To fire the gun, you cocked a hammer all the way back and pulled the gun's trigger. The trigger released the hammer, which swung forward onto the explosive cap. The cap ignited, shooting a small flame down a tube to the gunpowder. The gunpowder exploded, launching the ball out of the barrel. Check out How Flintlock Guns Work for more information on these weapons. In the s, the percussion-cap gun slowly gave way to the revolver, which only had to be reloaded every five or six shots instead of after each shot.
In the next section, we'll see how this system works. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Prev NEXT. A percussion-cap gun left and a flintlock gun right , two important steps on the way to modern firearms.
Cite This! Print Citation. Try Our Sudoku Puzzles! Starting from the Tang or the beginning of the Song, small packages of gunpowder wrapped in paper or bamboo were attached to arrows, which marked the first use of gunpowder in war see the illustration at left.
These would be lit with a fuse of some kind, so that the arrow became an incendiary, intended to set targets afire. In the group of projectiles at left, the different styles correspond to two different types of javelin-propulsion methods. Note the arrow with the gunpowder chamber. Whip-arrows source. Two crucial innovations were needed before the Chinese developed rockets propelled by gunpowder. First, the idea of a counter-balance had to be conceived. A counter-balance would allow the rocket to move on a straight trajectory.
The second innovation was a hole bored into the exact center of the gunpowder in the missile tube. This would allow the gunpowder to burn evenly and provide efficient thrust. This process of boring into the gunpowder was extremely dangerous. Both of these developments occurred during the 12th and 13th centuries. Evidence of the first bronze hand-held gun dates to the early Yuan dynasty, but metal barrels were used as early as the Tang dynasty for fire lances that propelled gunpowder bombs intended to burn targets.
At left is the earliest excavated gun, from the early Yuan dynasty. A wooden tube would have been inserted in the wide mouth for extra range. The gun was mounted on a wooden housing. Can you think of any similarities between this gun barrel and the "arrows" pictured above? The earliest known bronze gun, ca. During the Song, smoke bombs, incendiary bombs, gunpowder grenades, and the usual shrapnel objects such as rocks were used in siege warfare. Hemp or cotton would be soaked in oil, ignited, and catapulted outward.
Bombs made of iron shells resembling gourds in shape could shatter a city wall. Gunpowder bombs were a mixture of gunpowder and shrapnel such as charcoal and iron scraps. The range of such "firing balls," or bombs, could be from ten to a hundred yards.
The Essentials of the Military Arts also lists the formula of a gas bomb, which could contain poisonous elements. This would have been used in tunnel warfare, a significant aspect of siege activity. It was also in the 13 th century that bombs started to be used as land mines. Of the different types of bombs discussed above, which ones are pictured here? Raised "flower" and ball bombs source The "thunderbolt-ball," right, was a package of gunpowder and iron scraps attached to a bamboo core.
A small amount of gunpowder left outside the ball would explode the contents inside. Can you visualize which of the bomb types would be best to use in the "whirlwind catapult"? Can you think of any other methods that could transport a bomb? Non-explosive smoke bombs had been in use since antiquity. Pictured above to the right is an example of a "thunderclap" bomb of the eleventh century.
This one, known as the "bamboo fire hawk," had gunpowder and small stones wrapped inside bamboo and hay. Why would the gunpowder mixture be wrapped in hay?
While Europe, by , had a single-acting force-pump contraption that could spurt flames, much like a syringe shoots liquids, it was not a true flame-thrower. For a true flame-thrower a continuous streaming of flames has to be achieved. The Chinese were able to do this by the use of a double-action piston-bellow, which would force the kerosene out of the barrel on both the forward and backward strokes of the pump handle.
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