Explosives

  • O. V. Roussak
  • H. D. Gesser
Chapter
First Online:

Abstract

The first recorded account of an explosive was the description of a crude form of gunpowder by Cheng Yin in China about 850 A.D. He cautioned about the dangers of burning the experimenter and the house. These warnings still apply today. The first European to refer to gunpowder was Roger Bacon who concealed the formula in a code which was not revealed for another century. By 1346, gunpowder (or black powder) was used to fire a cannon in battle. In the seventeenth century, it was used in mines as a blasting agent. The reaction still used today is

Keywords

Flame Front Oxygen Balance Lead Azide Silver Azide Potassium Perchlorate 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Further Reading

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    U.S. Army Engineering Center. www.hnd.usace.army.mil
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • O. V. Roussak
    • 1
  • H. D. Gesser
    • 1
  1. 1.Chemistry DepartmentUniversity of ManitobaWinnipegCanada

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