Gunpowder?

[dampfpanzerwagon]

Help.

Is the Gunpowder/Black Powder used in cannons, the same as that used for Flintlocks or is it different?

Thanks

Tony

[YPU]

I have no idea, but I am interested in knowing the answer.

[CaptainBigglesmay]

Its the same, the only different types of power is the coarseness of the grain, which was fine for priming the piece and course/anything for the main charge. By the age of the big battalions tho', most of it is high quality fine powder and so the same for all pieces.

[Mitch K]

A colleague of mine was a gunner in some sort of re-enactment group, and apparently even if the quality of the powder was always the same by the age of big battalions, grain size WAS variable. Small grain powder burns faster, which fine in muskets/pistols etc, but is a bad idea in cannon apparently because the power impulse is too fast and splits the barrel - which obviously isn't a very desirable thing at all 

[Sangennaru]

A colleague of mine was a gunner in some sort of re-enactment group, and apparently even if the quality of the powder was always the same by the age of big battalions, grain size WAS variable. Small grain powder burns faster, which fine in muskets/pistols etc, but is a bad idea in cannon apparently because the power impulse is too fast and splits the barrel - which obviously isn't a very desirable thing at all  

Even if doesn't break anything, you've a strong impulse due to the expansion, but it doesn't last till the ball reaches the end of the barrel, so the energy transferred to the ball is much less than with a steady constant force applied.

A rocket headed to the moon cannot just explode its fuel to reach the same position, it has to burn it during the whole path. For the cannon ball, the path ends at the end of the barrel, but the concept is pretty much the same.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

Thank you for all the comments.

I was wondering is a barrel of Black Powder intended for a cannon could be used for a flintlock or the other way around.

I do remember a couple of story lines in Sharpe (the TV series) where Powder was discussed.

Tony

[katie]

I believe you can grind the corns down to make the finer powder for muskets, although it's a bit dangerous so you'd be wanting to do it in small amounts (which will make a flash-and-a-pop rather than shredding you).

ISTR making the corns from the fine powder is more involved and requires a long drying process.