Gunpowder Facts, History and Description

Gunpowder or black powder is of great historical importance in chemistry. Although it can explode, its principal use is as a propellant. Gunpowder was invented by Chinese alchemists in the 9th century. Originally, it was made by mixing elemental sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate). The charcoal traditionally came from the willow tree, but grapevine, hazel, elder, laurel, and pine cones have all been used. Charcoal is not the only fuel that can be used. Sugar is used instead in many pyrotechnic applications. When the ingredients were carefully ground together, the end result was a powder that was called serpentine. The ingredients tended to require remixing prior to use, so making gunpowder was very dangerous. People who made gunpowder would sometimes add water, wine, or another liquid to reduce this hazard since a single spark could result in a smoky fire. Once the serpentine was mixed with a liquid, it could be pushed through a screen to make small pellets, which were then allowed to dry. How Gunpowder Works To summarize, black powder consists of a fuel (charcoal or sugar) and an oxidizer (saltpeter or niter), and sulfur, to allow for a stable reaction. The carbon from the charcoal plus oxygen forms carbon dioxide and energy. The reaction would be slow, like a wood fire, except for the oxidizing agent. Carbon in a fire must draw oxygen from the air. Saltpeter provides extra oxygen. Potassium nitrate, sulfur, and carbon react together to form nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases and potassium sulfide. The expanding gases, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, provide the propelling action. Gunpowder tends to produce a lot of smoke, which can impair vision on a battlefield or reduce the visibility of fireworks. Changing the ratio of the ingredients affects the rate at which the gunpowder burns and the amount of smoke that is produced. Difference Between Gunpowder and Black Powder While black powder and traditional gunpowder may both be used in firearms, the term black powder was introduced in the late 19th century in the United States to distinguish newer formulations from traditional gunpowder. Black powder produces less smoke than the original gunpowder formula. Its worth noting early black powder was actually off-white or tan in color, not black! Charcoal Versus Carbon in Gunpowder Pure amorphous carbon is not used in black powder. Charcoal, while it contains carbon, also contains cellulose from incomplete combustion of wood. This gives charcoal a relatively low ignition temperature. Black powder made from pure carbon would barely burn. Gunpowder Composition There is no single recipe for gunpowder. This is because varying the ratio of the ingredients produces different effects. Powder used in firearms needs to burn at a fast rate to quickly accelerate a projectile. A formulation used as a rocket propellant, on the other hand, needs to burn more slowly because it accelerates a body over a long period of time. Cannon, like rockets, use a powder with a slower burn rate. In 1879, the French prepared gunpowder using 75% saltpeter, 12.5% sulfur, and 12.5% charcoal. The same year, the English used gunpowder made from 75% saltpeter, 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur. One rocket formula consisted of 62.4% saltpeter, 23.2% charcoal, and 14.4% sulfur. Gunpowder Invention Historians believe gunpowder originated in China. Originally, it was used as an incendiary. Later, it found use as a propellant and explosive. It remains unclear when, exactly, gunpowder made its way to Europe. Basically, this is because records describing the use of gunpowder are difficult to interpret. A weapon that produced smoke might have used gunpowder or could have used some other formulation. The formulas that came into use in Europe closely matched those used in China, suggesting the technology was introduced after it had already been developed. Sources Agrawal, Jai Prakash (2010). High Energy Materials: Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics. Wiley-VCH.Andrade, Tonio (2016). The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13597-7.Ashford, Bob (2016). A New Interpretation of the Historical Data on the Gunpowder Industry in Devon and Cornwall.  J. Trevithick Soc.  43: 65–73.Partington, J.R. (1999). A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5954-0.Urbanski, Tadeusz (1967),  Chemistry and Technology of Explosives,  III. New York: Pergamon Press.

