4.6 megajoules per kilogram, and the energy density of gasoline is 47.2 megajoules per kilogram.^[8]

Sulfur-free gunpowder

The development of smokeless powders, such as Cordite, in the late 19th century created the need for a spark-sensitive priming charge, such as gunpowder. However, the sulfur content of traditional gunpowders caused corrosion problems with Cordite Mk I and this led to the introduction of a range of sulfur-free gunpowders, of varying grain sizes.^[9] They typically contain 70.5 parts of saltpetre and 29.5 parts of charcoal.^[9] Like black powder, they were produced in different grain sizes. In United Kingdom, the finest grain was known as sulfur-free mealed powder (SMP). Coarser grains were numbered as sulfur-free gunpowder (SFG n): 'SFG 12', 'SFG 20', 'SFG 40' and 'SFG 90', for example, where the number was a BSS sieve mesh size, being the smallest mesh size on which no grains were retained.

The main purpose of sulfur in gunpowder is to decrease the ignition temperature. A sample reaction for sulfur-free gunpowder would be:

4 KNO₃ + C₇H₈O → 3 K₂CO₃ + 4 CO₂ + 2 H₂O + 3 N₂

BOOM

Manufacturing technology

For the most powerful black powder meal, a wood charcoal is used. The best wood for the purpose is Pacific willow,^[10] but others such as alder or buckthorn can be used. The ingredients are mixed as thoroughly as possible. This is achieved using a ball mill with non-sparking grinding apparatus (e.g., bronze or lead), or similar device. Historically, a marble or limestone edge runner mill, running on a limestone bed was used in Great Britain; however, by the mid 19th century AD this had changed to either an iron shod stone wheel or a cast iron wheel running on an iron bed.^[5] The mix is sometimes dampened with alcohol or water during grinding to prevent accidental ignition.

Around the late 14th century AD, European powdermakers began adding damp to the constituents of gunpowder to reduce dust and with it the risk of explosion.^[11] The powdermakers would then shape the resulting paste of dampened gunpowder, known as mill cake, into corns, or grains, to dry. Not only did corned powder keep better because of its reduced surface area, gunners also found that it was more powerful and easier to load into guns. Before long, powdermakers standardized the process by forcing mill cake through sieves instead of corning powder by hand.

During the 18th century gunpowder factories became increasingly dependent on mechanical energy.^[12]

Other uses

Besides its habitual use as an explosive, gunpowder has been occasionally employed for other purposes, After the battle of Aspern-Essling (1809), the surgeon of the Napoleonic Army Larrey combated the lack of food for the wounded under his care by preparing a bouillon of horse meat seasoned with gunpowder for lack of salt.^[13]^[14] It was also used for sterilizing on ships when there was no alcohol.

Christiaan Huygens experimented with gunpowder in 1673 in an early attempt to build an internal combustion engine. He did not succeed in making a practical engine.

Fireworks and Firecrackers also use gunpowder but use different brands and different chemicals.

Notes

^ The History of the 10.4×38 Swiss Cartridge
^ Blackpowder to Pyrodex and Beyond by Randy Wakeman at Chuck Hawks
^ The History and Art of Shotshells by Jon Farrar, Nebraskaland Magazine
^ Buchanan. "Editor's Introduction: Setting the Context", in Buchanan 2006, p. 4.
^ ^a ^b Earl 1978, Chapter 2: The Development of Gunpowder
^ Julian S. Hatcher, Hatcher's Notebook, Military Service Publishing Company, 1947. Chapter XIII Notes on Gunpowder, pages 300-305.
^ Flash! Bang! Whiz!, University of Denver
^ workshop first week
^ ^a ^b Cocroft 2000, "The demise of gunpowder". Chapter 4
^ U.S. Department of Agriculture (1917). Department Bulleting No. 316: Willows: Their growth, use, and importance. p. 31.
^ Kelly 2004:60–63
^ Frangsmyr, Tore, J. L. Heilbron, and Robin E. Rider, editors The Quantifying Spirit in the Eighteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6d5nb455/ p. 292.
^ Harold T Parker. (1983 reprint) Three Napoleonic Battles. (2nd Ed). Duke University Press. ISBN 0-82230547-X. Page 83 (in Google Books). Quoting Dominique-Jean Larrey, Mémoires de chirurgie militaire et campagnes, III 281, Paris, Smith.
^ Larrey is quoted in French at Dr Béraud, Études Hygiéniques de la chair de cheval comme aliment, Musée des Familles (1841-42).

