Gunpowder, as the name suggests, is a medicine that can catch fire. Its main characteristic is that it ignites when it touches fire. So why is it called "gunpowder"? Because the two main ingredients for making gunpowder - nitrate and sulfur are both medicines, it is called gunpowder.

Unlike substances that rely on oxygen in the air to burn, gunpowder is a self-oxygenated combustion system that releases oxygen from saltpeter to complete the combustion process, so it can be burned in a closed container. It can be seen that saltpeter plays the role of an oxidant in gunpowder.

.Sulfur plays a role as a reducing agent in the combustion of gunpowder and is an important factor in the explosion of gunpowder.

In the late Spring and Autumn Period (sixth century BC), a man named Ji Ran said: "The yellow stone flowing out of Hanzhong" and "the yellow stone flowing out of Longdao". The yellow stone flowing out is sulfur; the yellow stone flowing out is saltpeter. In ancient times,

Also known as flame saltpeter, fire saltpeter, bitter saltpeter, ground frost, etc. It can be seen that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter were already well known to people. In the "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" of the Han Dynasty, China's first medicinal material classic, saltpeter

, sulfur are listed as important medicinal materials. Even after the invention of gunpowder, gunpowder itself was still introduced into medicine. In the "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Li Shizhen, a famous medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, it is said that gunpowder can cure sores, ringworm, insecticides, and ward off diseases.

Moisture and Plague

Gunpowder was invented by alchemists. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the alchemists went through long-term exploration and bold experiments. Although they did not achieve the goal of making an "elixir", they invented the "elixir" in the process of making it.

gunpowder.

First of all, people have a certain understanding of the properties of the three components that make up gunpowder. As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, people have widely used charcoal in metallurgy. In practice, it has been understood that charcoal is a better fuel than firewood. Sulfur has

It exists naturally, and people have mined it for a long time. At the same time, during smelting, the pungent sulfur dioxide escaping and the sulfur gas overflowing from the hot springs directly stimulated people's senses. It was during these contacts that people gradually realized the functions of sulfur.

Some properties. In addition to its special curative effect on certain skin diseases, it also has some peculiar properties. For example, "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" says: "Stone sulfur... can transform gold, silver, copper and iron, which are rare things."

That is to say, sulfur can combine with metals such as copper and iron. The earliest alchemy book in China, "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Qi" of the Eastern Han Dynasty, records the reaction of sulfur and mercury combining to form red mercuric sulfide. These properties of sulfur are in the eyes of alchemists who are engaged in alchemy.

It is highly valued. Sulfur can not only combine with metals such as copper and iron, but can also subdue the magical mercury. Therefore, alchemists often use sulfur in their attempts to use mercury to refine the so-called "gold liquid" and "return elixirs".

In experiments, people also found that sulfur easily rises when it catches fire, has active properties, and is difficult to control. How can it soften its medicinal properties and make it easier to control? Alchemists have adopted a method called "subduing fire"

The method is to denature it by mixing it with other flammable substances and heating or burning it to some extent. The invention of gunpowder is closely related to this type of sulfur fire experiment. The introduction of nitrate was used to prepare gunpowder.

The key point is that the chemical properties of saltpeter are very active. When sprinkled on red charcoal, fireworks will be produced immediately, and it can interact with many substances. Therefore, in alchemy, saltpeter is often used to change the properties of other medicines. At the same time, there are many ways to use fire saltpeter.

And because the color of saltpeter is not much different from that of other salts such as saltpetre (sodium sulfate), it is easy to make mistakes during use, so people have also mastered the method of identifying saltpeter. Tao Hongjing, a medical expert in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, wrote in "Compendium of Materia Medica"

It is pointed out in the book: "When it is burned with fire, purple and green smoke rises, and the cloud is saltpeter." This is similar to the modern use of flame color reaction to identify potassium nitrate. This made technical preparations for the later large-scale use of saltpeter.

The understanding of the properties of charcoal, sulfur and nitrate prepared the conditions for the invention of gunpowder. In the rising stage of my country's feudal society, due to the development of medicine and alchemy activities, especially through long-term practice, people were using fire and sulfur In many experiments with saltpeter over fire, it has been observed that when a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal is ignited, an extremely violent combustion will occur.

The alchemy masters of the Tang Dynasty pioneered the sulfur fire method in 682 AD (the first year of Yongchun reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty). Volume 5 of "The Alchemy Methods of All Schools" contains the "Sulfur Method Within the Alchemy of Sun Zhenren": take sulfur, saltpeter

Two liang of each, grind them into powder and put them in a silver pot or a clay pot. Dig a hole in the ground, place the pot in the pit and on the ground, and fill the four sides with soil. Put three saponins that have not been eaten by insects one by one.

