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145-471: In guns , particularly firearms , but not artillery, where a different definition may apply , caliber (or calibre ; sometimes abbreviated as " cal ") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore matches that specification. It is measured in inches or in millimeters . In the United States it

290-436: A cannon . The means of projectile propulsion vary according to designs, but are traditionally effected pneumatically by a high gas pressure contained within a barrel tube ( gun barrel ), produced either through the rapid exothermic combustion of propellants (as with firearms ), or by mechanical compression (as with air guns ). The high-pressure gas is introduced behind the projectile, pushing and accelerating it down

435-692: A " 30 caliber rifle", which could accommodate any of a wide range of cartridges using a roughly 0.30 inches (7.6 mm) projectile; or as a "22 rimfire", referring to any rimfire firearms firing cartridges with a 22 caliber projectile. However, there can be significant differences in nominal bullet and bore dimensions, and all cartridges so "categorized" are not automatically identical in actual caliber. For example, 303 British firearms and projectiles are often "categorized" as ".30-caliber" alongside several dozen U.S. "30-caliber" cartridges despite using bullets of .310–.312-inch (7.87–7.92 mm) diameter while all U.S. "30-caliber" centerfire rifle cartridges use

580-659: A "long lance" sending forth "evil-smelling vapors and smoke", which has been variously interpreted by different historians as the "first-gas attack upon European soil" using gunpowder, "the first use of cannon in Europe", or merely a "toxic gas" with no evidence of gunpowder. It is difficult to accurately translate original Chinese alchemical texts, which tend to explain phenomena through metaphor, into modern scientific language with rigidly defined terminology in English. Early texts potentially mentioning gunpowder are sometimes marked by

725-403: A .250 inch land diameter and .257 inch groove diameter. The .308 Winchester is measured across the grooves and uses a .308-in diameter (7.82-mm) bullet; the military-specification version is known as 7.62 × 51 mm NATO , so called because the bore diameter measured between the lands is 7.62 mm, and the cartridge has a case 51 mm long. Converting a rifle to fire a different cartridge in

870-399: A bullet that fits the barrel as opposed to one which does not, such as the shrapnel shooting fire lance . As such, the fire lance, which appeared between the 10th and 12th centuries AD, as well as other early metal barrel gunpowder weapons have been described as "proto-guns" Joseph Needham defined a type of firearm known as the "eruptor," which he described as a cross between a fire lance and

1015-460: A combination of Ottoman and Mughal designs. Shah Jahan also countered the British and other Europeans in his province of Gujarāt , which supplied Europe saltpeter for use in gunpowder warfare during the 17th century. Bengal and Mālwa participated in saltpeter production. The Dutch, French, Portuguese, and English used Chhapra as a center of saltpeter refining. Ever since the founding of

1160-411: A common, standard .308-inch (7.82 mm) bullet outside diameter. Using bullets larger than design specifications causes excessive pressures, while undersize bullets cause low pressures, insufficient muzzle velocities and fouling that will eventually lead to excessive pressures. Makers of early cartridge arms had to invent methods of naming cartridges since no established convention existed then. One of

1305-460: A copper base that incorporated a primer pellet. While rifled guns did exist prior to the 19th century in the form of grooves cut into the interior of a barrel, these were considered specialist weapons and limited in number. The rate of fire of handheld guns began to increase drastically. In 1836, Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse invented the Dreyse needle gun , a breech-loading rifle which increased

1450-430: A distance of 26 mi (42 km). Smoothbore cannon and carronade bores are designated by the weight in imperial pounds of spherical solid iron shot of diameter to fit the bore. Standard sizes are 6, 12, 18, 24, 32, and 42 pounds, with some non-standard weights using the same scheme. See Carronade#Ordnance . From about the mid-17th until the mid-19th century, the measurement of the bore of large gunpowder weapons

1595-473: A formula with near-identical ideal composition ratios for explosive gunpowder. Other historians urge caution regarding claims of Islamic firearms use in the 1204–1324 period, as late medieval Arabic texts used the same word for gunpowder, naft , that they used for an earlier incendiary, naphtha. The earliest surviving documentary evidence for cannons in the Islamic world is from an Arabic manuscript dated to

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1740-440: A gun, as a "proto-gun" for the same reason. He defined a fully developed firearm, a "true gun," as possessing three basic features: a metal barrel, gunpowder with high nitrate content, and a projectile that occluded the barrel. The "true gun" appears to have emerged in late 1200s China, around 300 years after the appearance of the fire lance. Although the term "gun" postdates the invention of firearms, historians have applied it to

1885-436: A gunpowder composition containing pure carbon would burn similarly to a match head, at best. The current standard composition for the gunpowder manufactured by pyrotechnicians was adopted as long ago as 1780. Proportions by weight are 75% potassium nitrate (known as saltpeter or saltpetre), 15% softwood charcoal, and 10% sulfur. These ratios have varied over the centuries and by country, and can be altered somewhat depending on

2030-742: A linguistic process where semantic change occurred. For instance, the Arabic word naft transitioned from denoting naphtha to denoting gunpowder, and the Chinese word pào changed in meaning from trebuchet to a cannon . This has led to arguments on the exact origins of gunpowder based on etymological foundations. Science and technology historian Bert S. Hall makes the observation that, "It goes without saying, however, that historians bent on special pleading, or simply with axes of their own to grind, can find rich material in these terminological thickets." Another major area of contention in modern studies of

2175-610: A mechanical bolt throwing weapon of enormous size, mounted at Windsor Castle during the 14th century. This name in turn may have derived from the Old Norse woman's proper name Gunnhildr which combines two Norse words referring to battle. "Gunnildr", which means "War-sword", was often shortened to "Gunna". The earliest recorded use of the term "gonne" was in a Latin document c.  1339 . Other names for guns during this era were "schioppi" (Italian translation-"thunderers"), and "donrebusse" (Dutch translation-"thunder gun") which

2320-523: A medicine to an incendiary and explosive, and the evolution of the gun from the fire lance to a metal gun, whereas similar records do not exist elsewhere. As Andrade explains, the large amount of variation in gunpowder recipes in China relative to Europe is "evidence of experimentation in China, where gunpowder was at first used as an incendiary and only later became an explosive and a propellant... in contrast, formulas in Europe diverged only very slightly from

2465-598: A multiple of the bore diameter. For example, a 4-inch gun of 50 calibers would have a barrel 4 in × 50 = 200 in long (written as 4" L/50 or 4"/50). A 16-inch gun of 50 calibers (16" L/50) has a barrel length of 50 × 16 = 800 inches (66 ft 8 in). Both 14-in and 16-in navy guns were common in World War II. The British Royal Navy insisted on 50-cal guns on ships as it would allow 1,900 to 2,700 lb (860 to 1,220 kg) shells to travel at an initial velocity of up to 1,800 mph (2,897 km/h) to

