Gunpowder and bullets By the 17th century, they switched to a more effective type of gunpowder. The old one, crushed into dust, quickly absorbed moisture in damp weather, stuck together, and generally burned unevenly, with unburned particles constantly clogging the barrel and the seed hole. Then from the powder

“Who’s stopping you from inventing waterproof gunpowder?..” They say that the invention of black gunpowder happened purely by accident. The ancient Chinese did this many centuries ago. How it happened, no one remembers, but it is known that more than two thousand years ago they used gunpowder

How was the wheel invented? If you find yourself on a desert island and need to drag something from one place to another, what are you going to do? Drag! In ancient times, human muscles were the only means of movement. The man himself was his own "beast of burden"

Where was the bicycle invented? Turning the steering wheel of a bicycle, we don’t even suspect that it has existed for a whole millennium. Scientists claim that in Ancient Egypt there was a two-wheeled mechanism that was driven by the rider’s legs. But the official date of appearance of the bicycle

When was the crossbow invented? One of the oldest types of weapons is the bow. A crossbow is the same as a bow, only its string is pulled mechanically. The first crossbow was invented around 1050 in France. An arrow fired from a crossbow could fly 305 meters or more. Crossbow -

Black powder or black powder is a mixture of three substances: sulfur, coal and potassium nitrate in a ratio of 2:3:15. The mixture was initially obtained by crushing it in a special container.

Was gunpowder invented by the Chinese?

If you try to find the exact date of the invention of gunpowder, you are unlikely to succeed. Some sources say that gunpowder was known to the ancient Indians as early as one and a half thousand years BC, others say that gunpowder was known to the Chinese at the beginning of the first century AD. Many historians agree that the Chinese were the first to invent gunpowder. True, they did not use it for military purposes. Saltpeter was used in medicine. It was mixed with other substances (for example, honey) and set on fire, producing “healing” smoke. The Chinese also used gunpowder as entertainment during festivals. The well-known fireworks first appeared in China, and then spread to Europe. The Chinese filled a piece of bamboo with gunpowder and set it on fire, pointing the stick at the sky. There are also references to gunpowder as a weapon - these were bombs “pi li huo qiu” (translated from Chinese as “fireball with the sound of thunder”). They were put into catapults and thrown at the enemy.

But the Chinese and Arabs were never able to figure out how to use the power of gas to launch projectiles. It was the Europeans who did this first. Everywhere you can find one legend that Berthold Schwartz accidentally ground a mixture of gunpowder in a mortar, and a random spark got there and caused an explosion in the monk’s cell. True, there is no reliable information about Schwartz, but still, it was the monks who were the first to accurately describe gunpowder, namely the great inventor of the Middle Ages, Roger Bacon. He would definitely write down the recipe for gunpowder, but would not dare to show it further than the monastic order, because it was believed that such dangerous things should be hidden from the eyes of uneducated people.

However, the secret of gunpowder was soon revealed and used as a weapon for the first time.

Gunpowder as a weapon

August 26, 1346. After months of fighting for the French crown, the English king Edward III and his weary army reached the village of Crecy in northern France. For a millennium, horsemen dominated the battlefields. There were few Englishmen, but they were inspired by faith in their own weapons - longbows. Having fought for many years with the Scots and Welsh, Edward appreciated the quality of this powerful weapon. At dawn, the English warriors began to strengthen their position at Crecy, the pits were intended to become traps for the French cavalry. At the approaches to the battle formations, stakes were driven into the ground that could pierce a horse. However, first of all, the British pinned their hopes on their main trump card - the longbow. As tall as a man, it was made of yew; to pull the bowstring it was necessary to apply a force of 45 kilograms, and the arrows hit the enemy up to 200 meters. It was more difficult to string a bow than a crossbow, but it was much faster to shoot. While the English archers were preparing to meet the enemy, Edward arrived on the battlefield along with the knights, but now the English cavalry had to fight on foot. Edward ordered the knights to dismount and take up position among the archers, forming a wedge-shaped formation called the furrow. “England and St. George! England and St. George! - the soldiers chanted.

The French had no doubt about victory, because their army was three times larger than the British. They countered the English bows with powerful crossbows. The French king Philip brought with him 6 thousand Genoese mercenaries. Armed with crossbows, they descended the hill and moved towards the British battle formations.

Modern historian Geoffrey Baker describes the battle this way:

The French rushed towards the British first. The crossbowmen walked towards them to the sound of trumpets, kettledrums and a piercing howl that filled the area with a thunderous cry.

However, the crossbowmen's arrows did not reach the British. The British stood out of reach of the Genoese crossbows. While the arrows of long English bows were quite enough to reach the crossbowmen. The archers took a step forward and began to shoot arrows with such speed that they fell like snow. Throwing down their weapons, the Genoese fled. This sight outraged the French king so much that he ordered his knights to attack the enemy on horseback. The knights rushed forward through the disorganized ranks of retreating crossbowmen. The ground on the battlefield was wet after recent rain. Soon the French battle formations turned into a shapeless and mud-stained heap of people in heavy equipment and horses, showered with a hail of arrows from the British. The French were in confusion, and only a few knights, seized by a furious impulse, managed to get close to the British. Here the axes, spears and swords of the British were already waiting for them. A lot of French died without receiving a single wound; they were simply crushed in the crowd. After 16 fruitless attacks, the French retreated, suffering a crushing defeat. The British maintained their battle formation until the next morning.

At dawn, Edward's ambassadors discovered 542 bodies of French nobles and knights, as well as 20 thousand dead soldiers and horses. The British lost 2 knights and 18 infantry. The British victory at Crecy stunned Europe. Their tactics, which relied on the power of longbows, came as a complete surprise to the Europeans. A new era was dawning for the infantrymen, the cavalrymen were destined to appear on the battlefields for several more centuries, but they would no longer decide the outcome of the battle. The era of knightly cavalry came to an end, but on the battlefield at Crecy the sound of not only the English was heard, Edward placed several bombards in position. These were small, primitive cannons that fired stones. Bombards were inaccurate weapons and mainly only frightened the French horses with their roar. However, it was their cannonade that heralded the beginning of a revolution that was to change the world forever, as well as the way of warfare - the appearance of gunpowder.

Subsequently, gunpowder began to be used more and more often in military affairs and returned to the east as a new technology. For example, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II “The Conqueror” was able to use the new type of weapon extremely successfully. He used technology suggested to him by Urban, a Hungarian engineer.

Turkish cannon made using the same technology

Mehmed developed a plan for the siege of the city. He installed a cannon opposite the main gate of the city. On April 12, 1453, she finally “spoke.” The powerful walls that had protected Christianity for centuries collapsed within weeks. This super-cannon of Mehmed managed to change the course of history, but such a weapon turned out to be not very convenient for waging a siege. It required 60 oxen and 200 men to transport it; it took at least an hour to load the weapon into position. The recoil was so great that a new shot could only be fired 3 hours after the previous one.

Further development of this technology in the military leads to the emergence of a huge number of rifles, cannons, mortars and other weapons. But this type of gunpowder was not yet perfect enough for military purposes for many reasons. One of the main reasons is the release of a large amount of smoke, which during shooting indicated the shooter’s position, but at the same time interfered with aimed fire. Secondly, black powder is extremely sensitive to fire. Many cases are described when barrels of gunpowder exploded right in warehouses due to all sorts of little things (a small spark or just a blow from a metal object). All this and much more made me think about how to make gunpowder smokeless.

How gunpowder was invented in Russia

At first, black smoky gunpowder was used for shooting in the form of pulpy powder-like gunpowder, and the word “gunpowder” or “dust” itself means dust. It was difficult to use such powder pulp because it stuck to the walls of the guns. As a result of thinking about this problem, it was decided to make gunpowder in the form of lumps, which made it easier to load the guns, and thus obtain a significantly larger volume of gas when ignited. Somewhere in the mid-15th century we began to use green gunpowder. It could be obtained by rolling gunpowder pulp into dough along with alcohol and other impurities, then passing the dough through a special sieve. The development of domestic gunpowder production received a significant boost during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, as well as Peter I. Under Peter the Great, three gunpowder factories were built at once: St. Petersburg, Sestroretsk, and Okhtinsky.

The study of gunpowder in Russia was carried out by Lomonosov, who made theoretical calculations, as well as a number of experiments on black gunpowder. Later, his findings were used by French scientists, who obtained the most successful composition of the mixture, which is described at the beginning of the article: 75% potassium nitrate, 10% sulfur and 15% coal.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Russian gunpowder began to be considered one of the highest quality in the world, but, as is known, black gunpowder had significant disadvantages, such as clogging of the gun barrel as a result of the adhesion of gunpowder particles, as well as a huge amount of smoke when firing. Another significant drawback was the formation of sulfur compounds, even sulfurous acid, which corroded the metal parts of the weapon.

