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Author: Sir FrederickSir Frederick Date: Apr 7, 2008 15:40
How Gunpowder Changed the World
By Heather Whipps,
07Apr2008
http://www.livescience.com//history/080407-hs-gunpowder.html
When gunpowder was used to create personal handguns and rifles, a new type of soldier was created: infantry. a Revolutionary War
reenactment at Fort Ward Historic Site in Alexandria, Virginia.
Ironically, it was a quest for immortality that led to the invention of the deadliest weapon before the arrival of the atomic bomb.
Experimenting with life-lengthening elixirs around A.D. 850, Chinese alchemists instead discovered gunpowder. Their explosive
invention would become the basis for almost every weapon used in war from that point on, from fiery arrows to rifles, cannons and
grenades. Gunpowder made warfare all over the world very different, affecting the way battles were fought and borders were drawn
throughout the Middle Ages.
Flying fire
Chinese scientists had been playing with saltpeter a common name for the powerful oxidizing agent potassium nitrate in medical
compounds for centuries when one industrious individual thought to mix...
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Author: toolytooly Date: Apr 7, 2008 18:48
"Sir Frederick" fuzzysys.com> wrote in message
news:d08lv357lhgs7gvrflt6sqjgjl6dgko9l0@4ax.com...> How Gunpowder Changed the World
> By Heather Whipps,
> 07Apr2008
> http://www.livescience.com//history/080407-hs-gunpowder.html
>
> When gunpowder was used to create personal handguns and rifles, a new type
> of soldier was created: infantry. a Revolutionary War
> reenactment at Fort Ward Historic Site in Alexandria, Virginia.
>
> Ironically, it was a quest for immortality that led to the invention of
> the deadliest weapon before the arrival of the atomic bomb.
>
> Experimenting with life-lengthening elixirs around A.D. 850, Chinese
> alchemists instead discovered gunpowder. Their explosive
> invention would become the basis for almost every weapon used in war from
> that point on, from fiery arrows to rifles, cannons and
> grenades. Gunpowder made warfare all over the world very different,
> affecting the way battles were fought and borders were drawn ...
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Author: Sir FrederickSir Frederick Date: Apr 7, 2008 19:17
On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 21:48:07 -0400, "tooly" bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>
>Controlling explosions seems to be at the crux of developing technology.
>Gunpowder was certainly a major stepping stone that changed the world.
>Another was the combustible engine. These are two things that history too
>often treats as footnotes, and yet, think of how the world would be if
>neither of these existed.
>
And consider space exploration without the explosions in rocketry
on the way up out of the gravity well and atmosphere sea.
The ion engines powered by electricity once in open space are
interesting (but they are quite weak).
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Author: Mark EarnestMark Earnest Date: Apr 7, 2008 20:48
"tooly" wrote...
> Controlling explosions seems to be at the crux of developing technology.
> Gunpowder was certainly a major stepping stone that changed the world.
Gunpowder only changed man from hitting his fellow man with a club into
hitting him with a projectile from the club. How little man progresses in
some ways.
> Another was the combustible engine.
IMO, we were better off riding horses. Less pollution, less exhausting of
vital resources, and keeps friends living closer together.
And I think it will be that we until everything goes solar...
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Author: toolytooly Date: Apr 7, 2008 23:23
"Sir Frederick" fuzzysys.com> wrote in message
news:e1llv39nlfoi4aq22h8nerf2r34ljtteap@4ax.com...> On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 21:48:07 -0400, "tooly" bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>>>
>>
>>Controlling explosions seems to be at the crux of developing technology.
>>Gunpowder was certainly a major stepping stone that changed the world.
>>Another was the combustible engine. These are two things that history too
>>often treats as footnotes, and yet, think of how the world would be if
>>neither of these existed.
>>
> And consider space exploration without the explosions in rocketry
> on the way up out of the gravity well and atmosphere sea.
> The ion engines powered by electricity once in open space are
> interesting (but they are quite weak).
I seem to be rediscovering Carl Sagan recently, and I'm reminded of his use
of civilization classification by their ability to harness energy. He used
the Kardashev scale to describe civilizations in...
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Author: tgtg Date: Apr 8, 2008 03:34
On Apr 7, 6:40 pm, Sir Frederick fuzzysys.com> wrote:
Wha? There was no infantry before gunpowder? I guess this is one of
those parallel earth fantasies or something.
-tg
> a Revolutionary War
> reenactment at Fort Ward Historic Site in Alexandria, Virginia.
>
> Ironically, it was a quest for immortality that led to the invention of the deadliest weapon before the arrival...
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Author: Sir FrederickSir Frederick Date: Apr 8, 2008 05:02
On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 03:34:53 -0700 (PDT), tg earthlink.net> wrote:
>On Apr 7, 6:40 pm, Sir Frederick fuzzysys.com> wrote:>
>Wha? There was no infantry before gunpowder? I guess this is one of
>those parallel earth fantasies or something.
>
>-tg
>
>
Looks like she might have an agenda to grind. Kind of naive.
I thought the history and immortality connection interesting.
Just commenting from one or more of those parallel places.
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