How Pee Helped Win the Revolutionary War (Maybe...) - July 4th Special Episode

Reactions Science Videos | June 25, 2019

Old school gunpowder is really called “black powder,” and it was so crucial to the Revolutionary War effort that we went to great (and gross) lengths to try and make it. This week on Reactions, find out what exactly those lengths were.


Sources:

Chemistry of Pyrotechnics: Basic Principles and Theory

How Gunpowder Changed the World

The chemistry behind a firework explosion

Chemist explains the science behind fireworks

The Chemistry of Gunpowder

How Fireworks Became a Fourth of July Tradition

Black and Smokeless Powders

The Gunpowder Shortage

China's Age of Invention

The Raid on Bermuda That Saved the American Revolution

From Gunpowder to Teeth Whitener: The Science Behind Historic Uses of Urine

Why does gunpowder explode when lit?

Remember, remember the 5th of November; gunpowder, particles and smog

Black powder

What is Gunpowder?

Gun Cotton and Collodion

A Short History Of Nitroglycerine And Nitric Oxide In Pharmacology And Physiology

Alfred Nobel’s dynamite companies

THEORY OF EXPLOSIVES

NCJRS Abstract

Instructions for the Manufacture of Saltpetre

Black Powder

Nitrate Reduction to Nitrite, Nitric Oxide and Ammonia by Gut Bacteria under Physiological Conditions

Ever wonder why dogs sniff each others' butts? Or how Adderall works? Or whether it's OK to pee in the pool? We've got you covered: Reactions a web series about the chemistry that surrounds you every day.

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