Gunpowder /

Few substances in history have had as profound an effect on mankind as gunpowder. And yet its discovery was probably an accident--a big bang, for one. This program examines the invention and history of gunpowder, as well as its surprising ingredients. As you can imagine, making gunpowder takes some...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors:	Low, Karan (Director), Smith, Grub (Narrator), Soeteman, Mimi (Director, Producer), Thean-Jeje, Lee (Director)
Format:	Video
Language:	English
Language Notes:	This edition in English.
Published:	Melbourne, Victoria : Looking Glass International, 2011.
Series:	Quirky science ; Series 1, Episode 13 VAST: academic video online
Subjects:	Gunpowder > History. Gunpowder Documentaries and Factual Films Alexander Street Video. documentary film. Documentary films History Documentary films. Documentaires.
Online Access:	Connect to this streaming video (Alexander Street Press)

Description
Summary:	Few substances in history have had as profound an effect on mankind as gunpowder. And yet its discovery was probably an accident--a big bang, for one. This program examines the invention and history of gunpowder, as well as its surprising ingredients. As you can imagine, making gunpowder takes some effort. Gunpowder once needed saltpeter, and saltpeter needed poop. It turns out that secretions have such an explosive character due to microscopic bacteria, which produce the nitrates as byproducts of digestion. How did the man who founded the Nobel Peace Prize revolutionize gunpowder? And is gunpowder about to be replaced? Part of the series Quirky Science.
Item Description:	Title from resource description page (viewed July 1, 2014).
Physical Description:	1 online resource (24 min.).
Playing Time:	00:24:48