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
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Further Reading
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Roussak, O.V., Gesser, H.D. (2012). Explosives. In: Applied Chemistry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4262-2_14
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