Then put it into the pot and burn the sulfur and saltpeter. When the fireworks can no longer be burned, stir-fry with charcoal until one-third of the charcoal is gone. Then anneal the mixture. Before it cools down, take out the mixture.

The fire started. From this record, it can be seen that at that time, it was understood that the violent reaction would occur when nitrate, sulfur and charcoal were mixed and ignited, so measures were taken to control the reaction speed and prevent explosions.

In 808 AD (the third year of the Yuanhe reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty), the "Fu Huo Alum Method" was created. Similar experiments also appeared in the second volume of "Collection of Lead, Mercury, Jiageng Zhibao" in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. There was a man named Qing Xuzi, who

When talking about the "Fire Alum Method", he said: "Two liang of sulfur, two liang of saltpeter, three and a half qian of Aristolochia. The powder on the right is the powder, mix well. Dig a hole, put the medicine in the jar and level it with the ground. Put a piece of cooked fire into a large marble.

, put it inside, and the smoke gradually rises, cover it four or five times with wet paper, cover it with earthen mounds with square bricks, and take it out when it is cold, and the sulfur will be trapped." In this experiment, the wild plant Aristolochia sativa and the above experiment

Like saponins, they replace charcoal for combustion. Also, care should be taken to prevent the mixture from burning violently. This method of operation is a summary of experience gained through repeated practice.

The above two formulas, by mixing the three ingredients, have initially contained the ingredients of gunpowder. In theory, they are similar to the equation 2KNO2 + S + 3C = K2S + 3CO2↑ + N2↑ + Q. However, the ingredients used are natural products and have not been refined, and the texture is both

It is not pure and the portion is not standardized, so the power of the gunpowder is still weak.

There are also records about the lessons of failure. An alchemy book called "Synopsis of the True Yuan Miao Dao" written around the Five Dynasties period (10th century AD) warned: Take sulfur, saltpeter, male sulfur (As2S2) and honey and burn them together.

, will emit fireworks, burn people's faces and hands, and can also go straight to the house and burn the house. This shows that people are already familiar with the combustion and explosion properties of this kind of mixture, and prevent it in alchemy. People consciously use it

This property of this type of mixture, gunpowder has been mastered.

After continuous improvements by alchemists, around the late Tang Dynasty (the end of the ninth century), the black gunpowder invented in China officially appeared. The gunpowder invented at that time is now called black gunpowder; because it is brown, some people call it brown gunpowder.

.It is a mixture of three powders: potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal. This mixture is extremely easy to burn and burns quite violently. This is because potassium nitrate is an oxidant and releases oxygen when heated. Sulfur and charcoal are easily oxidized.

It is a common reducing agent. When they are mixed and burned, the oxidation-reduction reaction proceeds rapidly, releasing high heat and producing a large amount of gas during the reaction. If the mixture is wrapped in paper, cloth, leather, or filled in a clay pot or stone hole, it will burn

When the volume suddenly expands to thousands of times, an explosion will occur. This is the principle of black powder combustion and explosion.

Like other inventions, the invention of gunpowder also went through a long process of practice and understanding, and was gradually improved with the development of production and the progress of society.

After gunpowder was used in the military, it gradually developed and improved in manufacturing technology and performance. During the reign of Renzong in the Northern Song Dynasty (around 1040 AD), Prime Minister Zeng Gongliang and others, who were famous for their familiarity with legal allusions, compiled the military book "General Essentials of the Military Classics"

"In Volume 12 of the previous volume, the preparation methods of gunpowder, tribulus gunpowder, and poisonous smoke gunpowder have been recorded in detail.

Forty liang of flame salt, 14 liang of sulfur, and 14 liang of charcoal are used as medicine for artillery. In addition, bamboo root, hemp root, clear oil, tung oil, sulfur wax, dry paint, arsenic, disulfan, fixed powder, thick oil, etc.

The composition ratio is 50.6% nitrate, 26.6% sulfur, and 22.8% charcoal.

Tribulus terrestris gunpowder uses 40 liang of flame salt, 20 liang of sulfur, and 5 liang of charcoal, plus bamboo root, maru, small oil, tung oil, asphalt, sulfur wax, dry paint, etc. The combination ratio is 50% saltpeter, sulfur

25%, charcoal 25%

To make the poison, thirty liang of flame salt, fifteen liang of sulfur, and five liang of charcoal are used for the smoke ball, plus croton, arsenic, wolfsbane, aconite, sulfur wax, bamboo root, hemp root, small oil, tung oil, asphalt, etc., etc.