By the end of the 19th century, white gunpowder, later called smokeless, was invented, which was based on nitrocellulose. This gunpowder burned in layers, which improved the ballistic properties of the projectiles. White gunpowder produced a much smaller amount of smoke when burned, which made a big breakthrough in the development of artillery.

In 1884, pyroxylin gunpowder was invented in France, which proved to be more powerful than black powder, but more unpredictable, so it was used only in small guns.

In 1887, Alfred Nobel invents ballistic gunpowder. In England, in 1889, cordite gunpowder was created, based on Nobel's ballistic gunpowder. The new substances were more powerful, but also more stable than white powder or gunpowder.

In 1891, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev created pyro-collodion gunpowder and a year later began testing it for military purposes. As a result, it is adopted into service. D.I. Mendeleev extremely scrupulously compares his invention with other types of gunpowder in his works and notes its advantages: stability of composition, homogeneity, absence of “detonation traces”.

It was in the USSR that the first multiple launch rocket systems were created. We successfully used ballistic gunpowder for rocket system charges, and in the late 1940s we created mixed types of gunpowder that were used in rocket engines.

Nothing stands still, because more and more new types of weapons are being created, and no one is in a hurry to give up war, which means gunpowder will be in demand and work for a long time...

You can also watch a documentary about gunpowder:

Man has made many discoveries that were of great importance in one area or another of life. However, very few of these discoveries actually affected the course of history.

Gunpowder and its invention are precisely from this list of discoveries that contributed to the development of many areas of humanity.

Story

Background to the appearance of gunpowder

Scientists have debated for a long time about the time of its creation. Some argued that it was invented in Asian countries, while others, on the contrary, disagree and prove the opposite, that gunpowder was invented in Europe, and from there it came to Asia.

Everyone agrees that China is the birthplace of gunpowder.

The existing manuscripts speak of noisy holidays that were held in the Middle Kingdom with very loud explosions that were not familiar to Europeans. Of course, it was not gunpowder, but bamboo seeds, which burst with loud noise when heated. Such explosions made Tibetan monks think about the practical application of such things.

History of invention

Now it is no longer possible to determine with an accuracy of one year the time of the invention of gunpowder by the Chinese, however, according to manuscripts that have survived to this day, there is an opinion that in the middle of the 6th century, the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire also knew the composition of substances with the help of which fire with a bright flame could be obtained. The Taoist monks advanced the furthest towards the invention of gunpowder, who eventually invented gunpowder.

Thanks to the found work of monks, which was dated back to the 9th century, which contains lists of all certain “elixirs” and how to use them.

Much attention was paid to the text, which indicated the prepared composition, which unexpectedly ignited right after production and caused burns to the monks.

If the fire was not put out immediately, the alchemist’s house would burn to the ground.

Thanks to such information, discussions about the place and time of the invention of gunpowder were ended. Well, I must say that after the invention of gunpowder, it only burned, but did not explode.

The first composition of gunpowder

The composition of gunpowder required an exact ratio of all components. It took the monks another year to determine all the shares and components. As a result, a mixture was obtained that received the name “fire potion.” The potion contained molecules of coal, sulfur and saltpeter. There is very little saltpeter in nature, with the exception of the territories of China, where saltpeter can be found directly on the surface of the earth in a layer of several centimeters.

Gunpowder components:

Peaceful uses of gunpowder in China

When gunpowder was first invented, it was mainly used in the form of various sound effects or for colorful “fireworks” during entertainment events. However, local sages understood that the combat use of gunpowder was also possible.

China in those distant times was constantly at war with the nomads around it, and the invention of gunpowder was in the hands of military commanders.

Gunpowder: First military use by the Chinese

There are manuscripts by Chinese monks that claim the use of a “fire potion” for military purposes. The Chinese military surrounded the nomads and lured them into a mountainous area, where gunpowder charges were pre-installed and set on fire after the enemy’s campaign.

Strong explosions paralyzed the nomads, who fled in shame.

Having understood what gunpowder is and realizing its capabilities, the emperors of China supported the production of weapons using a fiery mixture, including catapults, powder balls, and various projectiles. Thanks to the use of gunpowder, the troops of the Chinese commanders did not know defeat and put the enemy to flight everywhere.

