---------------------------------+------+---------+-------- Mills. |Nitre.|Charcoal.|Sulphur. ---------------------------------+------+---------+-------- Royal Waltham Abbey |75·00 | 15·00 | 10·00 France, National Mills |75·00 | 12·50 | 12·50 French Sporting |78·00 | 12·00 | 10·00 French Mining |65·00 | 15·00 | 20·00 U. S. of America |75·00 | 12·50 | 12·50 Prussia |75·00 | 13·50 | 11·50 Russia |73·78 | 13·59 | 12·63 Austria (Musket) |72·00 | 17·00 | 16·00 Spain |76·47 | 10·78 | 12·75 Sweden |76·00 | 15·00 | 9·00 Switzerland (Round Powder) |76·00 | 14·00 | 10·00 Chinese |75·00 | 14·40 | 9·90 Theoretical proportions as above |75·00 | 13·23 | 11·77 ---------------------------------+------+---------+-------- Gunpowder consists of a very intricate mixture of sulphur, carbon (charcoal), and nitrate of potash (nitre). The proportions in which they exist are one equivalent of nitre, one of sulphur, and three of carbon. The great explosive power of gunpowder is due to the sudden development from its solid constituents of a large quantity of gases; these gases are nitrogen and carbonic acid. At the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere these gases would occupy a space three hundred times greater than the bulk of the gunpowder used; but owing to the intense heat developed at the moment of explosion, the gases occupy at least 1,500 times the bulk of the original gunpowder. The mixture, consisting of one equivalent of nitre, one of sulphur, and three of carbon, would yield three equivalents of carbonic acid, one of nitrogen, and one of sulphuret of potassium. The change may be represented thus,-- S + C₃ + KONO₅ = 3 CO₂ + N + KS. The only solid residue, therefore, is the sulphuret of potassium, and this is the compound which produces the sulphurous odour on washing out a gun barrel; water is decomposed, sulphuretted hydrogen and potash being the result of the decomposition.