1800 Cannons

1800 Cannons-

In the 18th century, India became a large exporter of nitrates, a trade controlled by the English and the Dutch, and European production ceased, since the Indian saltpetre was much cheaper. Nitrates are now obtained by oxidizing ammonia, which is synthesized directly from atmospheric nitrogen by the Haber process. A chemical equation for the reaction occurring when gunpowder explodes is 2KNO3 + S + 3C = K2S + N2 + 3CO2, but in actuality the reaction is much more complicated.

The propellent gunpowder was the essential requisite for using a cannon, and it is not something that is easily made, nor found by accident. When gunpowder explodes, it increases in volume about 4000 times at normal pressure, so the effect is to produce a highly compressed gas behind the cannonball in a very short time. The products are 40% gaseous, and 60% solid.

Cannon's in the 1800s were mostly used in the many wars fought in Great Britian but they became a big hit on the pirate ships that were supposedly "prowling" the Indian Seas during this time.