Gunpowder, while explosive, is only a mixture of sulfur, carbon, and potassium nitrate (also known as saltpeter). But in medieval Europe, chemists added other ingredients into the mix, namely brandy, varnish, and vinegar. Of course, the next question would be, why?
To answer this, experts at the US Army Military Academy at West Point decided to create gunpowders based on these old recipes. They also fired these gunpowders in a replica cannon.
The recipes were written in the Feuerwerkbuch (which means "firework book" in German). According to Cliff Rogers, a West Point history professor, the Feuerwerkbuch was the go-to book of master gunners. The book provided invaluable information about processing gunpowder ingredients, making gunpowder, and loading and firing a cannon.
Unfortunately, the researchers faced many challenges during this study, such as today's ingredients being too pure and not being able to check how far the cannonballs traveled because the military testing grounds were filled with unexploded weapons.
Nevertheless, their research suggested that gunpowder recipes did improve over time.
More about this over at Wired.
(All Images: wpaczocha/ Pixabay)
#Chemistry #Gunpowder #Medieval #Sulfur
(Image: Dawn Riegner via Wired)
(Image: Dawn Riegner via Wired)
(Image: Dawn Riegner via Wired)