Personal Narrative My Life Of Lean - 1087 Words

Stephen Sanders Dr. Jahan Muhammad AMS 394 Lean Manufacturing My Life of Lean I come from a long line of craftsman’s and only being 31 years of age, I have been really fortunate to stay working and not just working with one job either. Various trades, customizing, production, back braking, you name it I have done. My name is Stephen Sanders II and at 16 years old I practically begged my father to show me the ways of building a custom set of stairs, trim, put crown molding up and base down. Needless to say that my father owned his own custom trim carpentry business. My father had and still has a reputation producing high quality, forever lasting works-of-art. No house was the same but the guarantee was. Now I was part of the pack. Learning the in’s and out’s to carpentry is very valuable and my father would pick up different jobs when he wasn’t covered up with trim work. The jobs would range from weed eating the yard to complete ground-breaking--start to finish on residential and commercial buildings. Learning the necessary carpentry skills comes with its ups and downs. Usually at the beginning of every year through fall. Construction would stay afloat and we usually were covered up with work. When old man winter came, work slowed, sometimes completely come to a stop. Having 5-6 years of training under my belt and now at the ripe age of 23, I know that I couldn’t keep working this way. I couldn’t spread my wings and fly. I wanted a place of my own. I wanted my ownShow MoreRelatedThe Movie Bruce Almighty 906 Words   |  4 Pages† From a personal point of view, the characters are symbolic and bear theological significance. The movie is didactic in quality and carries some tinge of comedy with apparent glimpses of domestic and familial environment. It reflects personality and character issues and parallels historic and biblical narratives that point toward a theological understanding of who the characters are and, why they exist. The scenes chiefly lean toward the auteur’s understanding of a character’s personal ideals andRead MoreThe Path to Aboliton 1312 Words   |  5 PagesAmericans striving to influence the participation of the abolition movement. One of the many strategies used by American abolitionists was the use of slave narratives. This moral persuasion was a very useful tactic. The creation of these narratives helped white northerners identify with the mindset of an African American slave in the south. The narratives illustrated the experiences slaves overcame to find freedom. Another major strategy that was useful to the slavery movement was the involvement of womenRead MoreA Narrative Of The Captivity And Restoration999 Words   |  4 Pagesresembles their own real life situations and try to carry on similar as they did. This is called typology and is reoccurring theme in the narrative, â€Å"A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration,† written by Mary Rowlandson. Rowlandson was taken captive by Indians in 1675, she documented those eleven weeks in this narrative (Rowlandson ,256). It is a tragic tale that starts with seeing her family and friends drowning in their own blood, all the while seeing her old life go up in smoke. Mary is aRead MoreEssay on Louis de Bernie ress Captain Corelli’s Mandolin1053 Words   |  5 Pagesof war so powerfully in his book. These techniques are the powerful narrative, strong pictorial language, and black humour. Above all, the message is conveyed in the narrative, especially when Louis De Bernieres graphically describes the war’s impact on the soldiers who are fighting for their country. At first, the soldiers are united in their fight against the enemy â€Å"you are all young and strong, overflowing with life, and you are all in this shit together† – page 38. The mood at the beginningRead MoreBiblical Discourse : The Peaceable Kingdom By Stanley Hauerwas936 Words   |  4 Pagesthe fragments that remain, that nothing be lost (Bible Hub).† It was Jesus’ desire that the fragments of the meal be collected and not wasted. Jesus wants the same for his children in all areas of life, especially in the area of ethics. He wants nothing squandered or lost, but that the pieces of life be gathered and held together revealing a picture of Jesus holding the world in His hands. This week’s assignment is to write a review of the ideas discussed and inferences drawn by the author in ChaptersRead More Personal Narrative- A Lesson in Culture Shock Essay1081 Words   |  5 PagesPersonal Narrative- A Lesson in Culture Shock â€Å" You want to be the same as American girls on the outside.† (Tan, Amy) Like Tan in her narrative â€Å"Fish Cheeks†, everyone has had a time in their lives when they wanted to fit in at school or home. Sometimes it is hard to try to blend into the surroundings. Moving from Boston to Tallahassee has taught me a lot about such things like honor, pride, and self-reliance. Such is related to us in Wilfred Owens’s â€Å"Dulce et Decorum est† which is about his experienceRead MoreMy Life Seven Years Backwards919 Words   |  4 PagesRewind my life seven years backwards. I was the youngest member in my department at work. A number of us were not happy with the way things were being handled with the union that I was a member. I honestly can not remember the actual reason that we were unhappy about. I just remember that we were attending meetings that the union holds to show that we were unhappy. Looking back, I was suckered into being the departments à ¢â‚¬Å"mole† into the inner workings of this union. That was just a start, andRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Jonathan Culler1683 Words   |  7 Pageswartime events are often altered to convey the emotional significance they possess. It is through these two works, Culler’s analysis of performative language and O’Brien’s notion of story truth, that the necessity of fictionalization to convey a personal truth to its fullest extent and effect is revealed. For Culler, performative language is the metaphysical pathway for expression. When analyzing the key differences between constative and performative language, Culler explains that â€Å"[c]onstativeRead MoreMalcolm C. Macpherson s World War I And World Heavyweight Championship1253 Words   |  6 Pagesenvironments to develop more accurate descriptions of history. At one point he moved to tree house in Kenya to get a better understanding of the Nazis impact on the region. Along with this he tried to write about a variety of topics such as a real life man in colorado who adopts an elephant, he also wrote an article for Time Iraq. His variety of writing experiences helped him establish a stronger sense of foreign affairs. Scientific research essentially works on competition. This is because competitionRead MoreFirstly, Antidiva Is An Autobiography, By Carole Pope1406 Words   |  6 Pagesbiography and an autobiography is that, in an autobiography, the author is telling a story about themselves, their own life. As opposed to a biography, where someone write an account of another’s life. Being aware this book is an autobiography is incredibly important if you consider the concepts of â€Å"truth† and reliable narrators. Antidiva is Pope’s account, memories, and research of her own life as she sees it and sees fit to tell (or is allowed to tell). Censorship, rights, lack of knowledge or simply not