References

Brown, G. I. (1998), The Big Bang: A History of Explosives, Sutton Publishing, ISBN 0-7509-1878-0.
Buchanan, Brenda J., ed. (2006), Gunpowder, Explosives and the State: A Technological History, Aldershot: Ashgate, ISBN 0754652599.
Chase, Kenneth (2003), Firearms: A Global History to 1700, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521822742.
Cocroft, Wayne (2000), Dangerous Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture, Swindon: English Heritage, ISBN 1-85074-718-0.
Crosby, Alfred W. (2002), Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology Through History, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521791588.
Earl, Brian (1978), Cornish Explosives, Cornwall: The Trevithick Society, ISBN 0-904040-13-5.
al-Hassan, Ahmad Y., "Gunpowder Composition for Rockets and Cannon in Arabic Military Treatises In Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries", History of Science and Technology in Islam.
Johnson, Norman Gardner, "explosive", Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Kelly, Jack (2004), Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World, Basic Books, ISBN 0465037186.
Khan, Iqtidar Alam (1996), "Coming of Gunpowder to the Islamic World and North India: Spotlight on the Role of the Mongols", Journal of Asian History, 30: 41–5.
Khan, Iqtidar Alam (1996a). "The Role of the Mongols in the Introduction of Gunpowder and Firearms in South Asia". Chapter 3, In Buchanan, Brenda J. (1996). Gunpowder: The History of an International Technology. Bath: Bath University Press. (ISBN 0-86197-134-5. 2006 re-issue).
Khan, Iqtidar Alam (2004), Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India, Oxford University Press.
Needham, Joseph (1986), Science & Civilisation in China, vol. V:7: The Gunpowder Epic, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521303583.
Norris, John (2003), Early Gunpowder Artillery: 1300-1600, Marlborough: The Crowood Press.
Partington, J.R. (1960), A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, Cambridge, UK: W. Heffer & Sons.
Partington, James Riddick (1999). A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-5954-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Urbanski, Tadeusz (1967), Chemistry and Technology of Explosives, vol. III, New York: Pergamon Press.

External links

Gun and Gunpowder
The Origins of Gunpowder
Cannons and Gunpowder
Oare Gunpowder Works, Kent, UK
Royal Gunpowder Mills
The DuPont Company on the Brandywine A digital exhibit produced by the Hagley Library that covers the founding and early history of the DuPont Company powder yards in Delaware
"Ulrich Bretschler's Gunpowder Chemistry page".

[1] The History of the 10.4×38 Swiss Cartridge

[2] Blackpowder to Pyrodex and Beyond by Randy Wakeman at Chuck Hawks

[3] The History and Art of Shotshells by Jon Farrar, Nebraskaland Magazine

[bjb4-4] Buchanan. "Editor's Introduction: Setting the Context", in Buchanan 2006, p. 4.

[earl-2-5] Earl 1978, Chapter 2: The Development of Gunpowder

[6] Julian S. Hatcher, Hatcher's Notebook, Military Service Publishing Company, 1947. Chapter XIII Notes on Gunpowder, pages 300-305.

[7] Flash! Bang! Whiz!, University of Denver

[8] workshop first week

[cocroft-4-9] Cocroft 2000, "The demise of gunpowder". Chapter 4

[10] U.S. Department of Agriculture (1917). Department Bulleting No. 316: Willows: Their growth, use, and importance. p. 31.

[11] Kelly 2004:60–63

[12] Frangsmyr, Tore, J. L. Heilbron, and Robin E. Rider, editors The Quantifying Spirit in the Eighteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6d5nb455/ p. 292.

[Parker-13] Harold T Parker. (1983 reprint) Three Napoleonic Battles. (2nd Ed). Duke University Press. ISBN 0-82230547-X. Page 83 (in Google Books). Quoting Dominique-Jean Larrey, Mémoires de chirurgie militaire et campagnes, III 281, Paris, Smith.

[Musee-14] Larrey is quoted in French at Dr Béraud, Études Hygiéniques de la chair de cheval comme aliment, Musée des Familles (1841-42).

