When was the gun invented

The Renaissance era saw the rise of the first guns in Western Europe, and they changed the face of warfare forever. This is their story of fire and steel.

Historical timeline of the development of modern weapons starting at with the first recorded use of a firearm and ending in with the introduction of automatic handguns. Before the matchlock, guns were fired by holding a burning wick to a "touch hole" in the barrel igniting the powder inside. A shooter uses one hand for firing, and a prop to steady the gun. The first device, or "lock," for mechanically firing a gun is the matchlock. Powder is held in a "flash pan," and ignited by a wick, or match, in a movable clamp.

When was the gun invented

A gun is a device designed to propel a projectile using pressure or explosive force. Solid projectiles may be free-flying as with bullets and artillery shells or tethered as with Tasers , spearguns and harpoon guns. A large- caliber gun is also called a cannon. The means of projectile propulsion vary according to designs, but are traditionally effected pneumatically by a high gas pressure contained within a barrel tube gun barrel , produced either through the rapid exothermic combustion of propellants as with firearms , or by mechanical compression as with air guns. The high-pressure gas is introduced behind the projectile, pushing and accelerating it down the length of the tube, imparting sufficient launch velocity to sustain its further travel towards the target once the propelling gas ceases acting upon it after it exits the muzzle. Alternatively, new-concept linear motor weapons may employ an electromagnetic field to achieve acceleration, in which case the barrel may be substituted by guide rails as in railguns or wrapped with magnetic coils as in coilguns. The first devices identified as guns or proto-guns appeared in China from around AD The origin of the English word gun is considered to derive from the name given to a particular historical weapon. Domina Gunilda was the name given to a remarkably large ballista , a mechanical bolt throwing weapon of enormous size, mounted at Windsor Castle during the 14th century. This name in turn may have derived from the Old Norse woman's proper name Gunnhildr which combines two Norse words referring to battle. The earliest recorded use of the term "gonne" was in a Latin document c. Other names for guns during this era were "schioppi" Italian translation-"thunderers" , and "donrebusse" Dutch translation-"thunder gun" which was incorporated into the English language as "blunderbuss". According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a gun could mean "a piece of ordnance usually with high muzzle velocity and comparatively flat trajectory," " a portable firearm," or "a device that throws a projectile. Gunpowder and firearm historian Kenneth Chase defines "firearms" and "guns" in his Firearms: A Global History to as "gunpowder weapons that use the explosive force of the gunpowder to propel a projectile from a tube: cannons, muskets, and pistols are typical examples. According to Tonio Andrade , a historian of gunpowder technology, a "true gun" is defined as a firearm which shoots a bullet that fits the barrel as opposed to one which does not, such as the shrapnel shooting fire lance.

This was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the Siege of De'an in These were loaded from the front with gunpowder and a lead ball. Gunpowder made its way to Europe in the 13th century, likely over the Silk Road trade route through Central Asia.

The invention of guns followed the development of the explosive black powder in China. The first guns were simple tubes from which to shoot explosive charges, but gradually they were made easier to load, aim, and fire. Guns revolutionized warfare and effectively ended the age of the armored knight and the castle stronghold. They have had a profound effect on human history. It was already being used in ninth-century China for making fireworks. Chinese books from as early as include recipes describing the necessary proportions of the three ingredients. The first primitive guns were probably bamboo tubes, fragile and ineffective firearms used in futile attempts to stop the Mongol invaders.

A gun is a device designed to propel a projectile using pressure or explosive force. Solid projectiles may be free-flying as with bullets and artillery shells or tethered as with Tasers , spearguns and harpoon guns. A large- caliber gun is also called a cannon. The means of projectile propulsion vary according to designs, but are traditionally effected pneumatically by a high gas pressure contained within a barrel tube gun barrel , produced either through the rapid exothermic combustion of propellants as with firearms , or by mechanical compression as with air guns. The high-pressure gas is introduced behind the projectile, pushing and accelerating it down the length of the tube, imparting sufficient launch velocity to sustain its further travel towards the target once the propelling gas ceases acting upon it after it exits the muzzle.

When was the gun invented

The history of firearms begins in 10th-century China , when tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make portable fire lances , [1] operable by one person. This was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the Siege of De'an in In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into metal-barreled hand cannons. The 19th and 20th centuries saw an acceleration in this evolution, with the introduction of the magazine , belt-fed weapons, metal cartridges , and the automatic firearm. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant , but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms have rifled barrels. The fire lance was a black-powder—filled tube attached to the end of a spear and used as a flamethrower different from older Greek fire -powered Byzantine flamethrower. Shrapnel was sometimes placed in the barrel so that it would fly out together with the flames. The proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximize its power.

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These arrows can be solid-tipped without explosives, or with explosives and incendiary materials placed behind the tip. The Invention of the Chronometer. Breach-loaded guns are dominant. The refinement of the art of powder-making resulted in much more powerful explosives, which were soon applied militarily as explosives and rocket propellants. During the early modern age , hand-held cannons evolved into the matchlock, wheellock , doglock , and flintlock rifle , respectively, followed by the breech loader and finally the automatic weapon. Most modern firearms have rifled barrels. Although the basic design dates back to the 17th century, revolvers only took off when Samuel Colt produced his version in JSTOR Mechanics and components. Retrieved February 21, from Encyclopedia.

The American Revolution was fought—and won—with guns, and the weapons have become ingrained in U. The origin of firearms began with gunpowder and its invention, mostly likely in China, more than 1, years ago. Historians estimate that as early as A.

June There is very little evidence for an independent invention of gunpowder weaponry in Western Europe. There are reports of soldiers adding homemade scopes onto their rifles but they were hard to zero and even harder to use effectively. What we might seriously consider as the first guns were hand-cannons that appeared in China in the late 13th century. June Reliability and accuracy made the Colt a favorite of soldiers and frontiersmen. This is similar to how the cannon was adapted into the hand cannon. This is an early ca. But in , President Lincoln test-fired a Spencer. Guns reached their "classic" form in the s. The then-reigning Song Dynasty was the first to have used gunpowder in warfare; they did so against the Mongols, whose constant invasions into the country plagued the Chinese throughout the period. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Whipps, Heather. This section needs additional citations for verification.