2610-439: A pellet wad that filled the barrel was recorded to have been used as a fire lance projectile, making it the first recorded bullet in history. With this, the three basic features of a gun were put in place: a barrel made of metal, high- nitrate gunpowder, and a projectile which totally occludes the muzzle so that the powder charge exerts its full potential in propellant effect. The metal barrel fire lances began to be used without

2755-485: A pound; therefore, its barrel is smaller than the 12-gauge. This metric is used in Russia as "caliber number": e.g., "shotgun of the 12 caliber." The 16th caliber is known as "lordly" ( Russian : барский ). While shotgun bores can be expressed in calibers (the .410 bore shotgun is measured as .410 in (10.4 mm) in diameter, unlike with rifles the actual bore diameter of a smoothbore shotgun varies significantly down

2900-414: A projectile." Gunpowder and firearm historian Kenneth Chase defines "firearms" and "guns" in his Firearms: A Global History to 1700 as "gunpowder weapons that use the explosive force of the gunpowder to propel a projectile from a tube: cannons, muskets, and pistols are typical examples." According to Tonio Andrade , a historian of gunpowder technology, a "true gun" is defined as a firearm which shoots

3045-838: A regular basis outside of China." May also states, "however [, ...] the Mongols used the gunpowder weapon in their wars against the Jin, the Song and in their invasions of Japan." Records show that, in England, gunpowder was being made in 1346 at the Tower of London ; a powder house existed at the Tower in 1461, and in 1515 three King's gunpowder makers worked there. Gunpowder was also being made or stored at other royal castles, such as Portchester . The English Civil War (1642–1645) led to an expansion of

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3190-431: A related expression. The gauge of a shotgun refers to how many lead spheres, each with a diameter equal to that of the bore, that amounts to one pound (454 g (1.0 lb)) in weight. In the case of a 12-gauge (18.5 mm) shotgun, it would take 12 spheres the size of the shotgun's bore to equal a pound. A numerically larger gauge indicates a smaller barrel: a 20-gauge (15.6 mm) shotgun requires more spheres to equal

3335-458: A result armor declined, which also made the heavy musket obsolete. Although there is relatively little to no difference in design between arquebus and musket except in size and strength, it was the term musket which remained in use up into the 1800s. It may not be completely inaccurate to suggest that the musket was in its fabrication simply a larger arquebus. At least on one occasion the musket and arquebus have been used interchangeably to refer to

3480-512: A ruler and tried to ward off any Mongol attempt similar to the Siege of Baghdad (1258) . Firearms known as top-o-tufak also existed in many Muslim kingdoms in India by as early as 1366. From then on the employment of gunpowder warfare in India was prevalent, with events such as the "Siege of Belgaum " in 1473 by Sultan Muhammad Shah Bahmani. The shipwrecked Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis

3625-559: A shipwreck off the shore of Japan dated from 1281, during the Mongol invasions of Japan. By 1083 the Song court was producing hundreds of thousands of fire arrows for their garrisons. Bombs and the first proto-guns, known as "fire lances", became prominent during the 12th century and were used by the Song during the Jin-Song Wars . Fire lances were first recorded to have been used at the Siege of De'an in 1132 by Song forces against

3770-582: A single soldier is the MP 18.1 , invented by Theodor Bergmann . It was introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I as the primary weapon of the Stosstruppen (assault groups specialized in trench combat). In civilian use, the captive bolt pistol is used in agriculture to humanely stun farm animals for slaughter. The first assault rifle was introduced during World War II by

3915-594: A soldier's position, generating fog that hinders vision, etc.). Some of it ends up as a thick layer of soot inside the barrel, where it also is a nuisance for subsequent shots, and a cause of jamming an automatic weapon. Moreover, this residue is hygroscopic , and with the addition of moisture absorbed from the air forms a corrosive substance . The soot contains potassium oxide or sodium oxide that turns into potassium hydroxide , or sodium hydroxide , which corrodes wrought iron or steel gun barrels. Gunpowder arms therefore require thorough and regular cleaning to remove

4060-408: A stock. Some consider this to be a cannon while others do not. The problem with identifying cannons in early 14th century Arabic texts is the term midfa , which appears from 1342 to 1352 but cannot be proven to be true hand-guns or bombards. Contemporary accounts of a metal-barrel cannon in the Islamic world do not occur until 1365. Needham believes that in its original form the term midfa refers to

4205-461: A supersonic shockwave . Ignition of gunpowder packed behind a projectile generates enough pressure to force the shot from the muzzle at high speed, but usually not enough force to rupture the gun barrel . It thus makes a good propellant but is less suitable for shattering rock or fortifications with its low-yield explosive power. Nonetheless, it was widely used to fill fused artillery shells (and used in mining and civil engineering projects) until

4350-481: A wad), and by 1287 at the latest, had become true guns, the hand cannon . According to Iqtidar Alam Khan, it was invading Mongols who introduced gunpowder to the Islamic world. The Muslims acquired knowledge of gunpowder sometime between 1240 and 1280, by which point the Syrian Hasan al-Rammah had written recipes, instructions for the purification of saltpeter, and descriptions of gunpowder incendiaries. It

4495-481: Is a low explosive : it does not detonate , but rather deflagrates (burns quickly). This is an advantage in a propellant device, where one does not desire a shock that would shatter the gun and potentially harm the operator; however, it is a drawback when an explosion is desired. In that case, the propellant (and most importantly, gases produced by its burning) must be confined. Since it contains its own oxidizer and additionally burns faster under pressure, its combustion

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4640-405: Is a device designed to propel a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns / cannons ), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun ). Solid projectiles may be free-flying (as with bullets and artillery shells ) or tethered (as with Tasers , spearguns and harpoon guns ). A large- caliber gun is also called

4785-495: Is based. The following table lists some of the commonly used calibers where both metric and US customary units are used as equivalents. Due to variations in naming conventions, and the whims of the cartridge manufacturers, bullet diameters can vary widely from the diameter implied by the name. For example, a difference of 0.045 in (1.15 mm) occurs between the smallest and largest of the several cartridges designated as ".38 caliber". Shotguns are classed according to gauge,

4930-469: Is capable of bursting containers such as a shell, grenade, or improvised " pipe bomb " or "pressure cooker" casings to form shrapnel . In quarrying, high explosives are generally preferred for shattering rock. However, because of its low brisance , gunpowder causes fewer fractures and results in more usable stone compared to other explosives, making it useful for blasting slate , which is fragile, or monumental stone such as granite and marble . Gunpowder

5075-778: Is cited as composed of 79% nitre, 3% sulfur, and 18% charcoal per 100 of dry powder, with about 2% moisture. Prismatic Brown Powder is a large-grained product the Rottweil Company introduced in 1884 in Germany, which was adopted by the British Royal Navy shortly thereafter. The French navy adopted a fine, 3.1 millimeter, not prismatic grained product called Slow Burning Cocoa (SBC) or "cocoa powder". These brown powders reduced burning rate even further by using as little as 2 percent sulfur and using charcoal made from rye straw that had not been completely charred, hence

