1 68 Experiments to determine 



contains 10.927 grains of water of crystallization, and 

 4.873 grains in a state of moisture. Consequently, the 

 quantity of water of crystallization in gunpowder is 86 

 times greater, and the quantity which exists in it in a 

 state of moisture is 38 times greater than that which 

 would be required to form a quantity of steam sufficient 

 to fill completely the space occupied by the powder. 



Hence we may venture to conclude that the quantity 

 of water actually existing in gunpowder is much more 

 than sufficient to generate all the steam that would be 

 necessary to account for the force displayed in the com- 

 bustion of gunpowder (supposing that force to depend 

 solely on the action of steam), even though no water 

 should be generated in the combustion of the gunpowder. 

 It is even very probable that there is more of it than 

 is wanted, and that the force of gunpowder would be 

 still greater, could the quantity of water it contains be 

 diminished. 



From this computation it would appear, that the dif- 

 ficulty is not to account for the force actually exerted by 

 fired gunpowder, but to explain the reason why it does 

 not exert a much greater force. But I shall leave these 

 investigations to those who have more leisure than I 

 now have to prosecute them. 



