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By contrast, gunpowder made with sodium nitrate must be kept sealed to remain stable.
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Muzzleloaders have been known to fire after hanging on a wall for decades in a loaded state, provided they remained dry. However, it is more hygroscopic than powders made from potassium nitrate. Gunpowder made with less-expensive and more plentiful sodium nitrate instead of potassium nitrate (in appropriate proportions) works just as well. One study showed that it produced (in order of descending quantities) 55.91% solid products: potassium carbonate, potassium sulfate, potassium sulfide, sulfur, potassium nitrate, potassium thiocyanate, carbon, ammonium carbonate and 42.98% gaseous products: carbon dioxide, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, methane, 1.11% water. Gunpowder does not burn as a single reaction, so the byproducts are not easily predicted.
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The exact percentages of ingredients varied greatly through the medieval period as the recipes were developed by trial and error, and needed to be updated for changing military technology. Ī simple, commonly cited, chemical equation for the combustion of gunpowder is:Ī balanced, but still simplified, equation is: 10 KNO 3 + 3 S + 8 C → 2 K 2CO 3 + 3 K 2SO 4 + 6 CO 2 + 5 N 2. Its use in weapons has declined due to smokeless powder replacing it, and it is no longer used for industrial purposes due to its relative inefficiency compared to newer alternatives such as dynamite and ammonium nitrate/fuel oil.
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Nonetheless it was widely used to fill fused artillery shells (and used in mining and civil engineering projects) until the second half of the 19th century, when the first high explosives were put into use. It thus makes a good propellant, but is less suitable for shattering rock or fortifications with its low-yield explosive power. Ignition of gunpowder packed behind a projectile generates enough pressure to force the shot from the muzzle at high speed, but usually not enough force to rupture the gun barrel. Low explosives deflagrate (i.e., burn at subsonic speeds), whereas high explosives detonate producing a supersonic shockwave. Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate and consequently low brisance. Gunpowder has been widely used as a propellant in firearms, artillery, rocketry, and pyrotechnics, including use as a blasting agent for explosives in quarrying, mining, and road building. The sulfur and carbon act as fuels while the saltpeter is an oxidizer. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate ( saltpeter). Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive.