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The History and Science of Gunpowder

This quiz tests your knowledge on the history, science, and applications of gunpowder and firearms throughout history.

#gunpowder #firearms #history #pyrotechnics #military technology

1 Because of this, black powder which uses saltpeter can be stored unsealed and remain viable for centuries provided no liquid ________ is ever introduced.

2 What does the following picture show?  Early Chinese rocket   A picture of a 15th century Granadian cannon from the book Al-izz wal rifa'a.   Cannons forged in 1667 AD at the Fortín de La Galera, Nueva Esparta, Venezuela.

3 What does the following picture show?  A 17th century Tanjore Nayak kingdom's forge-welded iron cannon, at Thanjavur's eastern entrance (India).   Early Chinese rocket   Early Chinese rocket   A picture of a 15th century Granadian cannon from the book Al-izz wal rifa'a.

4 Modern firearms do not use the traditional gunpowder (black powder) described in this article, but instead use ________.

5 What does the following picture show?  Cannons forged in 1667 AD at the Fortín de La Galera, Nueva Esparta, Venezuela.   A picture of a 15th century Granadian cannon from the book Al-izz wal rifa'a.   Early Chinese rocket

6 What does the following picture show?  Black powder for muzzleloading rifles and pistols in FFFG granulation size. Coin (diameter 24 mm) for comparison.   A picture of a 15th century Granadian cannon from the book Al-izz wal rifa'a.   The Sultani Cannon, a very heavy bronze muzzle-loading cannon of type used by Ottoman Empire in the siege of Constantinople, 1453 AD.   The Sultani Cannon, a very heavy bronze muzzle-loading cannon of type used by Ottoman Empire in the siege of Constantinople, 1453 AD.

7 [26] Similarly, the refusal of their ________ forces to use firearms contributed to the Safavid rout at Chaldiran in 1514.

8 During the Renaissance, two European schools of pyrotechnic thought emerged, one in Italy and the other at Nürnberg, ________.

9 [47] Firearms known as top-o-tufak also existed in the ________ of India by as early as 1366 AD.

10 This company became Nobel Industries Limited; and in 1926 became a founding member of ________.

💡 Interesting Facts

  • the Orange Mill Historic District between Newburgh and Gardnertown, New York, features the only remaining 19th-century gunpowder mill complex in the state.
  • the San Salvador was a galleon of the Spanish Armada whose capture supplied the English with a significant proportion of the gunpowder that they used in the campaign.
  • the Wolf Popper Synagogue in Kraków, Poland, was founded in 1620 by one of the richest European traders in saltpetre, used for the making of gunpowder.
  • special Great Western Railway wagons were designed to carry goods as diverse as fish, kaolin, sheets of glass and gunpowder (wagon pictured).
  • some of the functions of windmills in Leeuwarden (Froskepôlemolen pictured) were cement manufacture, fulling, oil extraction, producing dyes, gunpowder and paints, snuff production and tanning.
  • The Kinship of the Three is the earliest book on theoretical alchemy in China and is the earliest source to have mentioned the compositions necessary to create gunpowder.
  • Reynier van Vlissingen, the Dutch Governor of Negapatam in India, surrendered to British forces in the 1781 Siege of Negapatam because the garrison had only one day of gunpowder remaining.
  • after hundreds of years of construction and use, few gunpowder magazines remain in the United Kingdom as gunpowder has not been manufactured there since 1976.
  • Manga Sewa of Falaba surrendered his city to Mandinka conqueror Samori Ture by detonating himself and his family in the city's powder magazine.
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