Smoke Screens and Gas Masks: Chemistry Goes to War
fstem ON THE BATTLEFIELD SMOKE SCREENS AND GAS DIASKS CHEMISTRY GOES TO WAR Tim Ripley Lerner Publications Minneapolis
CHEMISTRY AT WAR During World War I 1914 1918 German commanders wanted to capture a French fortress at Verdun on France's eastern border On February 21 1916 German artillery opened fire In just under five hours 800 big guns fired around one million shells at French positions The French defended the fort for nine more months before the Germans withdrew Despite its failure the bombardment was one of the biggest ever fired and it showed the importance of chemistry in warfare Chemists had not only developed explosives for the shells They had also figured out ways to make millions of shells quickly and relatively safely British workers make shells in a factory during World War
WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT A soldier fires a replica of a World War I Chemistry is the science of the substances flamethrower The that make up all matter Chemists examine weapon uses high how substances react to forces They also pressure to shoot a jet of liquid fuel that combine substances to make new ones is set on fire The first flamethrowers were Chemistry has shaped weapons since ancient used in the seventh century times Ancient peoples learned how to make metal blades and points for weapons Next came the discovery of gunpowder in ancient China When gunpowder reached Europe in the thirteenth century it transformed warfare Gunpowder allowed for the development of weapons such as cannons pistols and muskets In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries chemists developed new explosives and ammunition They came up with weapons such as poison gas and incendiary weapons to cause fires Chemists also created new materials to protect soldiers in battle In the twenty first century chemistry remains at the heart warfare of