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@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 : 4 KNO<sub>3</sub> + C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>8</sub>O → 3 K<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> + 4 CO<sub>2</sub> + 2 H<sub>2</sub>O + 3 N<sub>2</sub>
+BOOM
-== History ==
-[[File:Chinese rocket.gif|thumb|right|Early Chinese rocket]]
-[[File:Mooko-Suenaga.jpg|thumb|A Mongol bomb thrown against a charging [[Japan]]ese [[samurai]] during the [[Mongol invasions of Japan]] after founding the [[Yuan Dynasty]], 1281.]]
-{{main|History of gunpowder}}
-Gunpowder was invented, documented and used in [[ancient]] [[China]] where the Chinese military forces used gunpowder based weapons technology (i.e. [[rocket]]s, [[guns]], [[cannons]]) and [[explosives]] (i.e. [[grenades]] and different types of [[bombs]]) against the [[Mongols]] when the Mongols attempted to invade and breach the Chinese city fortifications on the northern borders of China. After the Mongols conquered China and founded the Yuan Dynasty, they used the Chinese gunpowder-based weapons technology in their invasion of Japan. Chinese also used gunpowder to fuel [[rocket]]s.
-<!--Considerable and continuing academic controversy rages over the exact culture and origin of gunpowder. A common understanding, now argued to be simplistic and uncritically challenged, was that the [[China|Chinese]] solely invented gunpowder and guns. However, deeper academic inquiry, superior communications technology and access to first-hand sources disprove many elements of a simplistic sole origin argument for gunpowder{{fact|date={{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}}}. -->
-However, it has also been argued that, like the wheel, gunpowder was "coinvented" or "co-discovered" prior to, simultaneously or slightly after the Chinese, by cultures separated from the Chinese by vast distances, with minimal direct contact between one another.<ref name="geocities.com">http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2430/gporigins.html</ref><ref name="C. Easton 1962">St. C. Easton: "Roger Bacon and his Search for a Universal Science", Oxford (1962)</ref><ref name="Jack Kelly 2005">Jack Kelly ''Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World'', Perseus Books Group: 2005, ISBN	:0465037224, 9780465037223: 272 pages</ref>
-<!--Main arguments deviating from the "Chinese origin consensus" are that gunpowder may have been invented by the Arabs, by the English monk [[Roger Bacon]], or by the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] people (according to [[folklore]] a [[friar]] [[Berthold Schwarz]]), with literary and archeological evidence to substantiate such claims{{fact|date={{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}}}. -->
-A major problem compounding unbiased academic study is rapid access to original sources. Moreover, the major dilemma of accurate transliteration of original sources, especially of medieval Chinese texts, from then-understood metaphor and/or prose employed to describe (then) hitherto unexplained phenomena into contemporary languages with their well-established and rigidly defined terminology. The difficulty in transliteration lends itself readily to errors or latitude bordering on [[artistic licence]] in the interpretation <ref>George Ingham-Brown, ''The Big Bang: A History of Explosives'', Sutton Publishers: 1998, ISBN 0750918780, 9780750918787: 256 pages: vi</ref><ref>Jack Kelly ''Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World'', Perseus Books Group: 2005, ISBN	:0465037224, 9780465037223: 272 pages: 22</ref>
-An evaluation of all arguments and thorough [[literature review]] is beyond the scope of this article. Rather than take a position, the article will present all arguments to the reader.
-===China===
-[[File:Ming matchlocks.jpg|thumb|250px|left|[[China|Chinese]] [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368-1644 AD) [[matchlock]] [[firearms]]]]
-Saltpeter was known to the Chinese by the mid-1st century AD and there is strong evidence of the use of [[saltpeter]] and [[sulfur]] in various largely [[medicine|medicinal]] combinations.<ref>Buchanan. "Editor's Introduction: Setting the Context", in {{Harvnb|Buchanan|2006}}.</ref> A Chinese alchemical text dated 492 AD noted saltpetre burnt with a purple flame, providing a practical and reliable means of distinguishing it from other inorganic salts, thus enabling alchemists to evaluate and compare purification techniques.<ref name=chase>{{Harvcolnb|Chase|2003|pp=31–32}}</ref> The Chinese word for "gunpowder" is {{zh|c=火药/火藥 |p=huŏ yào}} {{IPA|/xuou yɑʊ/}}, which literally means "Fire Medicine." <ref>{{cite book |publisher=Kidsbooks|title=The Big Book of Trivia Fun|date=2004}}</ref>
-The first reference of gunpowder is possibly the passage of the ''Zhenyuan miaodao yaolüe'', a [[Taoist]] text tentatively dated to the mid-800s CE:<ref name="chase"/>
