As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
There once was a time when things were knonw and spoken of as all were scientists.
It is a miracle of invention modern smokeless powders if one knows that in 1858 according to British gunmaker William Greener, that gun cotton, aka nitrocellulouse or smokeless powder actually created an instant explosion and was quite as dangerous as nitroglycerine.
Amazing things in the progression of man, but I will not tell you how they settled it all down so people could play with it.
Gun-cotton has been before the world for some years, but, except as a curiosity, it has attracted little public attention; neither has it gained any reputation as a projectile force. It may be prepared by steeping cotton wool for a few minutes in a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids, thoroughly washing, and then drying at a very gentle heat. It consists chemically of the essential elements of gunpowder: viz. carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen; but, in addition, it contains another highly elastic gas, hydrogen. The carbon in the fibres of the wool presents to the action of flame a most extended surface in a small space, and the result is an explosion approaching as nearly as possible to the instantaneous: in consequence of its rapid ignition it produces a violent kick; sufficient time is not given to put heavy bodies in motion, hence it cannot be usefully employed as a projectile agent. No one who values his limbs should trifle with it, for fearful accidents have resulted from its exposure to the heat of the sun, and other very simple causes.
William Greener. Gunnery in 1858 / Being a Treatise on Rifles, Cannon, and Sporting Arms
Sometimes things appear here just for my historical archives and study.
agtG