Gunpowder leaves China: Arabs and Mongols begin to make gunpowder

According to information received, around the 13th century, information about the composition and proportions for the manufacture of gunpowder was obtained by the Arabs; there is no exact information about how this was done. According to one legend, the Arabs massacred all the monks of the monastery and received a treatise. In the same century, the Arabs were able to build a cannon that could fire gunpowder shells.

"Greek Fire": Byzantine Gunpowder

Further information from the Arabs about gunpowder and its composition in Byzantium. By slightly changing the composition qualitatively and quantitatively, a recipe was obtained, which was called “Greek fire”. The first tests of this mixture were not long in coming.

During the defense of the city, cannons loaded with Greek fire were used. As a result, all the ships were destroyed by fire. Accurate information about the composition of “Greek fire” has not reached our times, but presumably it was used - sulfur, oil, saltpeter, resin and oils.

Gunpowder in Europe: who invented it?

For a long time, Roger Bacon was considered the culprit behind the appearance of gunpowder in Europe. In the mid-thirteenth century, he became the first European to describe in a book all the recipes for making gunpowder. But the book was encrypted, and it was not possible to use it.

If you want to know who invented gunpowder in Europe, then the answer to your question is the story of Berthold Schwartz. He was a monk and practiced alchemy for the benefit of his Franciscan Order. At the beginning of the fourteenth century he worked to determine the proportions of the substance from coal, sulfur and saltpeter. After much experimentation, he managed to grind the necessary components in a mortar in a proportion sufficient to cause an explosion.

The blast wave almost sent the monk to the next world.

The invention marked the beginning of the era of firearms.

The first model of the “shooting mortar” was developed by the same Schwartz, for which he was sent to prison in order to not disclose the secret. But the monk was kidnapped and secretly transported to Germany, where he continued his experiments in improving firearms.

How the inquisitive monk ended his life is still unknown. According to one version, he was blown up on a barrel of gunpowder; according to another, he died safely at a very old age. Be that as it may, gunpowder gave the Europeans great opportunities, which they did not fail to take advantage of.

The appearance of gunpowder in Rus'

There is no exact answer about the origin of gunpowder in Rus'. There are many stories, but the most plausible is considered to be that the composition of the gunpowder was provided by the Byzantines. For the first time, gunpowder was used in a firearm when defending Moscow from a raid by the troops of the Golden Horde. Such a gun did not incapacitate the enemy’s manpower, but made it possible to frighten horses and sow panic in the ranks of the Golden Horde.

Smokeless powder recipe: who invented it?

Approaching more modern centuries, let's say that the 19th century is a time of improvement of gunpowder. One of the interesting improvements is the invention of pyroxylin powder, which has a solid structure, by the Frenchman Viel. Its first use was appreciated by representatives of the defense department.

The point is that the gunpowder burned without smoke, leaving no traces.

A little later, inventor Alfred Nobel announced the possibility of using nitroglycerin gunpowder in the production of projectiles. After these inventions, gunpowder was only improved and its characteristics improved.

Types of gunpowder

The following types of gunpowder are used in the classification:

• mixed(the so-called black powder (black powder));
• nitrocellulose(respectively, smokeless).

It may be a discovery for many, but solid rocket fuel used in spacecraft and rocket engines is nothing more than the most powerful gunpowder. Nitrocellulose powders consist of nitrocellulose and a plasticizer. In addition to these parts, various additives are mixed into the mixture.

The storage conditions of gunpowder are of great importance. If the gunpowder is found beyond the possible storage period or the technological storage conditions are not met, irreversible chemical decomposition and deterioration of its properties are possible. Therefore, storage is of great importance in the life of gunpowder, otherwise an explosion may occur.

Black powder

Black powder is produced on the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the requirements of GOST-1028-79.

Nowadays, the production of smoky or black powder is regulated and complies with regulatory requirements and rules.

The types of gunpowder are divided into:

• grainy;
• powder powder.

Black powder consists of potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal.

• potassium nitrate oxidizes, allowing to burn at a rapid rate.
• charcoal is a fuel (which is oxidized by potassium nitrate).
• sulfur- a component that is necessary to ensure ignition. The requirements for the proportions of black powder grades are different in different countries, but the differences are not large.

