Gunpowder
['gʌnpaʊdə] or ['ɡʌnpaʊdɚ]
Definition
(noun.) a mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur in a 75:15:10 ratio which is used in gunnery, time fuses, and fireworks.
Checker: Velma--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A black, granular, explosive substance, consisting of an intimate mechanical mixture of niter, charcoal, and sulphur. It is used in gunnery and blasting.
Typist: Phil
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. An agency employed by civilized nations for the settlement of disputes which might become troublesome if left unadjusted. By most writers the invention of gunpowder is ascribed to the Chinese but not upon very convincing evidence. Milton says it was invented by the devil to dispel angels with and this opinion seems to derive some support from the scarcity of angels. Moreover it has the hearty concurrence of the Hon. James Wilson Secretary of Agriculture.
Inputed by Huntington
Unserious Contents or Definition
A black substance much employed in marking the boundary lines of nations.
Inputed by Dustin
Examples
- This was accomplished by fastening a charge of gunpowder in such a way that when exploded it would break the partition and mix the solutions. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Alexandre Manette, said Defarge in his ear, following the letters with his swart forefinger, deeply engrained with gunpowder. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- He proposed to use gunpowder gas as the motive power. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- They are made pleasant to some, but I would more rather give my boys gunpowder to play with than this bad trash. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- I made use of a compound more powerful than gunpowder destined perhaps at some time to change the nature of war and influence the state of soc iety. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The bounties upon the exportation of British made sail-cloth, and British made gunpowder, may, perhaps, both be vindicated upon this principle. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- But his first experiments at exploding the gunpowder at a definite moment failed. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- In the early part of the Nineteenth Century there were but few improvements in either the composition or manufacture of gunpowder. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- We do not know when cannon first appeared, but it may have been soon after the discovery of gunpowder in Europe. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- But touch her on the children--or myself--and she's off like gunpowder. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Gunpowder consists of about 75 parts of saltpetre (nitrate of potash), 15 of charcoal, and 10 of sulphur, the proportions varying somewhat with the use to which it is to be applied. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Mrs. Snagsby silently lays trains of gunpowder. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- The regulation and control of the action of gunpowder in such a manner as to exert less strain upon the gun, and to impart more energy to the projectile. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- In December, 1797, Fulton had interested his friend Barlow in a machine intended to drive carcasses of gunpowder under water. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- They are sometimes credited with introducing to the West the knowledge of the mariner's compass and of gunpowder. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
Typist: Ollie