King Midas vs. Medusa Essay Example For Students

King Midas vs. Medusa Essay The Battle of the MythsAt first glance all myths might dish out fair punishment to everyone, but whenyou take a closer look at some of the myths you see that some of the gods are sexist. When King Midas offended Apollo the god made it so that everything he touched turnedto gold, but in the end he was forgiven. Medusa was changed from a beautiful youwomen to a hideous one that turned people to stone just by looking at them all becauseshe offended Athena. When comparing these two myths we see the obvious sexisttreatments showed toward Medusa. In the myths, women were treated unjustly, but menlike Midas were forgiven for their wrongdoings. King Midas offend Apollo and then the god made him pay. At first, King Midasthought it as a gift when he found out that everything he touched turned to gold. ThenKing Midas begged for forgiveness and Apollo forgave King Midas him donkey ears. Then when his hairdresser told everyone he had donkey ears King Midas showed mercyApollo forgave him for a second time. Apollo forgave King Midas twice, but Medusawould not be so lucky. When Athena turned Medusa into a horrid beast, she did not forgive her. Medusaoffended Athena by being with Poseidon in her temple and she was turned into creaturethat turns people into stone, which shows how Medusa never received any forgivenessfrom Athena. Then since gods decide fate they had Theseus kill her. Then by having herhead roll along the bottom off the ocean for eternity, which does not show anyforgiveness but more punishment? Medusa was shown no forgiveness for her small deed,and the punishment is no only worse but it is also sexist, which can be seen when they arecompared. Sexism an idea not usually put together with myths is very evident whencomparing King Midas to Medusa. King Midas and Medusa both committed minorcrimes, but Medusa received a much harsher punishment. In the story of King Midas, hewas forgiven not once but twice while Medusa was not forgiven at all. This is a blatantshow of sexism by the gods to Medusa, the women. Unfair treatment toward women isobvious when looking at these stories, but when comparing it to now it has not changedmuch. Since myths help explain what goes on it can be seen that even in ancient timeswomen were treated unjustly. In todays world it is hard to get a fair shot at a job oranything because of the sexist world we liven. These stories display poor values, whichare handed down when they are read to young people. The stories make women seem haslesser people, who deserved to be punished more severely, which is no true. It isimportant to remember that when reading these two stories that even though gods backthen treated women unjustly does not give you the right to now.

The Last King of Scotland Essays - Films, The Last King Of Scotland

The Last King of Scotland We have watched the movie T he Last King of Scotland , which I am now going to analyze . I will focus on the directors' work of light-composition, the use of perspective and the way the music is chosen to cooperate with the tones of the scenes. The Last King of Scotland , directed by Kevin Macdonald, is an action filled movie about the corresponding relationship between Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator, and Nicholas Garrigan, a Scottish doctor. The whole story begins with Garrigan as he moves to Uganda as a result of him starting to work for a missionary clinic. After a while, Garrigan and Amin run into each other's and begin to develop a relationship. As time goes by, the ir liaison begins to form into a friendship and Amin start to heavily trust on Garrigan. After many conversations and discussions about the state issues, Garrigan begins to see that Amin's government is the true definition to "political corruption". Even though Amin always manage to put forth hi s most charming sides, Garrigan in the course of time finally see through his artifice and get to see the ruthless dictator that Amin really is. As a consequence , Garrigan start s to interweave in the politics of Ugan da. Furthermore , the movie also leads us through Garraigan's romances with Sara Me rit and Kay Amin. The Last King of Scotland was an intense movie to watch witch many moments that made my heart wrench a bit. The movie was made with scenes that used amazing film techniques to draw the attention of the viewer. The techniques were so good that you as a viewer, felt that you were in Uganda and dealt with the same problems as Dr. Garrigan. However, in this movie , darkness is widespread and the faces in dialogues are often wrapped in shadow . As a result of many scenes being dominated by darkness, the music plays an important role in the way the viewer perceives the tone of the scene. The most commonly music is in the genre African popular music, though in this genre, different type of tones. As an example of this, when the music plays an important role, is in the end of the movie in the scene when Garrigan is fleeing Uganda. Because in the moment we see Garrigan escape Uganda we are also being informed that Amin have been deposed as president. At this moment, in this scene , the director w ants the audience to experience relief. He succeeds very well by letting an ataractic guitar playing ove r the scenes of dancing people i n the streets. Another example i s in those scenes when Garrigan is troubled and when the audience are to feel distr essin g , the tones in the music are instead sharp. In this way, the tones of the scenes are enhan ced by the music. This is one of those as aforementioned really good techniques Macdonald is using. Furthermore, a n important message in the movie I would say , is the development of political corruption I Uganda during the time Amin ruled . The director uses several really good techniques in the matter of relaying this message of the movie. The use of perspective is probably the most apparent technique to achieve this. By letting the audience follow the observant Garrigan allows us to become aware of the corruption in Uganda in the same moment as Garrigan himself. The surreptitious corruption in Uganda is therefore revealed through the method of perspective. Another technique that contributes to relay the central message of the film is the portrait of Amin. Amin is a happy and friendly person when he speaks to his people, but unofficially, he is a brutal man. This reflects the dishonesty inside the state as it the individuals living in Uganda are totally oblivious to. Furthermore, the director also uses the "lightn ing t echnique" as mentioned before, to communicate the message s to the viewers. He does this by darken the conversations that are , as to say "forbidden". This technique makes the contrast between the official outer and truth very clear. Moreover, the