-<blockquote>Some have heated together [[sulfur]], [[realgar]] and [[Potassium nitrate|saltpeter]] with [[honey]]; smoke and flames result, so that their hands and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burned down.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Kelly|2004|p=4}}</ref></blockquote>
-By the 9th century [[Taoism|Taoist]] monks or [[Chinese alchemy|alchemists]] searching for an [[elixir of life|elixir of immortality]] had serendipitously stumbled upon gunpowder.<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|1986|p=7}} "Without doubt it was in the previous century, around +850, that the early alchemical experiments on the constituents of gunpowder, with its self-contained oxygen, reached their climax in the appearance of the mixture itself."</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Buchanan|2006|p=2}}"With its ninth century AD origins in China, the knowledge of gunpowder emerged from the search by alchemists for the secrets of life, to filter through the channels of Middle Eastern culture, and take root in Europe with consequences that form the context of the studies in this volume."</ref>
-The Chinese "[[Wujing Zongyao|Wu Ching Tsung Yao]]", written by Tseng Kung-Liang in 1044, provides encyclopedia references to a variety of mixtures which included petrochemicals, as well as garlic and honey. A slow match for flame throwing mechanisms using the siphon principle and for fireworks and rockets are mentioned.  Academics argue the Chinese wasted little time in applying gunpowder to warfare, and they produced a variety of gunpowder weapons, including flamethrowers, rockets, bombs, and mines, before inventing guns as a projectile weapon.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Chase|2003|p=1}} "The earliest known formula for gunpowder can be found in a Chinese work dating probably from the 800s. The Chinese wasted little time in applying it to warfare, and they produced a variety of gunpowder weapons, including flamethrowers, rockets, bombs, and mines, before inventing firearms."</ref>
-===Islamic world===
-{{main|Inventions in the Islamic world|Alchemy and chemistry in Islam}}{{self-published|date=November 2008}} {{primary sources|date=November 2008}}
-[[File:Dardanelles Gun Turkish Bronze 15c.png|thumb|230px|right|The [[Great Turkish Bombard|Sultani Cannon]], a very heavy bronze [[muzzle-loading]] [[cannon]] of type used by [[Ottoman Empire]] in the [[Fall of Constantinople|siege of Constantinople]], 1453 AD.]]
-The [[Arab]]s acquired knowledge of gunpowder some time after 1240 AD, but before 1280 AD, by which time Hasan al-Rammah had written, in Arabic, recipes for gunpowder, instructions for the purification of saltpeter, and descriptions of gunpowder incendiaries.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Kelly|2004|p=22}} 'Around 1240 AD, Arabs acquired knowledge of saltpeter ("Chinese snow") from the East, perhaps through India. They knew of gunpowder soon afterward. They also learned about fireworks ("Chinese flowers") and rockets ("Chinese arrows"). Arab warriors had acquired fire lances before 1280 AD. Around that same year, a [[Syrian]] named Hasan al-Rammah wrote a book that, as he put it, "treats of machines of fire to be used for amusement or for useful purposes." He talked of rockets, fireworks, fire lances, and other incendiaries, using terms that suggested he derived his knowledge from Chinese sources. He gave instructions for the purification of saltpeter and recipes for making different types of gunpowder.'</ref> However, because al-Rammah attributes his material to "his father and forefathers", [[al-Hassan]] argues that gunpowder became prevalent in Syria and Egypt by "the end of the twelfth century or the beginning of the thirteenth".
-[[File:Ibn Ghanims gun.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A picture of a 15th century [[Emirate of Granada|Granadian]] [[cannon]] from the book ''Al-izz wal rifa'a''.]]
-Al-Hassan claims that in the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] of 1260 AD, the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]]s used against the [[Mongols]] in "the first [[cannon]] in history" gunpowder formulæ with near-identical ideal composition ratios for explosive gunpowder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%2072.htm|title=Transfer of Islamic Technology to the West: Part III|last=Hassan|first=Ahmad Y|authorlink=Ahmad Y Hassan|work=History of Science and Technology in Islam}}</ref><ref name="AhmedY">[[al-Hassan]]</ref> However, Khan claims that it was invading [[Mongols]] who introduced gunpowder to the Islamic world<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Khan|1996}}</ref> and cites [[Mamluk]] antagonism towards early riflemen in their infantry as an example of how gunpowder weapons were not always met with open acceptance in the Middle East.<ref name="khan 6">{{Harvcolnb|Khan|2004|p=6}}</ref> Similarly, the refusal of their [[Qizilbash]] forces to use firearms contributed to the [[Safavid]] rout at [[Battle of Chaldiran|Chaldiran]] in 1514.<ref name="khan 6"/>
