A system of pyrotechny : $b Comprehending the theory and practice, with the application of chemistry; designed for exhibition and for war.Cutbush, James
History
A system of pyrotechny : $b Comprehending the theory and practice, with the application of chemistry; designed for exhibition and for war.
Cutbush, James
Fireworks; Military fireworks
2. Mixing the materials intimately in vessels similar to casks; and,
3. Giving the mixture the necessary consistence, and the final
granulation.
For some details of the process, the reader may consult Chaptal's
_Chimie Appliqué aux Arts_, tome iv, p. 145.
Chaptal is of opinion, that Carney's mode of fabricating powder,
presents many advantages, among which he considers the facility of
its formation, economy in the expense, and the superiority of the
powder. In a memoir on the subject, and the formation of powder at
Grenelle, Chaptal has described the process very minutely.
Bottée and Riffault reduce the manufacture of gunpowder in France to
the following heads:
1. The mixture of the ingredients. This relates to the manner of
uniting the nitre, charcoal, and sulphur, the quantity of the
composition put into each mortar, and observations respecting the
manipulation.
The time required for reducing gunpowder to its proper consistency,
and for effecting the mixture is termed by the French, _Battage_.
They are usually twenty-four hours, (or eight according to the new
mode,) in pounding the materials to make good gunpowder. Supposing
the mortar to contain sixteen pounds of composition, it would require
the application of the pestle 3500 times each hour.
The order in which they are beaten, and mixed, is as before given,
and also the rechanging, or transferring the materials from one
mortar to another.
2. _Granulation_, (_Grenage Fr._) This operation consists, as before
observed, in passing the mixture through different sized sieves,
employing also parchment sieves, and afterwards separating the
dust by a fine sieve. The size of the grain depends altogether on
the sieve. Hence we have cannon-powder, gunning or musket-powder,
pistol-powder, and mining-powder. Superfine powder is the very small
grained.
3. _Glazing._ (_Lissage Fr._) This operation takes off the asperities
of the grain, renders it hard and less liable to soil the hands, and
gives it a kind of lustre. It is only used for fine powder, such as
the pistol, and hunting-powder. Cannon powder is never glazed. It is
performed in a barrel-shaped vessel, which is made to revolve on its
axis, like the ordinary barrel-churn. The quantity of powder glazed
in one of these barrels at a time, in France, is 150 kilogrammes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account