The shape of granular grades of gunpowder after production resembles grain. Production consists of five stages:

1. Grind to powder;
2. Mixing;
3. Pressed onto discs;
4. Grain crushing occurs;
5. The grains are polished.

The best grades of gunpowder burn better if all components are completely crushed and thoroughly mixed, even the output shape of the granules is important. The combustion efficiency of black powder is largely related to the fineness of grinding of the components, the completeness of mixing and the shape of the finished grains.

Types of black powders (% composition KNO 3, S, C.):

• corded (for fire cords) (77%, 12%, 11%);
• rifle (for igniters for charges of nitrocellulose powders and mixed solid fuels, as well as for expelling charges in incendiary and illuminating shells);
• coarse-grained (for igniters);
• slow-burning (for intensifiers and moderators in tubes and fuses);
• mine (for blasting) (75%, 10%, 15%);
• hunting (76%, 9%, 15%);
• sports.

When handling black powder, you must take precautions and keep the gunpowder away from an open source of fire, as it ignites easily; a flash at a temperature of 290-300 °C is sufficient for this.

There are high requirements for packaging. It must be sealed and black powder must be stored separately from the rest. Very picky about moisture content. If the moisture content is more than 2.2%, this powder is very difficult to ignite.

Before the beginning of the 20th century, black powder was invented for use in firing weapons and in various throwing grenades. Now used in the production of fireworks.

Varieties of gunpowder

Aluminum grades of gunpowder have found their use in the pyrotechnic industry. The basis is potassium/sodium nitrate (needed as an oxidizer), aluminum powder (this is flammable) and sulfur, reduced to the state of powder and mixed together. Due to the large release of light during combustion and the speed of combustion, it is used in explosive elements and flash compositions (producing a flash).

Proportions (saltpeter: aluminum: sulfur):

• bright flash - 57:28:15;
• explosion - 50:25:25.

Gunpowder is not afraid of moisture and does not change its flowability, but it can get very dirty.

Classification of gunpowders

This is a smokeless powder that was developed in modern times. Unlike black powder, nitrocellulose has a high efficiency. And there is no smoke that the arrow can give off.

In turn, nitrocellulose powders, due to the complexity of their composition and wide application, can be divided into:

1. pyroxylin;
2. ballistic;
3. cordite.

Smokeless powder is gunpowder that is used in modern types of weapons and various explosive products. It is used as a detonator.

Pyroxylin

The composition of pyroxylin powders usually includes 91-96% pyroxylin, 1.2-5% volatile substances (alcohol, ether and water), 1.0-1.5% stabilizer (diphenylamine, centralite) to increase storage stability, 2- 6% phlegmatizer to slow down the combustion of the outer layers of powder grains and 0.2-0.3% graphite as additives.

Pyroxylin powders are produced in the form of plates, ribbons, rings, tubes and grains with one or more channels; The main uses are pistols, machine guns, cannons, and mortars.

The production of such gunpowder consists of the following stages:

• Dissolution (plasticization) of pyroxylin;
• Composition pressing;
• Cut from a mass with various shapes of gunpowder elements;
• Solvent removal.

Ballistic

Ballistic powders are gunpowders of artificial origin. The largest percentage has the following components:

• nitrocellulose;
• non-removable plasticizer.

Due to the presence of exactly 2 components, experts call this type of gunpowder 2-basic.

If there are changes in the percentage of gunpowder plasticizer content, they are divided into:

1. nitroglycerin;
2. diglycol.

The structure of the composition of ballistic powders is as follows:

• 40-60% colloxylin (nitrocellulose with a nitrogen content of less than 12.2%);
• 30-55% nitroglycerin (nitroglycerin powders) or diethylene glycol dinitrate (diglycol powders) or a mixture thereof;

Also included are various components that have a small percentage of content, but they are extremely important:

• dinitrotoluene– necessary to be able to control the combustion temperature;
• stabilizers(diphenylamine, centralite);
• Vaseline oil, camphor and other additives;
• Fine metal can also be added to ballistic powders(an alloy of aluminum and magnesium) to increase the temperature and energy of combustion products, such gunpowder is called metallized.

Continuous technological scheme for the production of powder mass of high-energy ballistic powders

The appearance of the manufactured gunpowder is in the form of tubes, checkers, plates, rings and ribbons. Gunpowder is used for military purposes, and according to their application they are divided:

• rocket(for charges for rocket engines and gas generators);
• artillery(for propellant charges for artillery pieces);
• mortar(for propellant charges for mortars).

