The Invention of Gunpowder

 

 Because of the chaos caused by war, economic development during the Three Kingdoms Period deteriorated. Luckily, there were several remarkable technological advances thanks to the many wars, such as the invention of gunpowder. This invention seems to have been discovered in China by accident - by alchemists seeking the elixir of immortality. It was used for entertainment after that by creating fireworks to entertain the population at celebrations. It was not created for military purpose, but later it was used as a weapon for attack by fire. In the eyes of the ancients, the gunpowder was very unique in visual effects. The fire crackers were made by wrapping the powder in paper with some sort of a wick attached. Therefore, fireworks actually initiated the application of gunpowder.

In the Period of Three Kingdoms, a clever technician Jun Ma, invented firecrackers and stared to make use of the gunpowder. Gunpowder didn’t start to spread out of China until about 850 A.D. though. Along with the silk and paper, gunpowder was traded along the Silk Road which helped it spread to the west. It reached Japan, Islam and then Europe in the 13th century. One century later the Arabs used it to attack the Spanish town Baza. The very next year in 1326 A.D. Florence ordered the manufacturing of cannons and cannon balls. From Italy the making of gunpowder soon spread to other European countries, and by the 1350s it had become an effective weapon on the battlefield.

Gun powder is still used this day in ammunition for fire arms. The gunpowder used for military purpose was first recorded in 919 A.D. By the 11th century, explosive bombs filled with gunpowder and fired from catapults were introduced and used in China. The first detailed description of using "firing cannon" in warfare was in a battle fought in 1126 A.D. when the Song army used it against the invading Nuchens. The so-called "fire cannon" was a tube made of bamboo filled with gunpowder which, when fired, threw a flaming missile towards the enemy. The Chinese invention of gunpowder never went much beyond its simplest form, and it was abandoned as a military weapon shortly afterwards. The Arabs improved gunpowder for military use. In 1280, the Syrian al-Hasan ar-Rammah wrote the Book of Fighting on Horseback and War Engines. He introduced a rocket device, which he called "Chinese arrow." In 1364 a musket-like gun was invented but its place of origin is under a large disagreement.  The shooter would lit wicks by hand that ignited gunpowder that was loaded into the gun barrel. The modern manufacture of firearms in the U.S. is a large industry. All economic activity from firearm manufacturing, distribution, and other activities totaled to $27.8 billion in 2010. The invention of gunpowder occurred over a thousand years ago, by accident, and has continued to be improved ever since.

By Konrad Kyeser, 1400 A.D. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm#Early_models