Formal Sciences & Matter / Chemistry & Materials

Gunpowder

Chinese alchemists mix saltpetre, sulfur and charcoal: the first chemical explosive reshapes warfare, mining and rocketry.

Alchemists searching for elixirs found that saltpetre, sulfur and charcoal burn violently; Chinese texts of the 9th century warn about the mixture, and Song armies used gunpowder weapons by the 11th century. Cannons reached Europe in the early 14th century and drove demand for cast metal, big furnaces and new fortifications. Gunpowder later broke rock in mines and canal cuttings and gave the first rockets their propellant.