The deadly irony of gunpowder - Eric Rosado
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0:10 - 0:12Everybody loves fireworks --
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0:12 - 0:13the lights, the colors,
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0:13 - 0:15and, of course, the big boom.
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0:15 - 0:17But the history of fireworks
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0:17 - 0:19isn't all hugs and celebrations.
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0:19 - 0:21Long before epic fireworks displays,
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0:21 - 0:24chemists in China invented the key ingredient
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0:24 - 0:27that propels those bright lights into the sky.
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0:27 - 0:30That invention was what we now call gunpowder.
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0:30 - 0:33Our story begins back in ancient China
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0:33 - 0:34in the mid-ninth century
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0:34 - 0:36where early Chinese alchemists
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0:36 - 0:40were trying to create a potion for immortality.
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0:40 - 0:43Instead, what they created was a flammable powder
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0:43 - 0:45that burned down many of their homes.
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0:45 - 0:48They quickly realized that this black powder,
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0:48 - 0:49which they called fire medicine,
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0:49 - 0:52was precisely the opposite of something
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0:52 - 0:53that would make you live forever.
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0:53 - 0:55In these early days,
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0:55 - 0:57the Chinese hadn't yet figured out
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0:57 - 0:59how to make the powder explode;
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0:59 - 1:00it was simply very flammable,
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1:00 - 1:02and their armies used it
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1:02 - 1:03to make flaming arrows
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1:03 - 1:04and even a flamethrower.
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1:04 - 1:06But once they figured out the right proportions
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1:06 - 1:08of ingredients to create a blast,
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1:08 - 1:11they began using the powder even more,
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1:11 - 1:14creating fireworks to keep evil spirits away
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1:14 - 1:15and bombs to defend themselves
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1:15 - 1:18against Mongol invaders.
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1:18 - 1:20It was these Mongols, most likely,
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1:20 - 1:22who spread the invention of gunpowder
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1:22 - 1:23across the world.
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1:23 - 1:25After fielding Chinese attacks,
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1:25 - 1:27they learned how to produce the powder themselves
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1:27 - 1:28and brought it with them
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1:28 - 1:31on their conquests in Persia and India.
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1:31 - 1:32William of Rubruck,
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1:32 - 1:34a European ambassador to the Mongols,
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1:34 - 1:37was likely responsible for bringing gunpowder
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1:37 - 1:39back to Europe around 1254.
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1:39 - 1:43From there, engineers and military inventors
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1:43 - 1:44created all kinds of destructive weapons.
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1:44 - 1:47From bombs to guns to cannons,
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1:47 - 1:49gunpowder left its mark on the world
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1:49 - 1:51in some pretty terrible ways,
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1:51 - 1:53in contrast to the beautiful marks
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1:53 - 1:55it can leave in the air.
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1:55 - 1:56So, how does black powder propel
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1:56 - 1:58fireworks into the sky?
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1:58 - 2:01You might have seen old Westerns or cartoons
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2:01 - 2:02where a trail of gunpowder is lit
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2:02 - 2:06and it leads to a large and obviously explosive barrel.
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2:06 - 2:07Once the fire gets to the barrel,
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2:07 - 2:09a large boom occurs.
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2:09 - 2:12But why doesn't the trail itself explode?
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2:12 - 2:14The reason is that burning the powder
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2:14 - 2:16releases energy and gases.
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2:16 - 2:18While the trail is burning,
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2:18 - 2:21these are easily released into the surrounding air.
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2:21 - 2:22But when the gunpowder
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2:22 - 2:23is contained within the barrel,
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2:23 - 2:26the energy and gases cannot easily escape
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2:26 - 2:28and build up until
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2:28 - 2:29BOOM!
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2:30 - 2:31Firework canisters provide
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2:31 - 2:33a single, upward-facing outlet
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2:33 - 2:36to channel this explosive energy.
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2:36 - 2:37The wick ignites the gunpowder
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2:37 - 2:38and the energy takes
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2:38 - 2:40the easiest exit from the canister,
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2:40 - 2:43launching the firework high into the sky.
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2:43 - 2:44The flame then makes its way
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2:44 - 2:46through the firework's encasing
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2:46 - 2:47and the same reaction occurs
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2:47 - 2:49high above our heads.
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2:49 - 2:51So, while the Chinese alchemists
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2:51 - 2:53never found the compound for eternal life,
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2:53 - 2:54they did find something
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2:54 - 2:57that would go on to shape all of civilization,
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2:57 - 2:58something that has caused
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2:58 - 3:00many tragic moments in human history,
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3:00 - 3:02and yet still gives us hope
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3:02 - 3:03when we look up in celebration
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3:03 - 3:06at the colorful night sky.
- Title:
- The deadly irony of gunpowder - Eric Rosado
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-deadly-irony-of-gunpowder-eric-rosado
In the mid-ninth century, Chinese chemists, hard at work on an immortality potion, instead invented gunpowder. They soon found that this highly inflammable powder was far from an elixir of life -- they put it to use in bombs against Mongol invaders, and the rest was history. Eric Rosado details how gunpowder has caused devastation around the world, despite the incandescent beauty of fireworks.
Lesson by Eric Rosado, animation by Zedem Media.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 03:25
TED edited English subtitles for The deadly irony of gunpowder - Eric Rosado | ||
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Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for The deadly irony of gunpowder - Eric Rosado | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The deadly irony of gunpowder - Eric Rosado | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The deadly irony of gunpowder - Eric Rosado | ||
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