The combination ratio is 49.06% nitrate, 24.8% sulfur, and 25.6% charcoal;

The above three gunpowder formulas illustrate that using saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal as basic raw materials, and then mixing in some other substances, gunpowder with different properties and uses can be prepared. These three formulas are excellent finalizations after trial and transformation by the Song Army.

The product is also a sample of gunpowder prepared in various places. The ratio of nitrate, sulfur and charcoal is gradually becoming more reasonable.

However, compared with modern black gunpowder, there is still a certain gap in the combination rate of these three gunpowders (the standard formula of modern black gunpowder: 75% nitrate, 10% sulfur, 15% charcoal). Because the content of the oxidant saltpeter is too low,

Insufficient oxygen supply, excessive content of low-melting point combustible sulfur, and mixed with many other ingredients, its properties are only capable of arson, dispersing poison, and releasing smoke. The "Thunderbolt Fireball" recorded in "Wu Jing Zong Yao Qian Ji" is

It is made according to the first formula above. It is not an explosive firearm. It is called thunderbolt because the bamboo rod bursts after the gunpowder and makes a loud noise. Also, because the bamboo rod explodes, the hot porcelain pieces in the sphere scatter nearby and can hurt people.

So it has the bud of explosive firearms.

It can be seen that the gunpowder in the early Northern Song Dynasty has developed considerably on the one hand. On the other hand, the formula ingredients are also very complicated and it is still a low-grade gunpowder. The "Thunderbolt Cannon" and "Iron Artillery" that appeared in the late Northern Song Dynasty were equipped with

The medicine must have been gunpowder with explosive properties.

During the Song and Yuan dynasties, various firearms appeared on the battlefield and were used increasingly widely. The needs of war promoted the continuous improvement of gunpowder properties. By the Yuan Dynasty, the content of nitrate in gunpowder formulas had increased significantly, reaching 60%, and sulfur and charcoal

Each accounts for about 20%. The manufacturing process has also been improved, impurities have been reduced, and retardant substances in gunpowder have been eliminated. The finished products are mostly granular and have greater power.

By the Ming Dynasty, the development of gunpowder had made great progress and reached a higher level. The "Fire Dragon Artifact Formation", written in the early Ming Dynasty, recorded a variety of gunpowder formulas and proposed that "it is necessary to know the proper properties of the medicine" in order to "obtain it"

"The Wonder of Fire Attack" has been greatly developed compared with "Wu Jing Zong Yao". Qi Jiguang wrote in "Jixiao Xinshu Bucheng Various Weapons Illustrated Notes" written in 1560 AD (the 39th year of Jiajing), there is a detailed description of the use of gun launchers.

The formula and manufacturing process of gunpowder are recorded in more detail. The formula is "one tael of saltpeter, one penny and four cents of sulfur, and one penny and eight cents of willow charcoal." This combination rate is 75.75% saltpeter and 10.6% sulfur.

Charcoal is 13.65%, which is basically the same as the standard mix rate of modern black gunpowder.

Traditional gunpowder formulas with different combination ratios are mostly recorded in the "Arbuishi Firearms Manufacturing Method". Among them, the gunpowder formula used for rocket meteors and soaked powder threads is "one-sixth of sulfonate and five-fifths of charcoal nitrate."

One, the converted ratio is 73.2% sulfur nitrate, 12.2% sulfur, and 14.6% charcoal. The explosive formula is "one third or one quarter sulfur nitrate, and one quarter charcoal nitrate."

The combination ratio is 66.6% nitrate, 16.7% sulfur, and 16.7% charcoal. The formula of the propellant for artillery and gun guns is "one-tenth of sulfonate, nitrate, and the same amount of charcoal." The converted ratio is 83.3% nitrate, sulfur

8.35%, charcoal 8.35%.

There are many gunpowder formulas composed of homogeneous raw materials of sulfur or carbon, which can be prepared into different gunpowders. For example, "Bing Lu Fire Attack Medicine Properties" says, "The realgar gas is high and the flame is high," and strong burning gunpowder can be prepared; "

"The gas of arsenic is strong and fiery" can be used to prepare strong gunpowder; "The gas of arsenic is smelly and poisonous" can be used to prepare poisonous agents. Another example is stated in "Methods for Preparing Firearms in Military Beizhi", "Willow twig ash and eggplant ash are the lightest and most

"Easy to ignite" can be used to prepare gunpowder that is easy to ignite; "Floating ash and honeycomb ash are light" can be used to prepare gunpowder that is extremely easy to ignite; gourd ash can be used to prepare gunpowder that burns violently, and Ruo leaf ash can be used to prepare explosive explosives.

gunpowder.