Compared to pyroxylin powders, ballistic gunpowders are characterized by lower hygroscopicity, faster production, the ability to produce large charges (up to 0.8 meters in diameter), high mechanical strength and flexibility due to the use of a plasticizer.

The disadvantages of ballistic powders compared to pyroxylin powders include:

1. Great danger in production due to the presence in their composition of a powerful explosive - nitroglycerin, which is very sensitive to external influences, as well as the inability to obtain charges with a diameter of more than 0.8 m, in contrast to mixed gunpowders based on synthetic polymers;
2. Complexity of the production process ballistic powders, which involves mixing the components in warm water in order to distribute them evenly, squeezing out the water and repeated rolling on hot rollers. This removes water and plasticizes the cellulose nitrate, which takes on the appearance of a horn-like sheet. Next, the gunpowder is pressed through dies or rolled into thin sheets and cut.

Cordite

Cordite powders contain high-nitrogen pyroxylin, a removable (alcohol-ether mixture, acetone) and non-removable (nitroglycerin) plasticizer. This brings the production technology of these gunpowders closer to the production of pyroxylin gunpowder.

The advantage of cordites is greater power, but they cause increased burning of the barrels due to the higher temperature of the combustion products.

Solid rocket fuel

Synthetic polymer-based mixed propellant (solid rocket fuel) contains approximately:

• 50-60% oxidizing agent, usually ammonium perchlorate;
• 10-20% plasticized polymer binder;
• 10-20% fine aluminum powder and other additives.

This direction of powder making first appeared in Germany in the 30-40s of the 20th century; after the end of the war, the active development of such fuels began in the USA, and in the early 50s - in the USSR. The main advantages over ballistic gunpowder, which attracted a lot of attention to them, were:

• high specific thrust of rocket engines using such fuel;
• the ability to create charges of any shape and size;
• high deformation and mechanical properties of the compositions;
• the ability to regulate the burning rate over a wide range.

These properties of gunpowder made it possible to create strategic missiles with a range of more than 10,000 km. Using ballistic gunpowder, S.P. Korolev, together with gunpowder makers, managed to create a rocket with a maximum range of 2,000 km.

But mixed solid fuels have significant disadvantages compared to nitrocellulose powders: the very high cost of their production, the duration of the charge production cycle (up to several months), the complexity of disposal, the release of hydrochloric acid into the atmosphere during the combustion of ammonium perchlorate.

Powder combustion and its regulation

Combustion in parallel layers, which does not turn into an explosion, is caused by the transfer of heat from layer to layer and is achieved by manufacturing fairly monolithic powder elements, free of cracks.

The burning rate of gunpowder depends on pressure according to a power law, increasing with increasing pressure, so you should not focus on the burning rate of gunpowder at atmospheric pressure when assessing its characteristics.

Regulating the burning rate of gunpowder is a very difficult task and is solved by using various combustion catalysts in the powder composition. Combustion in parallel layers allows you to regulate the rate of gas formation.

The gas formation of gunpowder depends on the size of the surface of the charge and its burning rate.

The surface area of ​​the powder elements is determined by their shape, geometric dimensions and can increase or decrease during the combustion process. Such combustion is called progressive or digressive, respectively.

To obtain a constant rate of gas formation or its change according to a certain law, individual sections of charges (for example, missiles) are covered with a layer of non-combustible materials (armor).

The burning rate of gunpowder depends on its composition, initial temperature and pressure.

Characteristics of gunpowder

The characteristics of gunpowder are based on parameters such as:

• heat of combustion Q- the amount of heat released during complete combustion of 1 kilogram of gunpowder;
• volume of gaseous products V released during the combustion of 1 kilogram of gunpowder (determined after bringing the gases to normal conditions);
• gas temperature T, determined by combustion of gunpowder under conditions of constant volume and absence of heat losses;
• powder density ρ;
• gunpowder strength f- the work that could be done by 1 kilogram of powder gases, expanding when heated by T degrees at normal atmospheric pressure.

Characteristics of nitro powders

Non-military use

The ultimate main purpose of gunpowder is military purposes and use for the destruction of enemy targets. However, the composition of Sokol gunpowder allows its use for peaceful purposes, such as fireworks, construction tools (construction pistols, punches), and in the field of pyrotechnics - squibs. The characteristics of Bars gunpowder are more suitable for use in sports shooting.