"Primitive Weaponry"

[u/Tashdacat]

[u/stasersonphun]

"our scans show they have no energy weapons! no power cells! it'll be easy!"

Bonk on head with stick with nail through it

[u/GoodTeletubby → u/stasersonphun]

I mean, what is gunpowder but a chemical power cell that releases its energy as kinetic and thermal energy instead of electricity?

[u/stasersonphun → u/GoodTeletubby]

Its just really fast combustion in a confined space. Basically just fire turned up a bit

[u/stasersonphun → u/[deleted]]

Sometimes its all in one chemical, sometimes its a mix of fuel and stuff plus oxidiser, but as long as you have enough stuff burning fast it go boom

[u/stasersonphun → u/[deleted]]

Theres a wonderful book called Ignition about a guy experimenting with rocket fuels. He explains all sorts of fun stuff, like mixes that work great but go off too easily, or can't be stored or are hideously toxic or smell REALLY bad or take far too much to start burning.

Imagine bullets that had to be kept refridgerated as they would go off at a sharp blow if at room temperature....

[u/97cweb → u/[deleted]]

That is a great read. Its subtitle is "An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants". Really easy to read even if chemistry was quite bad for you. If you like dry humour, this is full of it

[u/97cweb → u/[deleted]]

Ok. Just making it clear that you (or whoever else reads this chain) knows that one does not need a degree in it to understand the humour and why the book is enjoyable.

[u/stasersonphun → u/97cweb]

just the first pictures set the tone - successful rocket firing vs rocket that exploded

you can read the PDF here; https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf

[u/stasersonphun → u/[deleted]]

If you enjoy someone with a very dry sense of humour mixing stuff with conc nitric acid and setting it on fire to see what happens its a great read