5220-569: Is expressed in hundredths of an inch; in the United Kingdom in thousandths; and elsewhere in millimeters. For example, a US " 45 caliber " firearm has a barrel diameter of roughly 0.45 inches (11.43mm). Barrel diameters can also be expressed using metric dimensions. For example, a "9 mm pistol" has a barrel diameter of about 9 millimeters. Since metric and US customary units do not convert evenly at this scale, metric conversions of caliber measured in decimal inches are typically approximations of

5365-532: Is implied by al-Rammah's usage of "terms that suggested he derived his knowledge from Chinese sources" and his references to saltpeter as "Chinese snow" ( Arabic : ثلج الصين thalj al-ṣīn ), fireworks as "Chinese flowers", and rockets as "Chinese arrows" that knowledge of gunpowder arrived from China. However, because al-Rammah attributes his material to "his father and forefathers", al-Hassan argues that gunpowder became prevalent in Syria and Egypt by "the end of

5510-682: Is known to have introduced the earliest type of matchlock weapons, which the Ottomans used against the Portuguese during the Siege of Diu (1531) . After that, a diverse variety of firearms, large guns in particular, became visible in Tanjore , Dacca , Bijapur , and Murshidabad . Guns made of bronze were recovered from Calicut (1504)- the former capital of the Zamorins The Mughal emperor Akbar mass-produced matchlocks for

5655-402: Is much faster than that of any bullet, and would leave the gun as sound either through the barrel or the bullet itself rather than contributing to the bullet's velocity. Barrel types include rifled —a series of spiraled grooves or angles within the barrel—when the projectile requires an induced spin to stabilize it, and smoothbore when the projectile is stabilized by other means or rifling

5800-417: Is much variance in the use of the term "small-bore", which over the years has changed considerably, with anything under 0.577 inches (14.7 mm) considered "small-bore" prior to the mid-19th century. While modern firearms are generally referred to by the name of the cartridge the gun is chambered for, they are still categorized together based on bore diameter. For example, a firearm might be described as

5945-472: Is that it was William Lobb , the plant collector, who recognised the possibilities of sodium nitrate during his travels in South America. Lammot du Pont would have known about the use of graphite and probably also knew about the plants in south-west England. In his patent he was careful to state that his claim was for the combination of graphite with sodium nitrate-based powder, rather than for either of

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6090-421: Is undesired or unnecessary. Typically, interior barrel diameter and the associated projectile size is a means to identify gun variations. Bore diameter is reported in several ways. The more conventional measure is reporting the interior diameter (bore) of the barrel in decimal fractions of the inch or in millimetres. Some guns—such as shotguns —report the weapon's gauge (which is the number of shot pellets having

6235-416: Is well suited for blank rounds , signal flares , burst charges , and rescue-line launches. It is also used in fireworks for lifting shells, in rockets as fuel, and in certain special effects . Combustion converts less than half the mass of gunpowder to gas; most of it turns into particulate matter. Some of it is ejected, wasting propelling power, fouling the air, and generally being a nuisance (giving away

6380-706: The Delhi Sultanate , and some of the Mongol soldiers remained in northern India after their conversion to Islam. It was written in the Tarikh-i Firishta (1606–1607) that Nasiruddin Mahmud the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate presented the envoy of the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan with a dazzling pyrotechnics display upon his arrival in Delhi in 1258. Nasiruddin Mahmud tried to express his strength as

6525-480: The Gyrojet and certain other types combine the projectile and propellant into a single item. Anti-drone rifle Black powder Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate, low ignition temperature and consequently low brisance (breaking/shattering) . Low explosives deflagrate (i.e., burn at subsonic speeds), whereas high explosives detonate , producing

6670-581: The Henry rifle , the first reliable repeating rifle . An improved version of the Henry rifle was developed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1873, known as the Model 1873 Winchester rifle . Smokeless powder was invented in 1880 and began replacing gunpowder , which came to be known as black powder. By the start of the 20th century, smokeless powder was adopted throughout the world and black powder, what

6815-473: The Jin . In the early 13th century the Jin used iron-casing bombs. Projectiles were added to fire lances, and re-usable fire lance barrels were developed, first out of hardened paper, and then metal. By 1257 some fire lances were firing wads of bullets. In the late 13th century metal fire lances became 'eruptors', proto-cannons firing co-viative projectiles (mixed with the propellant, rather than seated over it with

6960-508: The Khmer Empire . Within a decade large quantities of gunpowder could be found in the Khmer Empire . By the end of the century firearms were also used by the Trần dynasty . Even though the knowledge of making gunpowder-based weapons was known after the failed Mongol invasion of Java, and the predecessor of firearms, the pole gun ( bedil tombak ), is recorded as being used by Java in 1413,

7105-464: The Mongol prince Nayan . The History of Yuan records that the cannons of Li Ting's soldiers "caused great damage" and created "such confusion that the enemy soldiers attacked and killed each other." The hand cannons were used again in the beginning of 1288. Li Ting's "gun-soldiers" or chongzu ( 銃卒 ) carried the hand cannons "on their backs". The passage on the 1288 battle is also the first to use

7250-468: The Mughal Army . Akbar is personally known to have shot a leading Rajput commander during the Siege of Chittorgarh . The Mughals began to use bamboo rockets (mainly for signalling) and employ sappers : special units that undermined heavy stone fortifications to plant gunpowder charges. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan is known to have introduced much more advanced matchlocks, their designs were

7395-976: The Portuguese introduced matchlocks which were known as tanegashima to the Japanese. Gunpowder technology entered Java in the Mongol invasion of Java (1293 A.D.). Majapahit under Mahapatih (prime minister) Gajah Mada utilized gunpowder technology obtained from the Yuan dynasty for use in the naval fleet. During the following years, the Majapahit army have begun producing cannons known as cetbang . Early cetbang (also called Eastern-style cetbang) resembled Chinese cannons and hand cannons. Eastern-style cetbangs were mostly made of bronze and were front-loaded cannons. It fires arrow-like projectiles, but round bullets and co-viative projectiles can also be used. These arrows can be solid-tipped without explosives, or with explosives and incendiary materials placed behind

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7540-579: The Silk Road through the Middle East. Hasan al-Rammah had already written about fire lances in the 13th century, so proto-guns were known in the Middle East at that point. Another theory is that it was brought to Europe during the Mongol invasion in the first half of the 13th century. The earliest depiction of a cannon in Europe dates to 1326 and evidence of firearm production can be found in

7685-738: The Sultanate of Mysore by Hyder Ali , French military officers were employed to train the Mysore Army. Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan were the first to introduce modern cannons and muskets , their army was also the first in India to have official uniforms. During the Second Anglo-Mysore War Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan unleashed the Mysorean rockets at their British opponents effectively defeating them on various occasions. The Mysorean rockets inspired

7830-705: The capture of Malacca (1511) resulted in a new type of hybrid tradition matchlock firearm, the istinggar . When the Portuguese came to the archipelago, they referred to the breech-loading swivel gun as berço , while the Spaniards call it verso . By the early 16th century, the Javanese already locally producing large guns, some of them still survived until the present day and dubbed as "sacred cannon" or "holy cannon". These cannons varied between 180- and 260-pounders, weighing anywhere between 3 and 8 tons, length of them between 3 and 6 m. Saltpeter harvesting