There are more gunpowder formulas composed of adding other raw materials to gunpowder, and more than 50 of them are recorded in "Bing Lu Fire Attack Medicine Properties" alone. For example, adding day needles, sand, iron, magnetic blades and other substances, the formula is made into

"Rotten gunpowder" for human muscle decay; add Aconitum, Patchouli, Thunder Vinegar, Water Horse and other substances to prepare a "blood-sealing throat medicine" that makes people speechless; add Jiangzi Changshan, Pinellia ternata,

Sichuan yellow and other substances were used to prepare a "fire powder" to make people unconscious; tung oil, soybean powder, rosin and other substances were added to prepare a "fire powder" to burn down the enemy's forage and camps; hair, iron juice, and barley were added to

Oil and other substances are used to prepare a strong incendiary agent for burning enemy leather vehicles and leather tents; strong fire oil and other substances are added to prepare water-warfare gunpowder that becomes more incandescent and can burn wet objects; nine-tailed fish fat and other substances are added to prepare it.

An incendiary agent that causes wind to spread; add wolf dung and other substances to prepare alarm fireworks that smoke during the day and light up at night; add finless porpoise bones, finless porpoise oil, wolf dung, mugwort, etc. to prepare "headwind gunpowder"; add indigo and lead respectively.

After adding powder, purple powder, and wood coal, it is formulated into an alarm gunpowder that can emit green smoke, white smoke, purple smoke, black smoke, etc.

In the "Gunpowder Materials" contained in the "Jiabing Chapter" of "Tiangong Kaiwu" published in 1637 AD later in "Wu Bei Zhi", it is divided into direct attack gunpowder and horizontal attack gunpowder, which is equivalent to

The concept of launch and explosion. It is said that the gunpowder for direct attack is nitrate nine and the ratio of sulfur is one, and the gunpowder for horizontal attack is seven nitrate and three sulfur ratio. This shows that the composition of gunpowder at this time was relatively simple, and people were more interested in the gunpowder and gunpowder used for launching.

The rules for assembling gunpowder for explosions have been firmly mastered.

The gunpowder preparation process in the Ming Dynasty also made great progress, which mainly included the selection, refining and preparation of raw materials, and inspection.

Saltpeter is the main raw material for preparing gunpowder. Its purity has a great influence on the power of gunpowder. The process of making saltpeter in the Ming Dynasty is divided into three steps. The first step is to dissolve the natural saltpeter in fresh water without impurities, and dissolve the mud in it.

Granular impurities such as sand are precipitated and removed. The second step is to put a certain amount of egg white, red radish and other adsorbents into the nitric solution and boil them several times to absorb the residue, salt and alkali and other components, and then use a sieve to remove them.

Remove the adsorbed matter. The third step is to put the hydrocolloid into the nitrate solution and boil it again, and then pour the nitrate solution into the porcelain urn to cool and solidify, so that the wastewater floats on the urn, the mud sinks to the bottom of the urn, and the pure saltpeter resides in the center

, finally remove the water and slag, and take out the pure nitrate and dry it in the sun. After the above process, only 30 jins of pure nitrate can be extracted for every 100 jins of natural nitrate. This pure nitrate appears as white crystals.

Sulfur is a fast-burning explosive, and its purity has a great influence on the explosive power of gunpowder. The sulfur refining process in the Ming Dynasty was divided into four steps. The first step was to crush the sulfur blocks and remove the sand and debris. The second step was to crush the sulfur blocks and remove the sand and debris.

The first step is to put the crushed sulfur into a pot, add fresh water and boil it to remove impurities, then pour it into an urn to settle for a day, then remove the sediment to obtain crude sulfur. The third step is to pour 2.5 kilograms of butter for 10 kilograms of sulfur.

In proportion to 1 pound of sesame oil, boil it to prevent the oil from sticking to the sulfur. Then add cypress leaves to the pot and cook with the sulfur to absorb the black residue in the pot. The fourth step is to put the crude sulfur removed from the residue into the pot.

Fry in boiling oil until yellow foam appears on the oil surface, then put it in a basin to cool. Finally, remove the yellow foam and impurities on the surface, and take out the pure sulfur without residue and oil. This sulfur is in the form of lemon-colored blocks.

crystallization.

Charcoal powder is a combustion-supporting substance in gunpowder, and its quality can affect the burning speed of gunpowder. When baking charcoal, it is best to use wicker before and after the Qingming Festival, because the wicker leaf buds will not sprout at this time, and nutrients are concentrated on the wicker.
To be continued...