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Caplock
The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise to the cap lock mechanism or percussion lock system using percussion caps struck by the hammer to set off the gunpowder charge in percussion guns including percussion rifles and cap and ball firearms. Any firearm using a caplock mechanism is a percussion gun. Any long gun with a cap-lock mechanism and rifled barrel is a percussion rifle. Cap and ball describes cap-lock firearms discharging a single bore-diameter spherical bullet with each shot. Description The percussion cap is a small cylinder of copper or brass with one closed end. Inside the closed end is a small amount of a explosive material#Primary explosive, shock-sensitive explosive material such as mercury(II) fulminate, mercuric fulminate (discovered in 1800; it was the only prac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breech-loading Weapon
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech-loading – except for replicas of vintage weapons. Early firearms before the mid-19th century were almost entirely muzzle-loading. Mortars and the Russian GP-25 grenade launcher are the only muzzleloaders remaining in frequent modern usage. However, referring to a weapon specifically as breech loading is mostly limited to single-shot or otherwise non-repeating firearms, such as double-barreled shotguns. Breech-loading provides the advantage of reduced reloading time, because it is far quicker to load the projectile and propellant into the chamber of a gun/cannon than to reach all the way over to the front end to load ammunition and then push them back down a long tube – especially when the projectile fits tightly and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make the portable fire lance, operable by a single person, which was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the Siege of De'an in 1132. In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into the metal-barreled hand cannon. The technology gradually spread throughout Eurasia during the 14th century. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms (with the notable exception of smoothbore shotguns) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability. Modern firearms can be described by their caliber ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flintlock
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the ''flintlock mechanism, true flintlock'', that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock, the wheellock, and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as snaplock and snaphaunce. The true flintlock continued to be in common use for over two centuries, replaced by percussion cap and, later, the Cartridge (firearms), cartridge-based systems in the early-to-mid 19th century. Although long superseded by modern firearms, flintlock weapons enjoy continuing popularity with Black powder, black-powder shooting enthusiasts. History French court gunsmith Marin le Bourgeoys made a firearm incorporating a flintlock mechanism for King Louis XIII of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flintlock Mechanism
The flintlock mechanism is a type of lock (firearm), lock used on muskets, rifles, and pistols from the early 17th to the mid-19th century. It is commonly referred to as a "flintlock" (without the word ''mechanism''), though that term is also commonly used for the weapons themselves as a whole, and not just the lock mechanism. The flintlock mechanism, also known as the true flintlock, was developed in France in the early 17th century. It quickly replaced earlier technologies, such as the matchlock and wheellock and the earlier flintlocks. It continued to be in common use for over two centuries, until it was finally replaced by the percussion lock. History Flintlock firing mechanisms made their appearance in the 16th century in the form of the snaplock, the snaphance, the miquelet, and the doglock. The so-called ''true flintlock'' was developed in France in the early 17th century. Though its exact origins are not known, credit for the development of the true flintlock is usually gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hammer (firearms)
The hammer is a part of a firearm that is used to strike the percussion cap/primer, or a separate firing pin, to ignite the propellant and fire the projectile. It is so called due to the fact that it resembles a hammer in both form and function. The hammer itself is a metal piece that forcefully rotates about a pivot point. Evolution Firearms, initially known as "hand cannons", first became a viable weapon in 1364 through the advancement of chemical technologies to create a gunpowder efficient enough to launch a projectile at high speeds in a hand-held weapon. The issue quickly arose of how to effectively ignite the gunpowder while maintaining the weapon’s aim at the target. Initially, the problem was solved by using a "slow match": a chemically treated piece of rope that would stay lit for an extended period of time. The smoldering end of the rope would then be manually brought into contact with the gunpowder through a touch hole in the barrel of the weapon. when the user ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chlorate Of Potash
