Gunpowder development

Clearly, not all forms of earbon material, nor all the possible applieations thereof, are diseussed in this book. However, the applieation of earbon materials in many advaneed teehnologies are reported here. Carbon has played an important role in mankind s teehnologieal and soeial development. In the form of charcoal it was an essential ingredient of gunpowder The industrial revolution of the IS and 9 eenturies was powered by steam raised from the burning of eoal New applieations of earbon materials wiU surely be developed in the future. For example, the reeently diseovered earbon nanostruetures based on C q (closed eage moleeules, tubes and tube bundles), may be the foundation of a new and signifieant applieations area based on their superior meehanieal properties, and novel eleetronie properties. 

The first offensive weapons used by man were probably stones, and similarly the first objects thrown when mortars were developed were solid, usually spherical, balls of stone or iron. With the development of explosives it was soon realised that it would be more effective to use a hollow missile filled with explosive, designed to burst in the middle of the enemy. Gunpowder was originally used as filling, but has now been completely superseded by high explosives. 

Gunpowder was supplied in pellet form as a propellant and the substitutes were similarly manufactured. They were therefore called powders. Subsequent developments have led to the provision of propellent explosives in special and often massive form. Nevertheless, the term powder is still retained for their nomenclature, and the individual unit of the charge, no matter how large, is still called a grain. 

Applications. Ultraviolet detectors are ideally suited for applications where rapidly developing fire can occur in a relatively open area. UV detectors can be used to monitor ammunition assembly lines, gunpowder troughs, or open areas that are stocked with hazardous materials. These detectors are not typically affected by extremes of temperature or pressure, adverse weather conditions, high humidity, nor are they sensitive to solar radiation. 

In North America the problem of moisture absorption has been addressed by developing a moisture resistant gunpowder substitute based on potassium nitrate but augmented with potassium perchlorate. The latter is said to absorb less moisture than the nitrate at a given humidity. In addition, the gunpowder substitute contains a hydrophobic binder, called ethyl cellulose, (2.22) (celluloses have a history of use in pyrotechnics) together with an organic fuel, known as phenolphthalein, (2.23) which is said to enhance the bum rate. 

Whilst it is apparent that the gunpowder substitute has been developed for use in munitions, it remains to be seen whether the material can be used to the same extent in hreworks. Obvious applications would be as replacements for quickmatch and piped match, both of which are notoriously prone to dampness during wet or humid conditions. 

Although gunpowder remains the propellant of choice for the production of firework rockets, there has been development on military compositions since the beginning of the 19th century, notably in Europe. 

Of these, the most successful appeared in 1887 when Alfred Nobel patented a nitrocellulose propellant plasticised with nitroglycerine. Known as a double-base propellant, it is virtually smokeless, with a very high specific impulse as compared to gunpowder. Single-base propellants were developed in 1865 and 1890 by Schultz and Vieille respectively and these took the form of gelatinised nitrocellulose for use in firearms and mortars. 

Skipping about two centuries, the activities of one experimenter typify the development of early black powder. His work took place between about 1235 and 1290 ad and he is reputed to have been the first scholar in Northern Europe who was skilled in the use of black powder. In essence, his work provided the backbone of all early chemical purification and formulation, without which the development of true gunpowders would not have been possible. His name was Roger Bacon (Figure 1.1). 

This short introduction to gunpowder would not be complete without reference to its hnal development and one or two subsequent events that were to change the course of history. 

During the beginning of the nineteenth century, the alkali and acid industries provided the model for other chemical industries. One characteristic of the chemical industry is that development in one area often stimulates development in another area. For example, the lead-chamber method produced enough sulfuric acid to make the acid practical for use in the LeBlanc process. Similarly, the Solvay process used ammonia produced when coke was made for steel production. Certain chemical industries were perceived by royalty and national leaders as critical to their nation s welfare. One of these was the manufacture of gunpowder, also known as blackpowder. Gunpowder is a mixture of approximately... 

Gunpowder was the primary explosive used for almost one thousand years. In 1846, the Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero (1812-1888) first prepared nitroglycerin, but it was twenty years before Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) developed its use commercially. Nobel was bom in Stockholm, Sweden, where his father, Immanuel Nobel (1801-1872), ran a heavy constmction company. When Alfred was four, his father s company went bankrupt and Immanuel left for St. Petersburg, Russia, to start over. Immanuel rebuilt a successful business in Russia, in part due to his ability to develop and sell mines to the Russian Navy for use in the Crimean War. Alfred and the rest of his family joined his father in Russia when he was nine, and Alfred received an excellent education with private tutors. He studied in the United States and Paris where he met Sobrero. Nobel studied... 

The historical development of cartridges from paper to metallic is also described in Vol 2 of Encycl, p C73-R 1554. Accdg to Marshall 1 (Ref 11, p 23), a Gunpowder mill was erected at Rotherlithe, England... 

Marshall 1 (1917), 11-22 (Early History), 12-34 (Development of Gunpowder) 35—50 (Progress of Explosives in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries)... 

Development of Gunpowder) 6—8 (Progress of Explosives in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries)... 

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