Gunpowder

Gunpowder It is doubtful if any one invention has revolutionised any one activity more than gunpowder revolutionised war. Before it, archers and catapults notwithstanding, war was a personal, man-to-man affair. After it, combat could routinely be conducted at a distance. And not only with bullets and cannonballs. By putting huge quantities of the stuff under things someone wanted to eliminate like city walls, the Houses of Parliament, and so on, because they could simply be blown up. It is generally determined that the discoverers of gunpowder were the Chinese. As early as in the T'ang dynasty (AD 618-906) there seem to have existed what were called "fire trees" and "silver flowers." Chinese legend has it that some herdsmen who were trying to keep warm saw their campfire leap and fizzle around like a torch. They soon discovered that the fire pit was built on sulfur with a rock containing potassium perchlorate, the ingredients of gunpowder. This soon became a common mixture to make fire. To transport the mixture with so much firepower, the herdsman used a hollow bamboo stick with mud at both ends. The stick, accidentally fell into a fire and exploded with a bang. Thus the “fire trees” and “silver flowers” were born. Later on in the year 1161, when the Chinese gunpowder, saltpetre, time, chinese, very, because, mixture, cannon, until, making, make, knowledge, however, floors, first, europe, cannons, been, became, walls, tubs, top, three, state, soon, rich, people, mongols, made, likely, iron, great, fire, filled, england, compost