Gunpowder
Gunpowder

Author: Jack Kelly

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2009-04-27

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0786739002

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution. With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil's distillate" rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortez, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E.I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

Black and Smokeless Powders
Black and Smokeless Powders

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1998-12-29

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 0309173655

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Some 600 pipe bomb explosions have occurred annually in the United States during the past several years. How can technology help protect the public from these homemade devices? This book, a response to a Congressional mandate, focuses on ways to improve public safety by preventing bombings involving smokeless or black powders and apprehending the makers of the explosive devices. It examines technologies used for detection of explosive devices before they explodeâ€"including the possible addition of marking agents to the powdersâ€"and technologies used in criminal investigations for identification of these powdersâ€"including the possible addition of taggants to the powdersâ€"in the context of current technical capabilities. The book offers general conclusions and recommendations about the detection of devices containing smokeless and black powders and the feasibility of identifying makers of the devices from recovered powder or residue. It also makes specific recommendations about marking and tagging technologies. This volume follows the work reported in Containing the Threat from Illegal Bombings (NRC 1998), which studied similar issues for bombings that utilize high explosives.

The History and Chronology of Gunpowder and Gunpowder Weapons (c.1000 to 1850)
The History and Chronology of Gunpowder and Gunpowder Weapons (c.1000 to 1850)

Author: Henry Pratap Phillips

Publisher: Notion Press

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 9352067630

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Gunpowder has been considered as one of the most important discoveries made by man after the wheel. Interestingly, the origin of gunpowder is still shrouded in uncertainty. Nobody can definitely say who actually invented gunpowder and when. Common belief has it that gunpowder was invented in China and then came to India via the Silk Route. Studies done by the author show that gunpowder was actually invented in India went to China via the trade routes, from where it was showcased to World. With gunpowder, came the development of weapons, which changed the course of wars and changed the very course of history. An analysis of various weapons, their development and chronology has been systematically discussed. It covers the time period from 1000 AD to 1850 AD. The end period, 1850 AD, has been chosen as the cutoff date since percussion weapons came into vogue after that period and are well-documented in history. The start date, 1000 AD, is chosen on purpose to give a small margin to encompass any aberrations in discovery of gunpowder. The author sincerely hoped that this work would form a platform from which other studies/ research could be conducted by future arms historians.

Gunpowder, Explosives and the State
Gunpowder, Explosives and the State

Author: Brenda J. Buchanan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-05

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1351931903

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Gunpowder studies are still in their infancy despite the long-standing civil and military importance of this explosive since its discovery in China in the mid-ninth century AD. In this second volume by contributors who meet regularly at symposia of the International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC), the research is again rooted in the investigation of the technology of explosives manufacture, but the fact that the chapters range in scope from the Old World to the New, from sources of raw materials in south-east Asia to the complications of manufacture in the West, shows that the story is more than the simple one of how an intriguing product was made. This volume is the first to develop the implications of the subject, not just in the sense of relating it to changing military technologies, but in that of seeing the securing of gunpowder supplies as fundamental to the power of the state and imperial pretensions.The search for saltpetre, for example, an essential ingredient of gunpowder, became a powerful engine of sea-going European trade from the early seventeenth century. Smaller states like Venice were unable to form these distant connections, and so to sustain a gunpowder army. Stronger states like France and Britain were able to do so, and became even more powerful as the demand for improved explosives fostered national strengths - leading to a development of the sciences, especially chemistry, in the former case, and of manufacturing techniques in the latter.

Chemistry of Pyrotechnics
Chemistry of Pyrotechnics

Author: Chris Mocella

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2010-12-23

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1420018094

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Primarily driven by advancing technology and concerns for safety, advancement in the world of pyrotechnics and high-energy materials has exploded in the past 25 years. The promulgation of new government regulations places new and more stringent restrictions on the materials that may be used in energetic mixtures. These regulations now mandate numerous training programs, and initiate other actions, such as OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard, intended to eliminate accidents and incidents. Unfortunately, the US lacks an organized, broad-range academic program to cover the science and use of energetic materials and educate the next generation of pyrotechnicians. Designed as a bridge to allow a smooth and confident transition for personnel coming from a chemistry background into the practical world of explosives, Chemistry of Pyrotechnics: Basic Principles and Theory, Second Edition emphasizes basic chemical principles alongside practical, hands-on knowledge in the preparation of energetic mixtures. It examines the interactions between and adaptations of pyrotechnics to changing technology in areas such as obscuration science and low-signature flame emission. Much more than a simple how-to guide, the book discusses chemical and pyrotechnic principles, components of high-energy mixtures, and elements of ignition, propagation, and sensitivity. It offers heat compositions, including ignition mixes, delays, thermites, and propellants and investigates the production of smoke and sound as well as light and color. Promoting the growth and expansion of pyrotechnics as a science, Chemistry of Pyrotechnics: Basic Principles and Theory, Second Edition provides practitioners with the ability to apply chemical principles and logic to energetic materials and thereby make the field as productive, useful, and safe as possible.