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Essays about gunpowder
Thesis about gunpowder
Thesis about gunpowder
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Gunpowder, also known as black powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). The sulfur and charcoal act as fuels, and the saltpeter is an oxidizer.[2][3] Because of its burning properties and the amount of heat and gas volume that it generates, gunpowder has been widely used as a propellant in firearms and as a pyrotechnic composition in fireworks. Formulations used in blasting rock (such as in quarrying) are called blasting powder. Gunpowder is mainly used in older guns now because the propellants used today are too powerful and could break the already fragile barrels.
Gunpowder was invented in the 9th century in China,[4][5] and the earliest record of a written formula for gunpowder appears in the 11th century Song dynasty text, Wujing Zongyao.[6] This discovery led to the invention of fireworks and the earliest gunpowder weapons in China. In the centuries following the Chinese discovery, gunpowder weapons began appearing in the Muslim world, Europe, and India. The technology spread from China through the Middle East or Central Asia, and then into Europe.[7] The earliest Western accounts of gunpowder appear in texts written by English philosopher Roger Bacon in the 13th century.[8]
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It has a flash point of approximately 427–464 °C (801–867 °F). The specific flash point may vary based on the specific composition of the gunpowder. Gunpowder's specific gravity is 1.70–1.82 (mercury method) or 1.92–2.08 (pycnometer), and it has a pH of
The Kansas City Gun Experiment was a study that took place between 1992 and 1993. The goal of the study was to examine if increased police patrol in a “hot spot” of the city would help to reduce the amount of gun-related crime. The data collected by the research team was solely quantitative as it mainly consisted of statistics and other data numerical in nature of the increase/decrease of gun violence in these beats. After the twenty-nine week period of the study, the experiment’s findings showed that an increase in police patrol, as well as seizure of illegally carried guns, did help to eliminate gun-related crimes.
The ignition device of a spud gun is simply put the spark generator that causes the combustion of the fuel in the firing chamber. This device is usually a charcoal grill lighter. The button on the sparker is depressed and a spark arcs across a wire lead and a ground wire. The grill sparker is installed in to the back of the firing chamber by means of threading, epoxy, and bolts. This sparker becomes a projectile if it is not well seated in the end cap of the firing chamber. It must be held firmly in place withstanding any pressure produced by the fuels being burned in the chamber. This type or igniter will work in most conditions including when it becomes wet with fuel.
Since man’s first experiences with fire we have longed to control it and we wished to will it to do our bidding. For very long we failed mostly, and we still do sometimes, but with the trials and experiments we have done and died doing, we succeed now, mostly. The first formula that is still written down of an “explosive or pyrotechnic composition” are the three examples of gunpowder in the 1044A.D. Chinese military guide Wujing Zongyao which showed a few uses of this powder they had experimented with for near a hundred years. The most used formula from it was approximately 50% KNO3, also known as Saltpeter in those times, and formally called Potassium nitrate today, ~25% S, Sulfur, and ~25% carbonaceous matter (mostly charcoal and compounds mixed with impure sulfur); the other formulas move the percentages for the KNO3 around 10-15%, S 5-10%, and carbonaceous 7-20% to adjust burn rates and usefulness in certain situations. The likely only reason gunpowder was ever invented was the Chinese’s wish to live long, and their many mixtures of elixirs, which was what gunpowder was intended to be used as (more-pyrotechnics.com). “Within 200 years China had several crude weapons, mostly huge iron or alternative metal barrels and maybe a wooden grip but with no aiming attachment. They also had very many types of fireworks using no telling how many formulae for devices ranging in size, color, and purpose. People in Europe hear of this powder and its power, and then slowly find out more“(more-pyrotechnics.com). Then by 300 years they had better arsenals, larger cannons that actually worked well, and better, lighter barrels. The Indians and Islamic nations have made use of this by now, neither surpassing China’s previous ones nor Europe’s futu...
short range and would run off a target before burning it severely. A new formula was desired that would
Talking about the history of BB guns brings much scope for pointing out as many interesting facts related to BB guns, as possible. Therefore, it must be mentioned without fail that the first BB was actually a shotgun shot, which was sized no more than .180 i...
