who invented black powder?
Origins. It is unclear where the first use of black powder, also known as gunpowder, occurred. Black powder was known as gunpowder until its replacement by smokeless powder. After that, smokeless powder began to be called gunpowder and black powder began to be known as black powder. For many years, experts believed that the Chinese were the first to develop black powder. It was also thought that they used black powder as a propellant by the 10th century. Recent research revealed inconclusively that black powder might actually have been developed earlier in Arabia.