-The earliest surviving documentary evidence for the use of the [[hand cannon]], considered the oldest type of [[small arms|portable firearm]] and a forerunner of the [[handgun]], are from several Arabic manuscripts dated to the 14th century.<ref name=History-Channel>{{citation|title=[[Ancient Discoveries]], Episode 12: Machines of the East|publisher=[[History Channel]]|year=2007}} ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwGfw1YW9Js Part 4] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3ZbzhRp_k Part 5])</ref> Al-Hassan argues that these are based on earlier originals and that they report hand-held cannons being used by the Mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.<ref name="AhmedY"/>
-Hasan al-Rammah included 107 gunpowder recipes in his text ''al-Furusiyyah wa al-Manasib al-Harbiyya'' (''The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices''), 22 of which are for rockets. If one takes the median of 17 of these 22 compositions for rockets (75% nitrates, 9.06% sulfur, and 15.94% carbon), it is near identical with the modern reported ideal gunpowder recipe (75% potassium nitrate, 10% sulfur, and 15% carbon).<ref name=AhmedY/>
-===Mainland Europe===
-C. F. Temler interprets Peter, Bishop of Leon, as reporting the use of [[cannon]] in [[Seville]] in 1248 AD.<ref>C. F. Temler, ''Historische Abhandlungen der Koniglichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Kopenhagen ... ubersetzt ... von V. A. Heinze'', Kiel, Dresden and Leipzig, 1782, i, 168, as cited in Partington, p. 228, footnote 6.</ref>
-In [[Norway|Norwegian]] the ''[[Konungs skuggsjá]]'' of 1250 AD mentions in its military chapter, the use of two key ingredients: "coal and sulphur" as the best weapons for [[naval warfare|ship-to-ship combat]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediumaevum.com/75years/mirror/sec2.html#XXXVII |title=King's Mirror, Chapter XXXVII: The duties, activities and amusements of the Royal Guardsmen |publisher=Mediumaevum.com |accessdate=2008-07-20 }}, from the ''[[Konungs skuggsjá]]''.</ref>
-Dated around 1257 AD, among the earliest extant written references to gunpowder in Europe, are [[Roger Bacon]]'s texts ''Epistola'', "''De Secretis Operibus Artis et Naturae et de Nullitate Magiae''," dated variously between 1248<ref name=britannica1771/> and 1257,<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Partington|1960|p=70-71}}</ref> he states:<ref name=britannica1771>{{Citation  | contribution = Gunpowder  | title = [[Encyclopedia Britannica]]  | place = London  | year = 1771}}. "frier Bacon, our countryman, mentions the compofition in exprefs terms, in his treatife De nullitate magiæ, publifhed at Oxford, in the year 1248."</ref>
-<blockquote>We can, with saltpeter and other substances, compose artificially a fire that can be launched over long distances... By only using a very small quantity of this material much light can be created accompanied by a horrible fracas. It is possible with it to destroy a town or an army ... In order to produce this artificial lightning and thunder it is necessary to take saltpeter, sulfur, and Luru Vopo Vir Can Utriet.</blockquote>
-[[File:Fortin La Galera 01.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Cannons forged in 1667 AD at the Fortín de La Galera, [[Nueva Esparta]], Venezuela.]]
-The last part has been interpreted as an elaborate coded anagram for the quantities needed, but other academics holding contrary viewpoints argue this may be erroneous transcription of a passage read with much difficulty.<ref name=jrp74>{{Harvcolnb|Partington|1960|p=74}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcolnb|Cocroft|2000|p=1}} A picture of this handwritten paragraph, taken from the Sloan MSS, held in the [[British Library]] is given on page one of Cocroft (2000).</ref>
-In the ''Opus Maior'' of 1267 AD, Bacon describes [[firecracker]]s:<ref name=jrp74/>
-<blockquote>a child’s toy of sound and fire and explosion made in various parts of the world with powder of saltpetre, sulfur and charcoal of hazelwood.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Kelly|2004|p=25}}</ref></blockquote>The ''Liber Ignium'', or ''Book of Fires'', attributed to Marcus Graecus, is a collection of incendiary recipes, including some gunpowder recipes. Partington dates the gunpowder recipes to approximately 1300.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Partington|1960|p=60}}</ref> One recipe for "flying fire" (''ingis volatilis'') involves saltpetre, sulfur, and [[colophonium]], which, when inserted into a reed or hollow wood, "flies away suddenly and burns up everything." Another recipe, for artificial "thunder", specifies a mixture of one pound native sulfur, two pounds linden or willow charcoal, and six pounds of saltpeter.<ref name=graecus>{{Harvcolnb|Partington|1960|pp=48-49, 54}}</ref> Another specifies a 1:3:9 ratio.<ref name=graecus/>
-Some of the gunpowder recipes of ''De Mirabilibus Mundi'' of [[Albertus Magnus]] are identical to the recipes of the ''Liber Ignium'', and according to Partington, "may have been taken from that work, rather than conversely."<ref name=albertus>{{Harvcolnb|Partington|1960|pp=82–83}}</ref> Partington suggests that some of the book may have been compiled by Albert's students, "but since it is found in thirteenth century manuscripts, it may well be by Albert."<ref name=albertus/> Albertus Magnus died in 1280 AD.
