The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-07-19

Some thing About Burning and Gunpowder.
Did you ever know boy who didn't
like to fire fire-crackers, or to make bon
fires But what is it which really burns
and explodes?
There is gas called oxygen, and
when any substance unites with it we
say it has burned up.
But what makes the powder burn or
unite with the oxygen so much faster
than the wood in the bonfire2
In the first place, when the wood
burns where does it get its oxygen to
burn with2 "From the air." you say.
That is true, but when we put powder
into a gun and ram it down tight with
wads so that no air can get to it, where
does it obtain the oxygen to burn with
in that case2
1t gets it from itself. Gunpowder.
perhaps you know, is mixture of salt.
peter, charcoal, and sulphur, three. quart
ers of it being saltpeter. These sub
stances are all pulverized separately un-
til they are very fine indeed, when they
are very accurately mixed in certain pro-
portions. Now saltpeter is two-thirds
oxygen, and when gunpowder burns
this unites with the charcoal.
So you see that, when the powder is
made, there is enough oxygen put into
each little grain of it to burn that little
grain up, even though the air cannot get
to it.
Perhaps now you may be able 70 guess
why the powder burns so much faster
than the wood. If you think moment
you will see that it is only the outside
of the wood that can burn, as that is the
only part in contact with the oxygen in
the air. But in the gunpowder the oxy-
gen is evenly distributed all through it,
80 that when one grain is set on fire all
the powder flashes up at once.
1t is possible, however, to distribute
oxygen all through wood, so that it will
burn and explode at the touch of fire
like powder. We have only to grind
very Cry wood into very fine dust and
scatter 1t through the air. Each little
particle of dust is then surrounded by
oxygen enough to burn it, and a spark
may cause the whole mass of dust to ex-
plode. In Minneapolis, the other day,
some Touring mills blew up from this
very cause. The bran of grain is very
much like sawdust, and was scattered
through the mills in the form of very
fine dust. This, in some unaccountable
way, caught fire and exploded, blowing
the mills down, setting them on fire, and
killing many persons.
But, although gunpowder does burn
so very fast compared with wood in its
ordinary state, it takes some little time
for it to be consumed. Iron will burn
faster than powder does, and it can be
proved in this way: Take two saucers
and cover the bottoms with alcohol.
Now set the alcohol in each dish on fire,
and drop through the flame in one dish
gunpowder, and into the other very fine
iron filings. You will see that very lit.
tie OF the powder takes fire In going
through the alcohol fame, while the
most of the iron filings burn beautifully.
In fact, iron burns so readily that per.
fectly pure iron, when very finely pull
verified, must be kept in air-tight bot
ties, as the mere contact with the all
will cause it to ignite.
L suppose you wonder if iron burns sc
much quicker than gunpowder why they
don't use it in guns. The reason is tina
the product OF the buraing is very diff
, ferent. When iron burns or unites will
oxygen it forms solid like common rec
iron rust, but little larger than the iro1
before it was burned, while coal, Woo
or powder, when burned, produce gases
which occupy hundreds of times as mucl
space as they do. For instance, in loat
ing a gun we put into it say two tea
spoonfuls of powder; when we fire
those two teaspoonfuls of powder ar,
changed into nearly 1000 teaspoonful
OF gas.
Is it any wonder then, that the ball o
shot has to hurry out of the gun s,
quickly to make room for all this gas 8,
suddenly made i-New York Tribune