7975-415: The droit de fouille or "right to dig", to seize nitrous-containing soil and demolish walls of barnyards, without compensation to the owners. This caused farmers, the wealthy, or entire villages to bribe the petermen and the associated bureaucracy to leave their buildings alone and the saltpeter uncollected. Lavoisier instituted a crash program to increase saltpeter production, revised (and later eliminated)

8120-403: The droit de fouille , researched best refining and powder manufacturing methods, instituted management and record-keeping, and established pricing that encouraged private investment in works. Although saltpeter from new Prussian-style putrefaction works had not been produced yet (the process taking about 18 months), in only a year France had gunpowder to export. A chief beneficiary of this surplus

8265-421: The 1480s show little difference and surprising similarity with cannons later in the 1750s. This 300-year period during which the classic gun dominated gives it its moniker. The "classic gun" has also been described as the "modern ordnance synthesis." Gunpowder was invented in China during the 9th century. The first firearm was the fire lance , which was invented in China between the 10–12th centuries. It

8410-418: The 19th century led to the development of modern guns. In 1815, Joshua Shaw invented percussion caps , which replaced the flintlock trigger system. The new percussion caps allowed guns to shoot reliably in any weather condition. In 1835, Casimir Lefaucheux invented the first practical breech loading firearm with a cartridge . The new cartridge contained a conical bullet, a cardboard powder tube, and

8555-807: The 9th century AD during the Tang dynasty , first in a formula contained in the Taishang Shengzu Jindan Mijue (太上聖祖金丹秘訣) in 808, and then about 50 years later in a Taoist text known as the Zhenyuan miaodao yaolüe (真元妙道要略). The Taishang Shengzu Jindan Mijue mentions a formula composed of six parts sulfur to six parts saltpeter to one part birthwort herb. According to the Zhenyuan miaodao yaolüe , "Some have heated together sulfur, realgar and saltpeter with honey ; smoke and flames result, so that their hands and faces have been burnt, and even

8700-454: The Battle of Tsushima in 1274 and the second coastal assault led by Holdon in 1281. The Hachiman Gudoukun of 1360 mentions iron pao "which caused a flash of light and a loud noise when fired." The Taiheki of 1370 mentions "iron pao shaped like a bell." The exact nature of the spread of firearms and its route is uncertain. One theory is that gunpowder and cannons arrived in Europe via

8845-506: The Germans, known as the StG44 . It was the first firearm to bridge the gap between long range rifles, machine guns, and short range submachine guns. Since the mid-20th century, guns that fire beams of energy rather than solid projectiles have been developed, and also guns that can be fired by means other than the use of gunpowder. Most guns use compressed gas confined by the barrel to propel

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8990-463: The Mongols against European forces at the Battle of Mohi in 1241. Professor Kenneth Warren Chase credits the Mongols for introducing into Europe gunpowder and its associated weaponry. However, there is no clear route of transmission, and while the Mongols are often pointed to as the likeliest vector, Timothy May points out that "there is no concrete evidence that the Mongols used gunpowder weapons on

9135-528: The Ottoman Empire in the early 15th century. Its name is derived from the German word Hackenbüchse . It originally described a hand cannon with a lug or hook on the underside for stabilizing the weapon, usually on defensive fortifications. In the early 1500s, heavier variants known as " muskets " that were fired from resting Y-shaped supports appeared. The musket was able to penetrate heavy armor, and as

9280-527: The Spanish and Portuguese at Zamora. Likewise, the Castilians used arquebuses as well in 1476. Later, a larger arquebus known as a musket was used for breaching heavy armor, but this declined along with heavy armor. Matchlock firearms continued to be called musket. They were used throughout Asia by the mid-1500s. Guns reached their "classic" form in the 1480s. The "classic gun" is so called because of

9425-518: The U.S. until the 1920s that the actual source of corrosion was the potassium chloride residue from potassium chlorate sensitized primers. The bulkier black powder fouling better disperses primer residue. Failure to mitigate primer corrosion by dispersion caused the false impression that nitrocellulose-based powder caused corrosion. Lesmok had some of the bulk of black powder for dispersing primer residue, but somewhat less total bulk than straight black powder, thus requiring less frequent bore cleaning. It

9570-446: The United Kingdom, the finest grain was known as sulfur-free mealed powder ( SMP ). Coarser grains were numbered as sulfur-free gunpowder (SFG n): 'SFG 12', 'SFG 20', 'SFG 40' and 'SFG 90', for example where the number represents the smallest BSS sieve mesh size, which retained no grains. Sulfur's main role in gunpowder is to decrease the ignition temperature. A sample reaction for sulfur-free gunpowder would be: The term black powder

9715-420: The bore diameter and the length of the cartridge case; for example, the 6.5×55mm Swedish cartridge has a bore diameter of 6.5 mm and a case length of 55 mm. The means of measuring a rifled bore varies, and may refer to the diameter of the lands or the grooves of the rifling. For example, the 257 Roberts and 250 Savage both use a .257 inch projectile; both 250 Savage and 257 Roberts rifle bores have

9860-404: The brown color. Lesmok powder was a product developed by DuPont in 1911, one of several semi-smokeless products in the industry containing a mixture of black and nitrocellulose powder. It was sold to Winchester and others primarily for .22 and .32 small calibers. Its advantage was that it was believed at the time to be less corrosive than smokeless powders then in use. It was not understood in

10005-399: The bulk semi-smokeless powders ceased to be manufactured in the 1920s. The original dry-compounded powder used in 15th-century Europe was known as "Serpentine", either a reference to Satan or to a common artillery piece that used it. The ingredients were ground together with a mortar and pestle, perhaps for 24 hours, resulting in a fine flour. Vibration during transportation could cause

10150-411: The bullet up to high speed, though devices operating in other ways are sometimes called guns. In firearms the high-pressure gas is generated by combustion, usually of gunpowder . This principle is similar to that of internal combustion engines , except that the bullet leaves the barrel, while the piston transfers its motion to other parts and returns down the cylinder. As in an internal combustion engine,

10295-544: The bullet weight in grains was designated, such as 45-70-405. This scheme was far more popular and was carried over after the advent of early smokeless powder cartridges such as the 30-30 Winchester and 22 Long . Later developments used terms to indicate relative power, such as .44 Special and .44 Magnum . Variations on these methods persist today, with new cartridges such as the 204 Ruger and 17 HMR (Hornady Magnum Rimfire). Metric diameters for small arms refer to cartridge dimensions and are expressed with an "×" between

10440-468: The chest, tucked under one arm, while the other arm maneuvered a hot pricker to the touch hole to ignite the gunpowder. The Ottomans may have used arquebuses as early as the first half of the 15th century during the Ottoman–Hungarian wars of 1443–1444. The arquebus was used in substantial numbers during the reign of king Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (r. 1458–1490). Arquebuses were used by 1472 by