-A common German [[folk-tale]] is of the German priest/monk named [[Berthold Schwarz]] who independently invented gunpowder, thus earning it the German name ''Schwarzpulver'' or in English ''Schwarz's powder''. Schwarz is also German for [[black]] so this [[folk-tale]], while likely containing elements of truth, is considered problematic.
-The major and uniquely European advancement of gunpowder was [[Process of corning black powder|corning]]: the addition of moisture to the gunpowder to form regular greater [[grain]]s which much increased the reliability and consistency of gunpowder. This occurred around the late 1400s AD, as European powdermakers began adding moisture to gunpowder to reduce dust and with it the risk of [[dust explosion]]. The powdermakers would then shape the resulting mush of dampened gunpowder, known as mill cake, into corns, or grains, to dry.
-The new "corned" powder remained potent and more reliable to store as it was far less [[hygroscopic]] than the former powder (due to net reduced surface area). Gunners also found it was more powerful and easier to load measures of it into guns. The main advantage of corning is that the combustion flame spreads evenly between the grains, thus igniting all grains before significant gas expansion (when the gunpowder actually "explodes"). Gunpowder not corned results in much wanburnt powder blown away from the ignition flame and combustion chamber due to localized miniature gas expansions within the powder.
-Europeans innovated by experimentation and discovering different kernel sizes combusted at differing rates, and thus were more suitable for one gun or for another. Otto notes that without corning, gunpowder like all dry mixtures, has a tendency to gradually demix back into its original components and thus too unreliable for effective use in guns as mixtures would not be of uniform composition, noting the use of corning technique is commonplace in the modern [[pharmaceutical company|pharmaceutical industry]] to ensure uniform proportions of active ingredients for each [[tablet]].<ref>Molerus, Otto. "History of Civilization in the Western Hemisphere from the Point of View of Particulate Technology, Part 2," Advanced Powder Technology 7 (1996): 161-66</ref>
-Shot and gunpowder for military purposes were made by skilled military tradesmen, later called ''firemakers'', and were also required to craft fireworks for celebrations of victory or peace. During the [[Renaissance]], two European schools of pyrotechnic thought emerged, one in [[Italy]] and the other at [[Nürnberg]], [[Germany]]. The Italian school of pyrotechnics emphasized elaborate fireworks, and the German school stressed scientific advancement. Both schools added significantly to further development of pyrotechnics, and by the mid-17th century fireworks were used for entertainment on an unprecedented scale in Europe, being popular even at resorts and public gardens.<ref name=Encarta>"[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576898_2/Fireworks.html Fireworks]," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007 © 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. [http://www.webcitation.org/5kwqOO5cp Archived] 2009-10-31.</ref>
-By 1788, as a result of the reforms for which [[Lavoisier]] was mainly responsible, [[France]] had become self-sufficient in saltpeter, and its gunpowder had become not only widely considered the best in Europe but more importantly, inexpensive.<ref>{{citation|last=Metzner|first =Paul|year=1998|title=Crescendo of the Virtuoso: Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution|publisher=University of California Press}}.</ref>
-The introduction of [[smokeless powder]] in the late 19th century led to the contraction of the gunpowder industry.
-===British Isles===
-Gunpowder production in England appears to have started in the mid 13th century AD with the aim of supplying  [[Kingdom of England|The Crown]].<ref name =cocroft-1>{{Harvcolnb|Cocroft|2000|loc="Success to the Black Art!". Chapter 1}}</ref> Records show that gunpowder was being made, in England, in 1346, at the [[Tower of London]]; a powder house existed at the Tower in 1461; and in 1515 three King's gunpowder makers worked there.<ref name =cocroft-1/> Gunpowder was also being made or stored at other Royal castles, such as [[Portchester Castle]].
-[[File:Irvinepowderhouse2.JPG|thumb|150px|left|<center>The old Powder or Pouther magazine dating from 1642 AD, built by order of [[James I of England|James VI]]. [[Irvine, Ayrshire|Irvine]], [[North Ayrshire]], Scotland.<center>]]
