The Chemistry of Warfare

Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the

Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Weapons
Handheld weapons can be divided into three groups:
- Simple shock weapons, Rocks, knives, clubs, swords, axes, etc.
- Missiles or projectiles that use muscle power. Spears, javelin, slingshot, bow and arrow,
etc.
- Mechanically powered missiles or projectiles. Trebuchet, catapult, crossbow, etc.
Conventional weapons use explosive chemical power to propel projectiles. Rifles, pistols,
muskets, cannons, etc. Involve chemical reactions that produce rapidly expanding gases. Do
not directly involve the nuclei of the atoms.
There are two types of nonconventional weapons:
- Nuclear reaction weapons. Fission of nuclei of atoms of uranium or plutonium (e.g., atomic
bombs), and fusion of hydrogen nuclei to form helium nuclei, releasing energy (e.g.,
thermonuclear or hydrogen bombs).
- Poisonous chemical weapons that do not depend on explosive reactions. Sarin nerve gas,
mustard and phosgene gases, etc. Biological weapons are harmful organisms that cause
severe illness to the enemy. Bacteria, viruses, and toxins that cause smallpox, anthrax,
plague, etc.
Body armor
There are four basic types of body armor: leather/cloth, chain mail, scale armor, and full
body armor. The first armor was discovered in Chine in the 5th century BCE. The Chinese
developed a special type of leather armor that was coated with lacquer, making it
impenetrable. The Chinese also developed a cloth armor made of paper from the mulberry
tree. The Aztecs wore quilted suits made of cotton that were about 1 inch thick to defend
against the Spanish invasion. They soaked the suits in salt brine to harden them (a method
probably learned from the Mayans in the 10th century CE. Improved metallurgy
revolutionized the armor-making industry. Metal scale armor replaced scales made of bone,
wood, and horn. The use of metals, such as brass, and later iron, was not widely favored due
to the lack of mobility that metal plates provided. This was partially solved by the
introduction of chain mail armor, which consisted of chained metal rings sewn over tunics
made of cloth or leather. Following the development of full body armor made of metal plates
around the 14th century, chain mail armor was sometimes worn under the joints between
plates for increased protection. Eventually, only chain mail would be used for the arms for
increased mobility. By the late middle ages, metallurgy improved so that stronger and
smaller rings could be used for chain mail armor, increasing effectiveness as well as
mobility. Smaller pieces of chain mail armor could also be created, such as gloves and
helmets.
The reintroduction of gunpowder in the renaissance and the middle ages, as well as
improved handheld conventional weapons, made war much more distant and less personal,
diminishing the importance of personal armor. Chain mail armor could only provide
adequate protection against slashing swords, and the use of gunpowder in firearms was
increasing rapidly. Large, weighted armor could protect from bullets or grenades, but only at
the expense of the mobility of those wearing it. Mobility was crucial because the distant
nature of gun warfare required frequent movement to dodge enemy fire. Therefore, armor
became less beneficial because defense became less about being able to take a hit and
more about getting out of the way.
It is generally accepted that gunpowder was first invented in about 850 CE by the Chinese.
Although its main use was for fireworks and ceremonies, the Chinese used their invention to
develop the fire lance, a type of flame thrower mounted on a wheeled cart, and a type of
grenade that was later developed by Islamic forces to fight the Christian crusaders. Fire
lances were not entirely guns, since the charge and projectiles were not standardized.
Bullets had not been invented. The early fire lance resembled the Roman candle, which is
a tube that shoots out short-range blazes of fire. Over centuries, the fire lance was improved
so that it could shoot out rocks or broken pottery. The technology would only reach Europe
450 years later after the fire lances invention. By the late 13th century, the Chinese had also
invented bombs that explode upon impact with the ground, and that could be launched
several hundred feet. The bombs were composed of over 75% saltpeter. The Chinese were
also the creators of the first prototype cannon, which was small and used a long bamboo
tube. The Europeans assigned an entirely different role to gunpowder following its spread
Westward. While the Chineses main use for gunpowder was for ceremonial purposes, the
Europeans placed much more emphasis on its destructive properties. After the technology
behind cannons spread West, the Europeans made multiple improvements on the design, at
first using spears as standardized projectiles, and ultimately creating larger, bronze cannons
that fired cannonballs in the early 14th century. In the 15th century, the Chinese then
developed cannons made of cast iron called eruptors, which launched explosive
cannonballs into fortresses. By the 16th century, cannons had spread to the Moghal and
Ottoman empires, as well as other parts of the Middle East. The cannons that the Turks
used in their recapture of Constantinople in 1453 were so large that they had to be cast and
assembled on-site since they could not be moved once formed.
Greek fire was an offensive and defensive weapon invented in the area of Greece. The
medieval world made it into a siege weapon to burn down wooden fortresses via trebuchet.
The exact ingredients in Greek fire are unknown, but it is most probable that the weapon
was composed of purified alkali earth metals, or group I metals, named for their position in
the periodic table of the elements. Pure alkali earth metals (lithium, sodium, and potassium
in this case, most likely) engage in a spontaneous combustion reaction with water, creating
a flame that can only be smothered with sand to cut off oxygen supply from the surrounding
air. The crusaders in 1204 CE may have used Greek fire in their defeat of Constantinople.
The Turks used Greek fire in 1453 CE in their own attack on Constantinople. The idea of
Greek fire continues into the modern era. In WWII, versions of Greek fire were used in flame
throwers, as well as in napalm, a significant weapon in the Vietnam War. More recently,
Greek fire was used to clear out caves in search of terrorists in the United States conflict
with Afghanistan.

A Little History of Science

Some of the best Chinese chemists were Taoists who lived sometime between the fourth
and sixth century CE. The chemistry that they could perform was advanced and
sophisticated for their time, including distillation of substances such as alcohol and
extraction of copper from solutions. They invented the recipe for the first chemical explosive,
gunpowder, made from sulphur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. It is not entirely clear how
the recipe for gunpowder spread to Europe, but there are descriptions of gunpowder in
Europe as early as the 1280s.