10585-454: The combustion propagates by deflagration rather than by detonation , and the optimal gunpowder , like the optimal motor fuel, is resistant to detonation. This is because much of the energy generated in detonation is in the form of a shock wave , which can propagate from the gas to the solid structure and heat or damage the structure, rather than staying as heat to propel the piston or bullet. The shock wave at such high temperature and pressure

10730-427: The compass, and printing did not reach Europe until centuries after they were invented in China. Gunpowder is a granular mixture of: Potassium nitrate is the most important ingredient in terms of both bulk and function because the combustion process releases oxygen from the potassium nitrate, promoting the rapid burning of the other ingredients. To reduce the likelihood of accidental ignition by static electricity ,

10875-455: The contemporary English ( avoirdupois ) pound massed of approximately 454 g (1.001 lb). Thus, a French 32-pounder at the Battle of Trafalgar threw a shot with 1.138 kg (2.51 lb) more mass than an English 32-pounder. Complicating matters further, muzzle-loaded weapons require a significant gap between the sides of the tube bore and the surface of the shot. This is necessary so

11020-553: The decline of its military might. The earliest Western accounts of gunpowder appear in texts written by English philosopher Roger Bacon in 1267 called Opus Majus and Opus Tertium . The oldest written recipes in continental Europe were recorded under the name Marcus Graecus or Mark the Greek between 1280 and 1300 in the Liber Ignium , or Book of Fires . Some sources mention possible gunpowder weapons being deployed by

11165-732: The development of the Congreve rocket , which the British widely used during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 . Cannons were introduced to Majapahit when Kublai Khan's Chinese army under the leadership of Ike Mese sought to invade Java in 1293. History of Yuan mentioned that the Mongol used cannons (Chinese: 炮— Pào ) against Daha forces. Cannons were used by the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1352 during its invasion of

11310-549: The earliest Latin accounts of saltpeter purification are dated after 1200. The earliest chemical formula for gunpowder appeared in the 11th century Song dynasty text, Wujing Zongyao ( Complete Essentials from the Military Classics ), written by Zeng Gongliang between 1040 and 1044. The Wujing Zongyao provides encyclopedia references to a variety of mixtures that included petrochemicals—as well as garlic and honey. A slow match for flame-throwing mechanisms using

11455-531: The earliest firearms such as the Heilongjiang hand cannon of 1288 or the vase shaped European cannon of 1326. Historians consider firearms to have reached the form of a "classic gun" in the 1480s, which persisted until the mid-18th century. This "classic" form displayed longer, lighter, more efficient, and more accurate design compared to its predecessors only 30 years prior. However this "classic" design changed very little for almost 300 years and cannons of

11600-459: The early 14th century. The author's name is uncertain but may have been Shams al-Din Muhammad, who died in 1350. Dating from around 1320–1350, the illustrations show gunpowder weapons such as gunpowder arrows, bombs, fire tubes, and fire lances or proto-guns. The manuscript describes a type of gunpowder weapon called a midfa which uses gunpowder to shoot projectiles out of a tube at the end of

11745-544: The early established cartridge arms was the Spencer repeating rifle , which Union forces used in the American Civil War . It was named based on the chamber dimensions, rather than the bore diameter, with the earliest cartridge called the "No. 56 cartridge", indicating a chamber diameter of .56 in; the bore diameter varied considerably, from .52 to .54 in. Later various derivatives were created using

11890-738: The end of World War II , and of ICI Nobel 's Roslin gunpowder factory which closed in 1954. This left ICI Nobel's Ardeer site in Scotland , which included a gunpowder factory, as the only factory in Great Britain producing gunpowder. The gunpowder area of the Ardeer site closed in October 1976. Gunpowder and gunpowder weapons were transmitted to India through the Mongol invasions of India . The Mongols were defeated by Alauddin Khalji of

12035-409: The end of the 13th century, they had become "true guns", metal barrel firearms that fired single projectiles which occluded the barrel. Gunpowder and gun technology spread throughout Eurasia during the 14th century. The origin of the English word gun is considered to derive from the name given to a particular historical weapon. Domina Gunilda was the name given to a remarkably large ballista ,

12180-432: The end of their barrel life, whereby the rifling is worn down to a point where a rifle loses some of its accuracy , the choice to make a caliber or cartridge change is often done at the same time as when a new rifle barrel is fitted to the rifle by a gunsmith . There are a few important factors to consider when converting a rifle to a different caliber or cartridge. The action of the rifle should be long enough to contain

12325-482: The fact, and may well have been colored by the contemporary experiences of the chronicler. Translation difficulties have led to errors or loose interpretations bordering on artistic licence . Ambiguous language can make it difficult to distinguish gunpowder weapons from similar technologies that do not rely on gunpowder. A commonly cited example is a report of the Battle of Mohi in Eastern Europe that mentions

12470-457: The following year. The first recorded use of gunpowder weapons in Europe was in 1331 when two mounted German knights attacked Cividale del Friuli with gunpowder weapons of some sort. By 1338 hand cannons were in widespread use in France. English Privy Wardrobe accounts list "ribaldis", a type of cannon, in the 1340s, and siege guns were used by the English at Calais in 1346. Early guns and

12615-632: The former Curtis & Harvey 's Glynneath gunpowder factory at Pontneddfechan in Wales closed down. The factory was demolished by fire in 1932. The last remaining gunpowder mill at the Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey was damaged by a German parachute mine in 1941 and it never reopened. This was followed by the closure and demolition of the gunpowder section at the Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Chorley , at

12760-411: The granules of modern gunpowder are typically coated with graphite , which prevents the build-up of electrostatic charge. Charcoal does not consist of pure carbon; rather, it consists of partially pyrolyzed cellulose , in which the wood is not completely decomposed. Carbon differs from ordinary charcoal . Whereas charcoal's autoignition temperature is relatively low, carbon's is much greater. Thus,

12905-584: The gunpowder industry, with the repeal of the Royal Patent in August 1641. In late 14th century Europe, gunpowder was improved by corning , the practice of drying it into small clumps to improve combustion and consistency. During this time, European manufacturers also began regularly purifying saltpeter, using wood ashes containing potassium carbonate to precipitate calcium from their dung liquor, and using ox blood, alum , and slices of turnip to clarify

13050-468: The history of gunpowder is regarding the transmission of gunpowder. While the literary and archaeological evidence supports a Chinese origin for gunpowder and guns, the manner in which gunpowder technology was transferred from China to the West is still under debate. It is unknown why the rapid spread of gunpowder technology across Eurasia took place over several decades whereas other technologies such as paper,

13195-429: The ideal proportions for use as an explosive and a propellant, suggesting that gunpowder was introduced as a mature technology." However, the history of gunpowder is not without controversy. A major problem confronting the study of early gunpowder history is ready access to sources close to the events described. Often the first records potentially describing use of gunpowder in warfare were written several centuries after

