What is the gunpowder?

GUNPOWDER is an explosive material traditionally made of sulfur, coal and potassium or salty flow nitrate. It is used in fireworks and was once used as a firearm movement, although nowadays another type of gunpowder is more common. Given that the original gunpowder recipe, also called black powder, has released a lot of smoke when it exploded, a smokeless powder consisting of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin is now preferred for use in most firearms. In China, it was developed in the 9th century by the Taoist monastic or alchemists looking for an elixir of life, and the Chinese soon adapted its use to its first firearms. Europe and the Middle East acquired gunpowder in the 13th century and began to produce guns. Another important use of gunpowder, fireworks, was developed in China in the 12th century as a means of frightening evil spirits, and in the 17th century it was a common form of entertainment in Europe.

At the end of the 14th century, Europeans "Corning" began with a gunpowder by mixing with liquid and shaping into small granules or corn. This process improved the consistency of gunpowder, which otherwise tend to separate into its components and became unusable and reduced dust. It also made it possible to burn with gunpowder and explode evenly, as before the corning, gunpowder far from the flame would often be excluded from the weapon before it ignited.

Despite the important innovation of corning, traditional gunpowder was still a problem in the fact that he smoked heavily in ignition, causing problems with visibility on the battlefield. The first headless powder, called Guncotton, was invented in 1846 by Swiss chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein. This original smokeless powder was unstable and dangerous and viable without smokeless pills were not developed until the 1980s.

The first successful smokeless powder was poudre B, developed in 1884 PaulVieille. Paste B followed by Ball Clean, created in 1887 by Alfred Nobel and Cordite, modified from Nobel's formula by Frederick Abel and James Dewar. The smokeless powder is now used almost exclusively in firearms, to the extent that most of the links to gunpowder can be referred to the smokeless variety.