Does anyone know the composition of Black powder?(Gunpowder)?
140833
Mostly sodium nitrate about 70%, about 20% sulfur, and 10% carbon.\n\nThe trick to making good black powder is that you have to have it all finely powdered, mixed well with water, then you dry it out in an oven (Yes, in an oven!)  If you don't have your oven temperature just right, you can blow yourself up!!!!  NOT to be tried at home!\n\nYou can buy a can of black powder for about $25 at a gun store.  Much safer and cheaper!\n\nWhy do you need black powder?  I hope you're not planning to blow anything up!\n\nI'm a chemist and I've tried making small (less than 1 g) quantities of black powder and it's never been very good... it just sort of sparkles and fizzles, doesn't really blow up.  So, if I were you, I'd buy the stuff at a gun store.\n\nI really hope you're an antique gun enthusiast and NOT a psycho/terrorist.\n\nTake care!\nDavid
986491
In most states it is perfectly legal to make black powder for your own legitimate use. There are also some good web sites that give recipes for making it. Since we don't know exactly where your from we can't tell you precisely the laws involved. I'll include one of my favorite websites. It should be informative.
57815
BE VERY CAREFUL, then you can follow the instructions on the website: http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/gunpowder.htm\n\nDon't get into any trouble!
176528
http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html\n\nskim this article.
249760
try looking at this website http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Bleach.html it gives you the history  and the raw materials that make it, i hope this helps
607303
yup.\n18 century is 1700's\n\nbtw it was found by the chinese earlier than that\n\nGunpowder is considered one of the Four Great Inventions of the Chinese, though in fact it is not known whether it was first invented in China.\n\nThe first type of gunpowder was black powder. Neither its inventors nor exact date of creation is known. Historians of various cultures have postulated that it was invented between the seventh or ninth centuries by either the Chinese or the Arabs. In the West, Roger Bacon was the first to describe the formula for gunpowder on the ground of a passage in his On Marvelous Power of Art and Nature in 1242, leading many in the ensuing centuries to the mistaken belief that Bacon invented gunpowder -- even though Bacon himself mentioned that gunpowder was known in diverse places (see Opus tertium, by order of Pope Clement IV in 1266). It is also possible that black powder was invented independently by more than one culture at around the same time. As James Partington states in A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder:\n\n    "Gunpowder is not, of course, an 'invention' in the modern sense, the product of a single time and place; no individual's name can be attached to it, nor can that of any single nation or region. Fire is one of the primordial forces of nature, and incendiary weapons have had a place in armies' toolkits for almost as long as civilized states have made war."\n\nRegardless of origin, gunpowder was the first chemical propellant and the first explosive recorded in history.\n\nThe Arabs are generally credited with being the first to purify gunpowder to contain almost no sodium nitrate (only potassium nitrate) and to have a high enough quality to use effectively as a combat explosive. By the 15th century they had invented both a rocket and torpedo, both spear-tipped. The spear would lodge into a boat or other large surface and then the explosives would detonate as the propellant burned out.\n\nOne of the flaws of black powder in its original form was its tendency to "demix" under the effects of vibration, e.g. in the knapsack of a marching soldier. The component ingredients would separate, and the powder sample poured into a gun would not have the correct proportions. The same volume of powder, depending on its vibration history and whether it was sampled from the top or bottom of the powder container, could either fizzle or burst the gun barrel. "Corning" is the process that prevented demixing and made black powder far more reliable. It was invented in Europe around the fifteenth century, and involves forcing damp powder through a sieve to form it into granules. Each granule contains a mixture of the three ingredients with nearly optimum proportions.
107602
Bullets are usually made of lead, with an outer shell of copper. Lead is a known carcinogen. It is not a good idea to mess with it, without the required permits and protection. I don't think it is worth the hassle.
693963
One possible stink bomb is taking black pepper and burning it.  It does not stink as much as it does burn in your throat.
966493
well, there's also potassium permaganate. ( which is a black powder/specks) you could cover your shirt in black beads or crystals which would look pretty unique!
785659
You mean like:\n\n"Azurite: Turns black with warm alkalis, hydrogen sulfide or sulfur fumes. "
631145
I have to admit im not too clued up on the geology of Maryland, however over here in the UK we have in the Mendip Hills something which resembles Obsidian but in fact its not. On a university field trip we went to an old smelt, where the guys used to smelt Limestone and the result was this black shiny stuff that looked identical to Obsidian. The stuff was strewn all over the place in big heaps. Confused the 'ell out of us students initially until we were told the what it actually was. I wish I could remember more about it but then again uni was a bit of a blur!
238279
If you're referring to old-fashioned black powder, one constituent is water-soluble and another is soluble in carbon disulfide. Following washes in these two solvents you will be left with the third constituent.
826018
It just so happens that I am working on developing a test method for explosives.  The results are as accurate as any other analytical method.  If you have samples that need to be tested you can try any environmental testing laboratory.  Send me a message at steve.rocks@yahoo.com
614595
the most common salt that burns purple is salts with potassium. I'm not sure what gives a black flame test, but sugars such as glucose and surcrose definately "burns" black.
1002183
Concentrated Nitric Acid and copper.  Be careful.  Nasty stuff... really!
230380
um i don't know if this site has it, but you might want to try chemguide.co.uk :) it's a pretty good site.
447262
What type of metal is powdered? The reason I ask is because I need to know If it is magnetic and if their are contaminant issues/