13340-732: The knowledge of making "true" firearms came much later, after the middle of the 15th century. It was brought by the Islamic nations of West Asia, most probably the Arabs . The precise year of introduction is unknown, but it may be safely concluded to be no earlier than 1460. Before the arrival of the Portuguese in Southeast Asia, the natives already possessed primitive firearms, the Java arquebus . Portuguese influence to local weaponry after

13485-521: The lance and became guns by the late 13th century. Guns such as the hand cannon were being used in the Yuan dynasty by the 1280s. Surviving cannons such as the Heilongjiang hand cannon and the Xanadu Gun have been found dating to the late 13th century and possibly earlier in the early 13th century. In 1287, the Yuan dynasty deployed Jurchen troops with hand cannons to put down a rebellion by

13630-591: The late 15th century the Ottoman empire used firearms as part of its regular infantry. In the Middle East, the Arabs seem to have used the hand cannon to some degree during the 14th century. Cannons are attested in India starting from 1366. The Joseon kingdom in Korea learned how to produce gunpowder from China by 1372 and started producing cannons by 1377. In Southeast Asia , Đại Việt soldiers used hand cannons at

13775-571: The late 19th century led to a contraction of the gunpowder industry. After the end of World War I , the majority of the British gunpowder manufacturers merged into a single company, "Explosives Trades limited", and a number of sites were closed down, including those in Ireland. This company became Nobel Industries Limited, and in 1926 became a founding member of Imperial Chemical Industries . The Home Office removed gunpowder from its list of Permitted Explosives . Shortly afterwards, on 31 December 1931,

13920-421: The length of the barrel, with the use of chokes and back-boring. In the United Kingdom, "gauge" is referred to as "bore" and in the United States "bore" is referred to as "gauge", e.g. a "12-bore shotgun or 12-gauge shotgun" has a bore or gauge that can accommodate a lead sphere weighing 1/12th of a pound. The term caliber is used as a measure of length of artillery barrels from muzzle to breech, expressed as

14065-581: The length of the tube, imparting sufficient launch velocity to sustain its further travel towards the target once the propelling gas ceases acting upon it after it exits the muzzle . Alternatively, new-concept linear motor weapons may employ an electromagnetic field to achieve acceleration, in which case the barrel may be substituted by guide rails (as in railguns ) or wrapped with magnetic coils (as in coilguns ). The first devices identified as guns or proto-guns appeared in China from around AD 1000. By

14210-558: The long duration of its design, which was longer, lighter, more efficient, and more accurate compared to its predecessors 30 years prior. The design persisted for nearly 300 years and cannons of the 1480s show little variation from as well as surprising similarity with cannons three centuries later in the 1750s. This 300-year period during which the classic gun dominated gives it its moniker. The classic gun differed from older generations of firearms through an assortment of improvements. Their longer length-to-bore ratio imparted more energy into

14355-419: The main problem of using cheaper sodium nitrate formulations when he patented DuPont "B" blasting powder. After manufacturing grains from press-cake in the usual way, his process tumbled the powder with graphite dust for 12 hours. This formed a graphite coating on each grain that reduced its ability to absorb moisture. Neither the use of graphite nor sodium nitrate was new. Glossing gunpowder corns with graphite

14500-520: The median of 17 of these 22 compositions for rockets (75% nitrates, 9.06% sulfur, and 15.94% charcoal), it is nearly identical to the modern reported ideal recipe of 75% potassium nitrate, 10% sulfur, and 15% charcoal. The text also mentions fuses, incendiary bombs, naphtha pots, fire lances, and an illustration and description of the earliest torpedo . The torpedo was called the "egg which moves itself and burns". Two iron sheets were fastened together and tightened using felt. The flattened pear-shaped vessel

14645-421: The men who used them were often associated with the devil and the gunner's craft was considered a black art , a point reinforced by the smell of sulfur on battlefields created from the firing of guns along with the muzzle blast and accompanying flash . Around the late 14th century in Europe, smaller and portable hand-held cannons were developed, creating in effect the first smooth-bore personal firearm. In

14790-447: The mid-17th century fireworks were used for entertainment on an unprecedented scale in Europe, being popular even at resorts and public gardens. With the publication of Deutliche Anweisung zur Feuerwerkerey (1748), methods for creating fireworks were sufficiently well-known and well-described that "Firework making has become an exact science." In 1774 Louis XVI ascended to the throne of France at age 20. After he discovered that France

14935-455: The most common sizes encountered, although larger, smaller and intermediate sizes existed. In practice, though, significant variation occurred in the actual mass of the projectile for a given nominal shot weight. The country of manufacture is a significant consideration when determining bore diameters. For example, the French livre , until 1812, had a mass of 489.5 g (1.079 lb), whilst

15080-544: The name chong ( 銃 ) with the metal radical jin ( 金 ) for metal-barrel firearms. Chong was used instead of the earlier and more ambiguous term huo tong (fire tube; 火筒 ), which may refer to the tubes of fire lances , proto-cannons, or signal flares. Hand cannons may have been used in the Mongol invasions of Japan . Japanese descriptions of the invasions mention iron and bamboo pao causing "light and fire" and emitting 2–3,000 iron bullets. The Nihon Kokujokushi , written around 1300, mentions huo tong (fire tubes) at

15225-425: The new cartridge, the magazine should also be able to hold the new cartridge, the bolt face should be the correct diameter and the extractor the correct size to hold the head of the new cartridge. The most common of these caliber conversions on rifles, are usually done to change from a parent cartridge to a new cartridge based on it, like when converting a rifle to a 6.5 mm Creedmoor from a 308 Winchester on which it

15370-474: The precise specifications in non-metric units, and vice versa. In a rifled barrel, the distance is measured between opposing lands or between opposing grooves ; groove measurements are common in cartridge designations originating in the United States , while land measurements are more common elsewhere in the world. Measurements "across the grooves" are used for maximum precision because rifling and

15515-405: The projectile may be inserted from the mouth to the base of the tube and seated securely adjacent the propellant charge with relative ease. The gap, called windage , increases the size of the bore with respect to the diameter of the shot somewhere between 10% and 20% depending upon the year the tube was cast and the foundry responsible. The relationship between bore diameter and projectile weight

15660-452: The proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximise its explosive power. To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced by metal. And to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely. Fire lance barrels made of metal appeared by 1276. Earlier in 1259

15805-413: The purest sulfur was supplied from a crater from a mountain near the straits of Bali . On the origins of gunpowder technology, historian Tonio Andrade remarked, "Scholars today overwhelmingly concur that the gun was invented in China." Gunpowder and the gun are widely believed by historians to have originated from China due to the large body of evidence that documents the evolution of gunpowder from

15950-482: The purpose of the powder. For instance, power grades of black powder, unsuitable for use in firearms but adequate for blasting rock in quarrying operations, are called blasting powder rather than gunpowder with standard proportions of 70% nitrate, 14% charcoal, and 16% sulfur; blasting powder may be made with the cheaper sodium nitrate substituted for potassium nitrate and proportions may be as low as 40% nitrate, 30% charcoal, and 30% sulfur. In 1857, Lammot du Pont solved

16095-694: The rate of fire to six times that of muzzle loading weapons. In 1854, Volcanic Repeating Arms produced a rifle with a self-contained cartridge . In 1849, Claude-Étienne Minié invented the Minié ball , the first projectile that could easily slide down a rifled barrel, which made rifles a viable military firearm, ending the smoothbore musket era. Rifles were deployed during the Crimean War with resounding success and proved vastly superior to smoothbore muskets. In 1860, Benjamin Tyler Henry created

16240-425: The residue. Gunpowder loads can be used in modern firearms as long as they are not gas-operated . The most compatible modern guns are smoothbore-barreled shotguns that are long-recoil operated with chrome-plated essential parts such as barrels and bores. Such guns have minimal fouling and corrosion and are easier to clean. The first confirmed reference to what can be considered gunpowder in China occurred in

16385-567: The same basic cartridge, but with smaller-diameter bullets; these were named by the cartridge diameter at the base and mouth. The original No. 56 became the .56-56, and the smaller versions, .56-52, .56-50, and .56-46. The 56–52, the most common of the new calibers, used a 50-cal bullet. Other black powder-era cartridges used naming schemes that appeared similar, but measured entirely different characteristics; 45-70 , 44-40 , and 32-20 were designated by bullet diameter to hundredths of an inch and standard black powder charge in grains . Optionally,

16530-504: The same bore diameter, often involves merely re-chambering the barrel to the new cartridge dimensions, if the rim diameter of the new cartridge matches that of the old cartridge. Converting a rifle to fire a different cartridge in a different caliber and bore as what it initially was, means that the barrel of the rifle will also need to be changed. Because many competitive precision rifle shooters often shoot thousands of rounds per year both for practice and competitions, and they more often reach

16675-446: The same diameter as the bore produced from one English pound (454g) of lead) or—as in some British ordnance—the weight of the weapon's usual projectile. A gun projectile may be a simple, single-piece item like a bullet, a casing containing a payload like a shotshell or explosive shell, or complex projectile like a sub-caliber projectile and sabot. The propellant may be air, an explosive solid, or an explosive liquid. Some variations like

16820-446: The same weapon, and even referred to as an "arquebus musket." A Habsburg commander in the mid-1560s once referred to muskets as "double arquebuses." A shoulder stock was added to the arquebus around 1470 and the matchlock mechanism sometime before 1475. The matchlock arquebus was the first firearm equipped with a trigger mechanism and the first portable shoulder-arms firearm. Before the matchlock, handheld firearms were fired from

16965-561: The second half of the 19th century, when the first high explosives were put into use. Gunpowder is one of the Four Great Inventions of China. Originally developed by Taoists for medicinal purposes, it was first used for warfare around AD 904. Its use in weapons has declined due to smokeless powder replacing it, whilst its relative inefficiency led to newer alternatives such as dynamite and ammonium nitrate/fuel oil replacing it in industrial applications. Gunpowder

17110-421: The shot, enabling the projectile to shoot further. They were also lighter since the barrel walls were thinner, allowing faster dissipation of heat. They no longer needed the help of a wooden plug to load since they offered a tighter fit between projectile and barrel, further increasing the accuracy of firearms – and were deadlier due to developments such as gunpowder corning and iron shot. Several developments in

17255-414: The siphon principle and for fireworks and rockets is mentioned. The mixture formulas in this book contain at most 50% saltpeter   —   not enough to create an explosion, they produce an incendiary instead. The Essentials was written by a Song dynasty court bureaucrat and there is little evidence that it had any immediate impact on warfare; there is no mention of its use in the chronicles of

17400-622: The solution. During the Renaissance, two European schools of pyrotechnic thought emerged, one in Italy and the other at Nuremberg, Germany. In Italy, Vannoccio Biringuccio , born in 1480, was a member of the guild Fraternita di Santa Barbara but broke with the tradition of secrecy by setting down everything he knew in a book titled De la pirotechnia , written in vernacular. It was published posthumously in 1540, with 9 editions over 138 years, and also reprinted by MIT Press in 1966. By

17545-499: The specific caliber so measured is the result of final machining process which cuts grooves into the rough bore, leaving the "lands" behind. Good performance requires a concentric, straight bore that accurately centers the projectile within the barrel, in preference to a "tight" fit which can be achieved even with off-center, crooked bores that cause excessive friction, fouling and an out-of-balance, wobbling projectile in flight. Calibers fall into four general categories by size: There

17690-455: The time. The state-controlled manufacture of gunpowder by the Ottoman Empire through early supply chains to obtain nitre, sulfur and high-quality charcoal from oaks in Anatolia contributed significantly to its expansion between the 15th and 18th century. It was not until later in the 19th century when the syndicalist production of Turkish gunpowder was greatly reduced, which coincided with

17835-435: The tip. Near the rear, there is a combustion chamber or room, which refers to the bulging part near the rear of the gun, where the gunpowder is placed. The cetbang is mounted on a fixed mount, or as a hand cannon mounted on the end of a pole. There is a tube-like section on the back of the cannon. In the hand cannon-type cetbang, this tube is used as a socket for a pole. The arquebus was a firearm that appeared in Europe and

17980-463: The tube or cylinder of a naphtha projector ( flamethrower ), then after the invention of gunpowder it meant the tube of fire lances, and eventually it applied to the cylinder of hand-guns and cannons. According to Paul E. J. Hammer, the Mamluks certainly used cannons by 1342. According to J. Lavin, cannons were used by Moors at the siege of Algeciras in 1343. A metal cannon firing an iron ball

18125-446: The twelfth century or the beginning of the thirteenth". In Persia saltpeter was known as "Chinese salt" ( Persian : نمک چینی ) namak-i chīnī ) or "salt from Chinese salt marshes" ( نمک شوره چینی namak-i shūra-yi chīnī ). Hasan al-Rammah included 107 gunpowder recipes in his text al-Furusiyyah wa al-Manasib al-Harbiyya ( The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices ), 22 of which are for rockets. If one takes

18270-470: The two individual technologies. French war powder in 1879 used the ratio 75% saltpeter, 12.5% charcoal, 12.5% sulfur. English war powder in 1879 used the ratio 75% saltpeter, 15% charcoal, 10% sulfur. The British Congreve rockets used 62.4% saltpeter, 23.2% charcoal and 14.4% sulfur, but the British Mark VII gunpowder was changed to 65% saltpeter, 20% charcoal and 15% sulfur. The explanation for

18415-595: The very latest by 1390 when they employed them in killing Champa king Che Bong Nga. Chinese observer recorded the Javanese use of hand cannon for marriage ceremony in 1413 during Zheng He 's voyage. Hand guns were utilized effectively during the Hussite Wars . Japan knew of gunpowder due to the Mongol invasions during the 13th century, but did not acquire a cannon until a monk took one back to Japan from China in 1510, and guns were not produced until 1543, when

