In the last class we talked about the earliest use of rocketry, dating from about 2000 BC, and extending up to 1900. The rockets of this time used gunpowder. The origin of gunpowder dates back more than four thousand years. To make a firecracker, you pack this mixture into a tightly rolled tube of cardboard, or paper, insert a fuse, and seal the ends.
Sulfur is one of the essential minerals of life, and has long been prescribed for various ailments.
As we noted, saltpeter is made up of one atom of potassium, one atom of nitrogen, and three of oxygen. The key ingredient to oxidation is oxygen . Potassium nitrate is a very rich source of oxygen. In gunpowder, due to the abundance of oxygen, the carbon and sulfur burn very quickly. Because the potassium nitrate supplies the oxygen, gunpowder will burn in a vacuum, or inside a tightly wound tube of cardboard.