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HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, OBJECTS AROUND US
Powder. History of invention and production
Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us Gunpowder is a multi-component solid explosive mixture capable of regular combustion in parallel layers without oxygen access from the outside, releasing a large amount of thermal energy and gaseous products used for throwing projectiles, rocket movement and for other purposes. Gunpowder belongs to the class of propellant explosives. The invention of gunpowder and its distribution in Europe had enormous consequences for the entire subsequent history of mankind. Although the Europeans were the last of the civilized peoples to learn how to make this explosive mixture, it was they who were able to derive the greatest practical benefit from its discovery. The rapid development of firearms and the revolution in military affairs were the first consequences of the spread of gunpowder. This, in turn, led to the deepest social changes: the knights clad in armor and their impregnable castles were powerless before the fire of cannons and arquebuses.
Feudal society was dealt a blow from which it could no longer recover. In a short time, many European powers overcame feudal fragmentation and turned into powerful centralized states. There are few inventions in the history of technology that would lead to such grandiose and far-reaching changes. Before gunpowder became known in the West, it already had a long history in the East, and was invented by the Chinese. Saltpeter is the most important component of gunpowder. In some areas of China, it was found in its native form and looked like flakes of snow that powdered the ground. Later it was discovered that saltpeter is formed in areas rich in alkalis and decaying (nitrogen-supplying) substances. When kindling a fire, the Chinese could observe flashes that arose during the burning of saltpeter with coal. For the first time, the properties of saltpeter were described by the Chinese physician Tao Hong-jing, who lived at the turn of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. Since that time, it has been used as an ingredient in some medicines. Alchemists often used it when conducting their experiments. In the XNUMXth century, one of them, Sun Si-miao, prepared a mixture of sulfur and saltpeter, adding to them a few shares of the locust tree. While heating this mixture in a crucible, he suddenly received a violent flash of flame. He described this experience in his treatise Dan Ching. It is believed that Sun Si-miao prepared one of the first samples of gunpowder, which, however, did not yet have a strong explosive effect. Subsequently, the composition of gunpowder was improved by other alchemists, who experimentally established its three main components: coal, sulfur and potassium nitrate.
The medieval Chinese could not scientifically explain what kind of explosive reaction occurs when gunpowder is ignited, but they soon learned to use it for military purposes. True, in their lives gunpowder did not at all have that revolutionary influence that it later had on European society. This is explained by the fact that the masters have been preparing a powder mixture from unrefined components for a long time. Meanwhile, crude saltpeter and sulfur containing foreign impurities did not give a strong explosive effect. For several centuries, gunpowder was used exclusively as an incendiary agent. Later, when its quality improved, gunpowder began to be used as an explosive in the manufacture of land mines, hand grenades and explosives. But even after that, for a long time they did not guess to use the power of the gases that arose during the combustion of gunpowder to throw bullets or cores. Only in the XII-XIII centuries, the Chinese began to use weapons that very vaguely resembled firearms, but they invented firecrackers and rockets. The Arabs and Mongols learned the secret of gunpowder from the Chinese. In the first third of the 1220th century, the Arabs achieved great skill in pyrotechnics. They used saltpeter in many compounds, mixing it with sulfur and coal, adding other components to them and making fireworks of amazing beauty. From the Arabs, the composition of the powder mixture became known to European alchemists. One of them, Mark the Greek, already in 6 wrote down a recipe for gunpowder in his treatise. 1 parts saltpeter to 1 part sulfur and XNUMX part coal. Later, Roger Bacon wrote quite accurately about the composition of gunpowder. However, about a hundred years passed before this recipe ceased to be a secret. This second discovery of gunpowder is associated with the name of another alchemist, the Freiburg monk Berthold Schwarz. Once he began to grind a crushed mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and coal in a mortar, as a result of which an explosion occurred that scorched Berthold's beard. This or another experience gave Berthold the idea to use the power of powder gases to throw stones. It is believed that he made one of the first artillery pieces in Europe. To understand the principle of operation of firearms, one must at least in general terms imagine what chemical reactions occur in the powder mass. If the powder was well mixed and properly prepared, one spark was enough to ignite it. The fact is that when heated above 300 degrees, saltpeter began to release its oxygen and gave it to substances mixed with it, that is, it oxidized or burned them. Coal in gunpowder played the role of fuel, delivering the required volume of high-temperature gaseous products. In view of this, saltpeter and coal by themselves already formed an explosive. Sulfur was added because it contributed to the formation of more heat and facilitated the ignition of gunpowder (sulfur ignited already at 250 degrees, and coal only at 350). As soon as fire appeared in any part of this mixture, combustion spread with extraordinary speed, because, once started, it did not require more air and formed a large amount of gases having a high temperature. Gases with great force expanded in all directions, forming an explosive effect. Thus, combustion spread equally both inside the mixture and over its surface. The reaction that occurs during the combustion of gunpowder can be approximately described by the following formula:
where K2S is the solid residue of combustion, and CO2 and N2 are gases. The classic composition of gunpowder: saltpeter - 75%, coal - 15%, sulfur - 10%. This composition gave the highest yield of gases. But even here, only about 40% of the powder mass circulated in them. The rest was solid combustion products. They were deposited in the form of soot or pulled out when fired in the form of thick clouds of smoke. Soon after the discovery of Berthold Schwartz, gunpowder was already widely used, and it was made in the most remote corners of Europe. Each of the components of the mixture required special preparation. Coal for gunpowder was obtained by burning an alder tree in special iron retorts without air access. Native sulfur was freed from impurities by melting. Saltpeter was imported from the east for some time. Then they discovered that it can be obtained artificially if the appropriate conditions are created. Since the end of the XIV century, the production of saltpeter has been established in Italy and Germany. It was extracted from the walls of cellars, previously moistened with a solution of saltpeter, or from pipes filled with tartar, lime, salt and urine of people drinking wine. The saltpeter obtained was precipitated with wine and vinegar. It was the most expensive component. Therefore, they tried to extract saltpeter even from spoiled, soaked gunpowder. To do this, gunpowder was boiled in vinegar. During this operation, coal floated up, sulfur precipitated, and saltpeter dissolved. Then it was evaporated from the solution. The quality of gunpowder largely depended on how completely and evenly the mixing of its constituent parts took place. In order for the substances to mix better, they were subjected to strong grinding. Gunpowder was originally a fine floury powder. It was inconvenient to use it, because when charging guns and arquebuses, the powder pulp stuck to the walls of the barrel. Finally, it was noticed that powder in the form of lumps was much more convenient - it was easily charged and, when ignited, gave off more gases (2 pounds of powder in lumps gave a greater effect than 3 pounds in pulp). In the first quarter of the XNUMXth century, for convenience, they began to use grain gunpowder, which was obtained by rolling powder pulp (with alcohol and other impurities) into dough, which was then passed through a sieve. So that the grains do not fray during transportation, they learned how to polish them. To do this, they were placed in a special drum, during the spinning of which the grains hit and rubbed against each other and compacted. After processing, their surface became smooth and shiny. Author: Ryzhov K.V.
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