Brief History of Black Powder

The story of explosives begins with black powder, used by the world’s major civilizations for six centuries. Until about 1840, it was the only known explosive substance. Production of this mixture of potassium nitrate (“saltpetre”), sulfur and charcoal is straightforward, if moderately dangerous. Raw materials are pulverized and mixed. The resulting mixture is then rolled or pressed into cakes. The cakes are broken into grains for final polishing, drying and blending for specific applications such as blasting or munitions.  For safety, production was in small batches, typically located close to the points of use. Numerous rudimentary black powder “mills”, operated by hardy proprietors, served local markets such as a mining district or a munitions factory. With few economies of scale and no incentives for innovation, explosives manufacture was a pre-industrial activity.