GUNCOTTON 



2642 



GUNPOWDER PLOT 



or powerful to be formidable by themselves. 

 See NAVY. 



GUNCOTTON, a highly explosive substance 

 discovered in 1845 by Schb'nbein, a German 

 chemist. The best guncotton is made by soak- 

 ing purified cotton in a mixture of sulphuric 

 and nitric acids. For military purposes twelve 

 pounds of the acid mixture are used for every 

 pound of cotton, which is allowed to soak, or 

 "digest," for twenty-four hours. Weak solu- 

 tions of the acid are used to produce less pow- 

 erful guncotton. Cotton waste and rags are 

 used to produce the guncotton used in smoke- 

 less powders. The rags are shredded by ma- 

 chinery and chemically reduced to a pulp which 

 is then treated in the same way as purified cot- 

 ton. Guncotton is employed in the explosives 

 in torpedoes, mines, shells and cartridges, and 

 is also used for making celluloid, collodion and 

 varnishes. In small quantities guncotton burns 

 rapidly but does not explode unless confined. 

 See EXPLOSIVES; SMOKELESS POWDER. 



GUN ' POWDER . Exactly who invented gun- 

 powder, no one knows. Friar Roger Bacon of 

 Oxford wrote a book in the year 1242, in which 

 he told how to make an explosive mixture con- 

 taining saltpeter, and for this reason he is 

 sometimes called the inventor of gunpowder, 

 but he was probably recording what had been 

 known centuries before his time. It is in fact 

 regarded as almost certain that such mixtures 

 were used by the Chinese before the Christian 

 Era. Berthold Schwartz, a German monk of 

 the fourteenth century, is also given the credit 

 for the invention, but more especially for pro- 

 ducing the first firearms known to Western 

 countries. Nothing is known with certainty, 

 however, except that cannons were in existence 

 at least as early as 1326 in Florence, 1323 in 

 France, 1340 in Germany and 1344 in England. 



In all ancient writings gunpowder is described 

 as being a compound of charcoal, sulphur and 

 saltpeter. The early gunpowders were made by 

 mixing dry materials, the result being that the 

 incorporation of the different ingredients was 

 imperfect and the action of the powder was un- 

 certain. A great improvement was made when 

 the materials were mixed in a moist state. The 

 powder made by the wet mixture was used in 

 pistols and guns about the year 1500. The 

 composition of gunpowder varies considerably 

 in different countries. In England, the United 

 States and Canada the usual formula is salt- 

 peter, seventy-five per cent; charcoal, fifteen per 

 cent, and sulphur ten per cent, though there 

 may be considerable local variations. 



The ingredients are first mixed dry, then 

 moistened and ground between stone rollers. 

 The mixture is then subjected to pressure, the 

 quality of the powder depending on the pres- 

 sure exerted. High-power powders need high 

 pressure; slow-burning powders are produced 

 under low pressure. The pressed mass cf pow- 

 der is ground in granulating machines, the 

 grains are polished in revolving wooden barrels 

 and are then dried and packed ready for use. 



Gunpowder has probably less effect on the 

 peaceful- arts than any other important inven- 

 tion or discovery. It entirely revolutionized 

 the art of war and has resulted in the expendi- 

 ture of millions and millions of dollars annually 

 on arms and ammunition and the loss of many 

 millions of lives. Its beneficial effects oa civil- 

 ization have perhaps been widespread though 

 indirect. The force of gunpowder caused the 

 flags of civilization to wave over savage coun- 

 tries, and under the protection of the same 

 forces peaceful arts have been developed. 

 From the field of engineering it has been driven 

 by more powerful explosives, except in opera- 

 tions such as removing stumps. In warfare it has 

 been superseded by smokeless explosives and 

 nitro compounds as a propelling force, and in 

 high explosive shells, hand grenades and their 

 like, but is still made the bursting charge for 

 shrapnel shell and the priming for fixed ammu- 

 nition. In sports smokeless powders are almost 

 wholly employed. L.R.G. 



Consult Heine's Gunpowder and Ammunition; 

 Munroe's Chemistry and Explosives. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes : 

 Ammunition Dynamite 



Blasting Smokeless Powder 



GUNPOWDER PLOT, in English history, a 

 conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parlia- 

 ment with gunpowder, on November 5, 1605, 

 when King James I was to preside at the cere- 

 monies attending the opening of the sessions. 

 The plot originated with a group headed by 

 Robert Catesby, Guy Fawkes and others, who 

 resented the hostile attitude of the government 

 toward Roman Catholicism. One of the con- 

 spirators, wishing to save a friend from the 

 general destruction, wrote him a letter warning 

 him not to be present at the opening of Parlia- 

 ment. This led to the discovery of the plot 

 and to the arrest and execution of most of 

 those concerned in it. The conspirators, instead 

 of remedying the condition of the Roman Cath- 

 olics in England, only increased their oppres- 

 sion. For many years an annual festival was 