With the creation of gun powder the Chinese were anxious to use this, in order to do that they needed something to be created so they made the fire lance it was a small cannon on a stick several feet long this is the earliest firearm ever discovered it is thought to be from the late 12th century. This was more of an addition to the soldiers spear than a gun it was not until later that the first hand cannon was made unlike the fire lance this was a weapon of its own and could shoot almost anything that the soldier could jam in the barrel that they could find on the battlefield. Both of these were fired...
According to author Spencer Tucker in The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American War Volume 1, “Smokeless powder, developed in France in 1884, was technologic breakthrough. More powerful than coarse black powder, it also left less fouling residue.” Smokeless powder had an important tactical advantage as well. “Black powder emitted thick smoke after each discharge, limiting concealment by marking the shooters location. At the same time, the smoke served to limit the shooter’s vison by obscuring the target. The discharge from smokeless powder, though not completely invisible, allowed for riflemen to fire from concealed positons with considerable greater security and
The first guns used in America were a simple machine where the person did most of the work. The user measured and put the powder down the barrel of the gun. Next some shotgun pellets were put in the same way. This was then all compacted and the gun was ready to fire. This reloading took over a minute before each shot could be fired and the guns weren't very accurate by today's standards. If too much powder was used then the gun could explode or if the powder were wet then the gun wouldn't fire. One of inventions during the Revolutionary War was a way to reload faster. The powder was already pre-measured and kept in little sacks. This made reloading faster because the user no longer had to measure the powder between each reloading. These guns were crude but in that day was a powerful modern invention that was considered very useful. The American Revolution was a political war to obtain what the people of that era wanted. By today's standards the destruction of gun was minimal so war was used to obtain political objectives.
“Volley Guns” (Chivers, 2010, p.26) or also known as “Organ Guns” (Ellis, 1975, p.10) were first attempts at increasing firepower by adding several barrels at the firing itself, rather than simply attempting to increase the rate of fire. “Gunsmiths had long ago learned to place barrels side by side on frames to create firearms capable of discharging projectiles in rapid succession. These unwieldy devices, or volley guns, were capable in theory of blasting a hole in a line of advancing soldiers” (Chivers, 2010, p.26). An example of such weapons can be seen on July 28, 1835 when Giuseppe Fieshi unleashed terror on King Louis-Phillipe in Paris, France. He fired his 25 barrel “volley gun”, killing 18 of the king's entourage and grazing the King's skull. The weapon was ineffective however. Four of the barrels failed and another four ruptured. Two other barrels had exploded inside, grievously wounding Giuseppe. (Chivers, 2010, p. 27)
The Encarta Encyclopedia defines a landmine as "an encased explosive device that is concealed below the surface of the ground." It can be made of "metal, plastic, glass, or wood" (n. p.). Probably the concept of landmines is almost as old as the existence of organized armies. Philip C. Winslow, in his book Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, describes how Roman soldiers, before the beginning of the first millennium, used a plant with spikes as a landmine in order "to delay pursuers" (126). The Chinese, according to Delbruck, used "ground mines" made out of explosives in the year 1232 (qtd. in Winslow 126). Six hundred years later, in 1840, the use of landmines was introduced in the United States; they were used "in large quantities" during the Civil War (Winslow 126, 127).
Around the beginning of the Industrial Revolution mining companies used gunpowder which was the first physical explosive used. Gunpowder or Black powder was originally invented in China and dates back to as early as 850 A.D. Gunpowder (Patent number: US 2030096
Shooting is a popular activity and it is enjoyed by many people, so much so that it is also done at a competitive level. Although many people may have shot a firearm of some sort, few of those people actually realize how much physics is involved with the shot.
Pyrotechnics special effects are widely used in motion picture production to create all types of effects involving explosions, fires, light, smoke and sound concussions. The types of pyrotechnics materials used include flash powder, flash paper, gun cotton, black powder (gunpowder), smokeless powder, detonator explosives, and many more. They are used in bullet hits (squibs), blank cartridges, flash pots, fuses, mortars, smoke pots, sparkle pots, etc.
Grains of burned gun powder are sent out the muzzle at high velocity. When the
In essence, you take a ferrous object (the projectile) and place it at one end of a hollow solenoid. When electricity is applied to the coils inside the solenoid, a magnetic field is generated which pulls the projectile towards the center of the coils. As the projectile reaches the center and continues, the magnetic pull decreases and eventually reverses. Before this happens, you need to either shut off the field, or reverse it. This will allow the particle to continue out the opposite side of the solenoid and beyond, thus being a "gun".