Existing comment:
The Rise of Black Powder: Black powder technology arrived in Europe by the mid-13th century AD. Roger Bacon, an English Franciscan monk, recorded a formula for black powder in 1249. The three main ingredients -- 75% saltpeter (potassium nitrate), 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur -- were pounded in a mortar with a wooden pestle for twenty-four hours to make a fine powder.
This early black powder called Serpentine was unevenly powdered, so it burned irregularly and it was prone to absorbing moisture. An early improvement was "Corned" black powder that clumped the powder into tiny granules. Corned black powder was much better than Serpentine, especially for small arms, since there was space between the grains, allowing the powder to burn more rapidly and powerfully. |