Potassium chlorate is a compound containing potassium, chlorine and oxygen, with the molecular formula KClO3. In its pure form, it is a white crystalline substance. After sodium chlorate, it is the second most common chlorate in industrial use. It is a strong oxidizing agent and its most important application is in safety matches. In other applications it is mostly obsolete and has been replaced by safer alternatives in recent decades. It has been used * in fireworks, propellants and explosives, * to prepare oxygen, both in the lab and in chemical oxygen generators, * as a disinfectant, for example in medical mouthwashes, * in agriculture as an herbicide. Production On the industrial scale, potassium chlorate is produced by the salt metathesis reaction of sodium chlorate and potassium chloride: : NaClO3 + KCl → NaCl + KClO3 The reaction is driven by the low solubility of potassium chlorate in water. The equilibrium of the reaction is shifted to the right hand side by the continuo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belhelvie
Belhelvie ( gd, Baile Shealbhaigh) is a small village and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland.Belhelvie. . The parish has a population of 3,802, of which 1,653 are in the village. The history of the parish is available online.. Murdoch and A. Grosjean, Belhelvie, 2000> The churchyard contains a notable example of a used against the activities of bodysnatchers in the early 19th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander John Forsyth
Alexander John Forsyth (28 December 1768 – 11 June 1843) was a Scottish Church of Scotland minister who first successfully used fulminating (or 'detonating') chemicals to prime gunpowder in fire-arms thereby creating what became known as percussion ignition. Life He was born in the manse at Belhelvie the son of Rev James Forsyth (d.1790), and his wife, Isabella Syme. He studied at King's College, Aberdeen graduating MA in 1786. He succeeded his father as minister of his home town in 1791. Forsyth took out a British patent for locks utilising fulminates in 1807. Despite the patent being in force, several British gunsmiths, most notably Joseph Manton, invented other forms of detonating gunlocks ignition in order to evade Forsyth's patent, which would not expire until 1821. Forsyth continually protected his patent between 1807 and 1821 in Britain with legal action. He fought cases against Joseph Egg, Collinson Hall, Isaac Riviere, Joseph Vicars, and Joseph Manton (twice). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow, crystalline solid at room temperature. Sulfur is the tenth most abundant element by mass in the universe and the fifth most on Earth. Though sometimes found in pure, native form, sulfur on Earth usually occurs as sulfide and sulfate minerals. Being abundant in native form, sulfur was known in ancient times, being mentioned for its uses in ancient India, ancient Greece, China, and ancient Egypt. Historically and in literature sulfur is also called brimstone, which means "burning stone". Today, almost all elemental sulfur is produced as a byproduct of removing sulfur-containing contaminants from natural gas and petroleum.. Downloahere The greatest commercial use of the element is the production o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Charles Howard
Edward Charles Howard FRS (28 May 1774 – 28 September 1816) the youngest brother of Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk, was a British chemist who has been described as "the first chemical engineer of any eminence." Career In January 1799 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 1800 awarded their Copley medal for his work on mercury. He discovered mercury fulminate, a powerful primary explosive. In 1813 he invented a method of refining sugar which involved boiling the cane juice not in an open kettle, but in a closed vessel heated by steam and held under partial vacuum. At reduced pressure, water boils at a lower temperature, and so Howard's development both saved fuel and reduced the amount of sugar lost through caramelisation. The invention, known as Howard's vacuum pan, is still in use. Howard also was interested in the composition of meteorites especially those of " natural iron". He found that many of these contained an alloy of nickel and iron that was no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fulminate
Fulminates are chemical compounds which include the fulminate ion (). The fulminate ion is a pseudohalic ion because its charge and reactivity are similar to those of the halogens. Due to the instability of the ion, fulminate salts are friction-sensitive explosives. The best known is mercury(II) fulminate, which has been used as a primary explosive in detonators. Fulminates can be formed from metals, such as silver and mercury, dissolved in nitric acid and reacted with ethanol. The weak single nitrogen-oxygen bond is responsible for their instability. Nitrogen very easily forms a stable triple bond to another nitrogen atom, forming nitrogen gas. Historical notes Fulminates were discovered by Edward Charles Howard in 1800. The use of fulminates for firearms was first demonstrated by a Scottish minister, Alexander John Forsyth, who patented his scent-bottle lock in 1807; this was a small container filled with fulminate of mercury. Joshua Shaw determined how to encapsulate them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheellock
A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name is from its rotating steel wheel to provide ignition. Developed in Europe around 1500, it was used alongside the matchlock and later the snaplock (1540s), the snaphance (1560s) and the flintlock (c. 1610s). Design The wheellock works by spinning a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate intense sparks, which ignite gunpowder in a pan, which flashes through a small touchhole to ignite the main charge in the firearm's barrel. The pyrite is clamped in vise jaws on a spring-loaded arm (or 'dog'), which rests on the pan cover. When the trigger is pulled, the pan cover is opened, and the wheel is rotated, with the pyrite pressed into contact. A close modern analogy of the wheellock mechanism is the operation of a lighte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
