Читать книгу Pyrotechnics. The History and Art of Firework Making онлайн
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A. St. H. BROCK.
Sutton,
August, 1922.
ERRATA
Page 117 line 13 for “filled” read “fitted”
„ 133 „ 8 „ “and” „ “at”
„ 153, 154 for “Hume” read “Hime”
PART I
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CHAPTER I
THE ORIGIN OF PYROTECHNY
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Pyrotechny, or the Art of Firework-making, is of great antiquity, and the date of its origin is quite unknown; indeed, it would be impossible to define with any degree of exactitude what actually constitutes a firework.
It is curious how universal is the belief that fireworks were dependent upon the invention or discovery of gunpowder. Very little consideration will prove the fallacy of this view; in fact, will show that the reverse is probably the case. In India and China saltpetre (or nitrate of potash) is found in large quantities, and was, no doubt, used by the primitive inhabitants in far-off times for such purposes as curing meat, cooking, etc. The dropping of a quantity in the camp fire may have attracted the attention of some early inventor to the extent of starting him on a series of what were probably the earliest chemical experiments.