Gun Powder
Gunpowder had its origin in China way back in the 7th century. Thoughmost historians confirm that the Chinese were the first to discover it weare not able to ascribe the discovery to any single person. While some saythat the Chinese alchemists discovered gunpowder (also known as blackpowder) there is another story that states that a Chinese cook accidentallystumbled upon it when he mixed up certain chemicals in this cooking vessel.Initially the Chinese used gunpowder only in fireworks though graduallygunpowder began to be used for military purposes. The Chinese used to stuffit inside bamboo sticks called as 'pao chuk' and used it in their warfare.[5thofNovember]. By the turn of the fourteenth century gun powdertechnology had spread to every country in the world and since that time ithas been used as the main propellant for fireworks until the nineteenthcentury when nitro cellulose began to replace it. The general composition of gunpowder is 75% of sodium nitrate(saltpeter), 15% charcoal and 10% of sulphur. [Dept of Ordinance andGunnery]. That the Chinese knew the gun powder as early as the 9th centuryis attested by the following text from one of the earliest Chinese books
[Author not Available] Gunpowder is relatively stable and easy to store under normalconditions and was used in many application areas other than warfare likeMining. Gradually differentcompositions of the chemicals were used to either increase or decrease thespeed and force of the explosion leading to the development of newvarieties of arms. ssentials of the Mysterious Tao of the True Origins of Things'by Chen Yuan Miao Tao Yao (850 A. There was also adistinct shift from agricultural economy towards an industrial economy. Today however, modern smokeless andhigh explosive chemicals have virtually replaced Gunpowder. The exportof gunpowder created similar implications for other countries and so ineffect gunpowder exerted a major economic influence. This is followed by the process of glazing wherein graphite is addedto the product to make it more resistant to moisture. The first ever evidence ofGunpowder in the western world is from the text 'Liber Ignum' (The book offire 1280 A. The gunpowder revolution did have serious economic impacts on mostnations of the world carrying both positive and negative aspects. [Franz Mehring] Apart from China many European nations and France inparticular began to specialize in gunpowder production. Then the powder isgraded based on the size of the granules. Viewed from a different perspective the destructive potential of gunpowderwas huge and unlike traditional warfare there were huge losses. It is highly sensitive to fire sparks and externalfriction making it one of the deadly explosives to handle and furthermoregunpowder smoke is a great health hazard.
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