-By the early fourteenth century, according to N.J.G. Pounds's study ''The Medieval Castle in England and Wales,'' many [[England|English]] castles had been deserted and others were crumbling. Their military significance faded except on the borders. Gunpowder made smaller castles useless.<ref>Ross, Charles. ''The Custom of the Castle: From Malory to Macbeth''. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1997. [http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft3r29n8qn/] pages 131-130</ref>
-[[Henry VIII of England]] was short of gunpowder when he invaded France in 1544 AD and England needed to import gunpowder via the port of [[Antwerp]].<ref name =cocroft-1/>
-The [[English Civil War]], 1642-1645 AD, led to an expansion of the gunpowder industry, with the repeal of the Royal Patent in August 1641.<ref name =cocroft-1/>
-The introduction of [[smokeless powder]] in the late 19th century led to a contraction of the gunpowder industry. After the end of [[World War I]], the majority of the United Kingdom gunpowder manufacturers merged into a single company, "Explosives Trades limited"; and number of sites were closed down, including those in Ireland. This company became Nobel Industries Limited; and in 1926 became a founding member of [[Imperial Chemical Industries]].
-The [[Home Office]] removed gunpowder from its list of ''Permitted Explosives''; and shortly afterwards, on 31 December 1931, the former [[Curtis & Harvey]]'s [[Glynneath]] gunpowder factory at [[Pontneddfechan]], in [[Wales]], closed down, and it was demolished by fire in 1932.<ref name = glynneath>{{Citation | last =Pritchard | first =Tom | last2 =Evans | first2 =Jack | last3 =Johnson | first3 =Sydney | year =1985 | title =The Old Gunpowder Factory at Glynneath | place =Merthyr Tydfil | publisher =Merthyr Tydfil & District Naturalists' Society}}</ref>
-The last remaining gunpowder mill at the [[Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills|Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey]] was damaged by a German [[Land mine|parachute mine]] in 1941 and it never reopened.<ref name="cocroft-4"/> This was followed by the closure of the gunpowder section at the [[Royal Ordnance Factory]], [[ROF Chorley]], the section was closed and demolished at the end of [[World War II]]; and [[Nobel Industries (Scotland)|ICI Nobel]]'s [[Roslin, Midlothian|Roslin]] gunpowder factory which closed in 1954.<ref name =cocroft-4/><ref name = macdougall>{{Citation | last =MacDougall | first =Ian | year =2000 | title ="Oh! Ye had to be Careful": Personal Recollections by Roslin Gunpowder Mill Factory Workers | place =East Linton | publisher =Tuckwell Press | isbn =1-86232-126-4}}</ref>
-This left the sole United Kingdom gunpowder factory at ICI Nobel's [[Ardeer, Scotland|Ardeer]] site in [[Scotland]]; it too closed in October 1976.<ref name =cocroft-4/> Since then gunpowder has been imported into the United Kingdom. In the late 1970s / early 1980s gunpowder was bought from eastern Europe, particularly from what was then the [[German Democratic Republic|East Germany]] and former [[Yugoslavia]].
-===India===
-[[File:RajaGopalaCannon.JPG|thumb|right|250px|A 17th century forge-welded iron cannon, at [[Thanjavur]]'s eastern entrance (India).]]
-Gunpowder had arrived in [[History of India|India]] by the mid-1300s, perhaps introduced by the [[Mongols]] as early as the mid-1200s.<ref name=chase130>{{Harvcolnb|Chase|2003|p=130}}</ref><ref name=khan>Khan (1996a).</ref>
-It was written in the ''Tarikh-i Firishta'' (1606–1607) that the envoy of the Mongol ruler [[Hulegu Khan]] was presented with a dazzling [[pyrotechnics]] display upon his arrival in [[Delhi]] in 1258 CE.<ref name="khan 9 10">{{Harvcolnb|Khan|2004|pp=9-10}}</ref> Firearms known as ''top-o-tufak'' also existed in the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] of India by as early as 1366 AD.<ref name="khan 9 10"/> From then on the employment of [[gunpowder warfare]] in India was prevalent, with events such as the siege of [[Belgaum]] in 1473 AD by [[Sultan]] Muhammad Shah Bahmani.<ref name="khan 10">{{Harvcolnb|Khan|2004|p=10}}</ref>
-By the 16th century, Indians were manufacturing a diverse variety of firearms; large guns in particular, became visible in [[Tanjore]], [[Dacca]], [[Adil Shahi|Bijapur]] and [[Murshidabad]].<ref name=GF3>Partington (Johns Hopkins University Press edition, 1999), 225</ref> Guns made of bronze were recovered from [[Calicut]] (1504 AD) and [[Diu]] (1533 AD).<ref name="partingtonquote">Partington (Johns Hopkins University Press edition, 1999), 226</ref> [[Gujarāt]] supplied Europe saltpeter for use in gunpowder warfare during the 17th century.<ref name=IndiaBritannica>"India." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref> [[Bengal]] and [[Malwa|Mālwa]] participated in saltpeter production.<ref name=IndiaBritannica/> The Dutch, French, Portuguese, and English used [[Chapra|Chāpra]] as a center of saltpeter refining.<ref>"Chāpra." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref>
