Epic of Saltpetre to Gunpowder
Indian Journal of History of Science, 40.4 (2005) 539-57 1 EPIC OF SALTPETRE TO GUNPOWDER (Received 17 March 2005) The article provides a very tentative contour of an epic which is yet to be written in completeness, even several details of which may not have been yet discovered. Whereas the development of the nuclear weapons has taken only a few decades of the 20th century, the epic of the development of saltpetre to gunpowder, and the associated knowledge proliferation across many countries, spanned over many centuries, in fact more than a millen- nium. The Chinese origin of this epic (with a faint Indian link) is more or less established. The story of guns and other firearms is outside the scope of this article. This dissertation highlights the contributions of eminent scholars like Needham, Sarton, Gode and lqtidar Alam Khan, and also emphasizes the cross-currents of the progress and clash of civilizations, as the grand saga went on unfolding itself over the ages. History of armament research and development inevitably ushers in the philosophical issue of ends and means in the human civilization. Key Words: Chinese gunpowder tradition, Firearms, Gunpowder, Indian gunpowder tradition, Pyrotechnics, Saltpetre, Transmission, Technical terms - Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Turkish, Urdu. The spirit of human civilization has never endorsed 'violence', and yet has encountered violence from the Nature, the animal world and diverse and hostile human traditions as facts of life, to be resisted by scientific knowledge and technological innovations. The knowledge regarding fire and its applica- tions, some of them catastrophic, cannot be unlearnt, even for the sake of the high ideals of peace and non-violence.
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