Original Development
The prevailing academic consensus is that gunpowder was formulated in the 9th century by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality. By the time the Song Dynasty treatise, Wujing Zongyao (武经总要), was written by Zeng Gongliang and Yang Weide in AD 1044, the various Chinese formulas for gunpowder held levels of nitrate in the range of 27% to 50%. By the end of the 12th century, Chinese formulas of gunpowder had a level of nitrate capable of bursting through cast iron metal containers, in the form of the earliest hollow, gunpowder-filled grenade bombs.
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Formula for gunpowder in 1044 Wujing zongyao part I vol 12
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Instruction for fire bomb in Wujing zongyao
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Fire grenade
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Fire birds
- 武经总要 火球图.jp fire bomb
Read more about this topic: History Of Gunpowder
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