-War rockets, mines and counter mines using gunpowder were used in India by the time of [[Akbar]] and [[Jahangir]].<ref name="partingtonquote"/> [[Fathullah Shirazi]] (c. 1582), a [[Persian people|Persian]]-[[History of India|Indian]] [[polymath]] and mechanical engineer who worked for [[Akbar the Great]] in the [[Mughal Empire]], invented an [[autocannon]], early multi-shot gun. As opposed to the [[polybolos]] and [[repeating crossbow]]s used earlier in [[ancient Greece]] and [[China]], respectively, Shirazi's rapid-firing gun had multiple [[gun barrel]]s that fired [[hand cannon]]s loaded with gunpowder.<ref>A. K. Bag (2005), "Fathullah Shirazi: Cannon, Multi-barrel Gun and Yarghu", ''Indian Journal of History of Science'' '''40''' (3), pp. 431-436.</ref>
-Both [[Hyder Ali]] and his son [[Tippu Sultan]] used black powder technology in iron-cased war rockets with considerable effect against the British, which inspired the development of the [[Congreve rocket]].<ref name=r&ms>"rocket and missile system." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref>
-<br />
-===Indonesia===
-The [[Javanese people|Javanese]] [[Majapahit]] Empire is argued to have grown to span most of modern day [[ASEAN]] due to its Javanese mastery of bronze-smithing and unique within the immediate region to the [[Majapahit]] court, the technology and mass manufacture (via cottage industries which contributed to a central [[arsenal]]). Documentary and archeological evidence indicate that [[Arab]] or [[India]]n traders introduced gunpowder, gonnes, [[musket]]s, [[blunderbuss]]es, and [[cannon]] to the [[Javanese people|Javanese]], [[Acehnese]], and [[Batak]] via long established commercial [[trade route]]s around the early to mid 1300s CE.<ref name="Dipanegara, P. B. R 1981">Dipanegara, P. B. R. Carey, ''Babad Dipanagara: an account of the outbreak of the Java war, 1825-30 : the Surakarta court version of the Babad Dipanagara with translations into English and Indonesian'' volume 9: Council of the M.B.R.A.S. by Art Printing Works: 1981.</ref> Early European aggressors of Portugal and Spain were unpleasantly surprised and outgunned on many occasions.<ref>Atsushi Ota, ''Changes of regime and social dynamics in West Java: society, state, and the outer world of Banten, 1750-1830'': BRILL: 2006, ISBN 9004150919: 275 pages.</ref>
-The resurgent [[Singhasari]] Empire overtook [[Sriwijaya]] and later emerged as the [[Majapahit]] who rigidly established fire-arms and cannonade as a feature of warfare.<ref name="Thomas Stamford Raffles 1965">Thomas Stamford Raffles, ''The History of Java'', Oxford University Press, 1965, ISBN 0195803477: 1088 pages.</ref>
-Circa 1540 CE the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] always alert for new weapons found the newly arrived Portuguese weaponry superior to that of the locally made variants. The Javanese bronze breech-loaded swivel-gun, erroneously termed the [[lantaka]], more correctly known as a [[meriam]] was used ubiquitously by the Majapahit navy and unfortunately pirates and rival lords. The demise of the [[Majapahit]] empire and the flight of disaffected skilled bronze cannon-smiths to [[Brunei]], modern [[Sumatra]] and [[Malaysia]], and the [[Philippines]] lead to near universal use of the swivel-gun, especially on trade vessels to protect against prevalent marauding pirates, especially in the [[Makassar Strait]].
-A [[China|Chinese]] pirate or commercial [[shipwreck]] site unearthed a double-ended [[swivel gun]], which enabled swift firin: one barrel would fire whiles its opposite would be reloaded, though this is a rare and unique piece. Other archeological finds have unearthed some triple-barrel and some double-barrel swivel-guns, which were not widely duplicated.
-The saltpetre harvesting was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common to even the smallest villages and collected from the decomposition process of large goat dung hills specifically piled for collection this saltpetre, a most unpleasant job. Saltpetre must be remembered by today's reader as being a key food preservative agent in a period of no refrigeration.
-The Dutch punishment for possession of unpermitted gunpowder appears to have been amputation.<ref>"no gunpowder greater or shot greater than permitted under the penalty of corporal punishment similar to that inflicted for theft": Thomas Stamford Raffles, ''The History of Java'', Oxford University Press, 1965, ISBN 0195803477: 1088 pages.</ref>
-Ownership and manufacture of gunpowder was later prohibited by the colonial [[Netherlands|Dutch]] occupiers.<ref name="Dipanegara, P. B. R 1981"/> Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, from his ''The History of Java'' relates the process of powder manufacture, perhaps of noteworthy relevance considering at the time it was a military-related craft and not always recorded:
-<blockquote>
-the best sulphur is supplied from a crater from a mountain near the straits of [[Bali]]...in [[cavern]]s in irregularly formed beds of earth, which being impregnated with the native nitre, saturated with the evacuation of the enumerous bats that haunt these caves is mixed with a compound of wood ashes, supplies the liquid that is boiled in large kettles and afterward left to cool and crystallize.<ref name="Thomas Stamford Raffles 1965"/>
-</blockquote>
 ==Manufacturing technology==