18560-528: The wars against the Tanguts in the 11th century, and China was otherwise mostly at peace during this century. However, it had already been used for fire arrows since at least the 10th century. Its first recorded military application dates its use to 904 in the form of incendiary projectiles. In the following centuries various gunpowder weapons such as bombs , fire lances , and the gun appeared in China. Explosive weapons such as bombs have been discovered in

18705-408: The whole house where they were working burned down." Based on these Taoist texts, the invention of gunpowder by Chinese alchemists was likely an accidental byproduct from experiments seeking to create the elixir of life . This experimental medicine origin is reflected in its Chinese name huoyao ( Chinese : 火药/火藥 ; pinyin : huǒ yào /xuo yɑʊ/ ), which means "fire medicine". Saltpeter

18850-517: The wide variety in formulation relates to usage. Powder used for rocketry can use a slower burn rate since it accelerates the projectile for a much longer time—whereas powders for weapons such as flintlocks, cap-locks, or matchlocks need a higher burn rate to accelerate the projectile in a much shorter distance. Cannons usually used lower burn-rate powders, because most would burst with higher burn-rate powders. Besides black powder, there are other historically important types of gunpowder. "Brown gunpowder"

18995-529: Was already an accepted technique in 1839, and sodium nitrate-based blasting powder had been made in Peru for many years using the sodium nitrate mined at Tarapacá (now in Chile). Also, in 1846, two plants were built in south-west England to make blasting powder using this sodium nitrate. The idea may well have been brought from Peru by Cornish miners returning home after completing their contracts. Another suggestion

19140-591: Was coined in the late 19th century, primarily in the United States, to distinguish prior gunpowder formulations from the new smokeless powders and semi-smokeless powders. Semi-smokeless powders featured bulk volume properties that approximated black powder, but had significantly reduced amounts of smoke and combustion products. Smokeless powder has different burning properties (pressure vs. time) and can generate higher pressures and work per gram. This can rupture older weapons designed for black powder. Smokeless powders ranged in color from brownish tan to yellow to white. Most of

19285-414: Was depicted in a silk painting dated to the mid-10th century, but textual evidence of its use does not appear until 1132, describing the siege of De'an . It consisted of a bamboo tube of gunpowder tied to a spear or other polearm. By the late 1100s, ingredients such as pieces of shrapnel like porcelain shards or small iron pellets were added to the tube so that they would be blown out with the gunpowder. It

19430-606: Was described by Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbas al-Qalqashandi between 1365 and 1376. The musket appeared in the Ottoman Empire by 1465. In 1598, Chinese writer Zhao Shizhen described Turkish muskets as being superior to European muskets. The Chinese military book Wu Pei Chih (1621) later described Turkish muskets that used a rack-and-pinion mechanism, which was not known to have been used in European or Chinese firearms at

19575-521: Was filled with gunpowder, metal filings, "good mixtures", two rods, and a large rocket for propulsion. Judging by the illustration, it was evidently supposed to glide across the water. Fire lances were used in battles between the Muslims and Mongols in 1299 and 1303. Al-Hassan claims that in the Battle of Ain Jalut of 1260, the Mamluks used "the first cannon in history" against the Mongols, utilizing

19720-467: Was incorporated into the English language as "blunderbuss". Artillerymen were often referred to as "gonners" and "artillers" "Hand gun" was first used in 1373 in reference to the handle of guns. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a gun could mean "a piece of ordnance usually with high muzzle velocity and comparatively flat trajectory," " a portable firearm," or "a device that throws

19865-476: Was known to the Chinese by the mid-1st century AD and was primarily produced in the provinces of Sichuan , Shanxi , and Shandong . There is strong evidence of the use of saltpeter and sulfur in various medicinal combinations. A Chinese alchemical text dated 492 noted saltpeter burnt with a purple flame, providing a practical and reliable means of distinguishing it from other inorganic salts, thus enabling alchemists to evaluate and compare purification techniques;

20010-535: Was last sold by Winchester in 1947. The development of smokeless powders, such as cordite , in the late 19th century created the need for a spark-sensitive priming charge , such as gunpowder. However, the sulfur content of traditional gunpowders caused corrosion problems with Cordite Mk I and this led to the introduction of a range of sulfur-free gunpowders, of varying grain sizes. They typically contain 70.5 parts of saltpeter and 29.5 parts of charcoal. Like black powder, they were produced in different grain sizes. In

20155-594: Was not self-sufficient in gunpowder, a Gunpowder Administration was established; to head it, the lawyer Antoine Lavoisier was appointed. Although from a bourgeois family, after his degree in law Lavoisier became wealthy from a company set up to collect taxes for the Crown; this allowed him to pursue experimental natural science as a hobby. Without access to cheap saltpeter (controlled by the British), for hundreds of years France had relied on saltpetremen with royal warrants,

20300-670: Was previously known as gunpowder, was relegated to hobbyist usage. In 1861, Richard Jordan Gatling invented the Gatling gun , the first successful machine gun, capable of firing 200 gunpowder cartridges in a minute. It was fielded by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s. In 1884, Hiram Maxim invented the Maxim gun , the first single-barreled machine gun. The world's first submachine gun (a fully automatic firearm which fires pistol cartridges) able to be maneuvered by

20445-572: Was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common in even the smallest villages and was collected from the decomposition process of large dung hills specifically piled for the purpose. The Dutch punishment for possession of non-permitted gunpowder appears to have been amputation. Ownership and manufacture of gunpowder was later prohibited by the colonial Dutch occupiers. According to colonel McKenzie quoted in Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles ', The History of Java (1817),

20590-405: Was relatively short ranged and had a range of roughly 3 meters by the early 13th century. This fire lance is considered by some historians to be a "proto-gun" because its projectiles did not occlude the barrel. There was also another "proto-gun" called the eruptor, according to Joseph Needham, which did not have a lance but still did not shoot projectiles which occluded the barrel. In due course,

20735-544: Was severed following the widespread adoption of rifled weapons during the latter part of the 19th century. Guns continued to be classed by projectile weight into the mid-20th century, particularly in British service with guns, such as the 2-pounder , 6-pounder , and 17-pounder anti-tank weapons . However, this value no longer definitively related to bore diameter, since projectiles were no longer simple spheres—and in any case were more often hollow shells filled with explosives rather than solid iron shot. Gun A gun

20880-603: Was the American Revolution . By careful testing and adjusting the proportions and grinding time, powder from mills such as at Essonne outside Paris became the best in the world by 1788, and inexpensive. Two British physicists, Andrew Noble and Frederick Abel , worked to improve the properties of gunpowder during the late 19th century. This formed the basis for the Noble-Abel gas equation for internal ballistics . The introduction of smokeless powder in

21025-444: Was usually expressed as the weight of its iron shot in pounds . Iron shot was used as the standard reference because iron was the most common material used for artillery ammunition during that period, and solid spherical shot the most common form encountered. Artillery was classified thereby into standard categories, with the 3-pounder, 4-pounder, 6-pounder, 8-pounder, 9-pounder, 12-pounder, 18-pounder, 24-pounder, and 32-pounder being

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