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Static and blackpowder.

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Don't we do enough of that already o subjects that we don't, and can't have a scientifically based answer/conclusion to?

The science is there, so is the answer.
It is definitely possible to ignite BP with an electrostatic discharge under the right conditions.
However, doing so has no benefit to the muzzleloader shooter.
 
The science is there, so is the answer.
It is definitely possible to ignite BP with an electrostatic discharge under the right conditions.
However, doing so has no benefit to the muzzleloader shooter.
That the science is there, is exactly my point. We can answer this question. However, I've not seen scientific evidence of a static charge of enough energy for a long enough duration to ignite black powder (not including powder dust in the air like a grain silo) being generated by anything the average user does.
 
Strap a can of powder to a lightning rod and wait.:cool:

If you make exclusions and set conditions to prevent ignition, what are you really proving ?
 
For those who haven't seen the permanent topic at the top of the index page for the Shooting Accessories section you should click on this link to some interesting testing that talks about trying to get black powder to ignite using static electricity:

http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/sparks/sparks.html

In case you missed the link posted in that article, the author tried to come up with other methods of electrically igniting black and smokeless powder.

After several different attempts using several different methods of generating a spark, he was finally successful.
I would like to point out that the thing he ended up with did not use static electricity. Instead, it used methods that are similar to what a spark plug uses to ignite fuel in a gasoline engine.

Here is a link to that part of the experiment:

http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/electric_ignition/eignition.html
 
There is a guy in TN that emptied some old powder out of several cans into a plastic bowl, was walking to dump it outside and it ignited, causing burns on his upper body. I dont personally know him, just know him on another forum. I have no reason to doubt him, I have seen pictures of the burns on his body.

Speculation is that perhaps the old powder was not coated with graphite and that had something to do with it.

Fleener
 
There is a guy in TN that emptied some old powder out of several cans into a plastic bowl, was walking to dump it outside and it ignited, causing burns on his upper body. I dont personally know him, just know him on another forum. I have no reason to doubt him, I have seen pictures of the burns on his body.

Speculation is that perhaps the old powder was not coated with graphite and that had something to do with it.

Fleener
Was he smoking a cigarette or cigar at the time?
 
No he apparently was not doing anything that had or produced a spark. According to him the only explanation that he can come up with is static electricity.

Fleener
 
There is a guy in TN that emptied some old powder out of several cans into a plastic bowl, was walking to dump it outside and it ignited, causing burns on his upper body. I dont personally know him, just know him on another forum. I have no reason to doubt him, I have seen pictures of the burns on his body.
Speculation is that perhaps the old powder was not coated with graphite and that had something to do with it....., he apparently was not doing anything that had or produced a spark. According to him the only explanation that he can come up with is static electricity.

Which would explain why people handling black powder at fireworks manufacturing facilities work very hard stay grounded. ;) It's the fine dust...

And it would explain why straight out of the can BP is tough to ignite with a simple spark, especially at the level commonly found from a human who is part of a common static electricity discharge.

Now I wonder about the occasional granule of 3Fg that gets crushed when I replace the stopper in my horn, and I don't fully empty that horn, but refill as needed, so does a person using the horn develop some fine powder, perhaps lurking in the bottom of said horn? What about the folks crushing the odd granule when using the valve on a flask?

Take some grains of wheat, apply a torch to them in a bowl, they will burn. Let loose a spark among the dust in a grain elevator, and you have a very different scenario. :confused:

LD
 
This thread reminds me I have a few I've been meaning to start.
One will be titled "Best cleaning method";
another will be "I love Pyrodex";
another called "why ever use anything except Bore Butter";
and the best of all, "you should always blow down the barrel".
(Zonie absolutely loves me)
 
This thread reminds me I have a few I've been meaning to start.
One will be titled "Best cleaning method";
another will be "I love Pyrodex";
another called "why ever use anything except Bore Butter";
and the best of all, "you should always blow down the barrel".
(Zonie absolutely loves me)

Great idea. But m, why go to the trouble of starting a new one when you can just drag up a 16 to 20 year old thread on any of those subjects and get it going again?

You know, like this one.
 
Which would explain why people handling black powder at fireworks manufacturing facilities work very hard stay grounded. ;) It's the fine dust...

And it would explain why straight out of the can BP is tough to ignite with a simple spark, especially at the level commonly found from a human who is part of a common static electricity discharge.

Now I wonder about the occasional granule of 3Fg that gets crushed when I replace the stopper in my horn, and I don't fully empty that horn, but refill as needed, so does a person using the horn develop some fine powder, perhaps lurking in the bottom of said horn? What about the folks crushing the odd granule when using the valve on a flask?

Take some grains of wheat, apply a torch to them in a bowl, they will burn. Let loose a spark among the dust in a grain elevator, and you have a very different scenario. :confused:

LD

Yep. :thumb:
 
Static electricity will most certainly ignite gunpowder.. I have watched demonstrations of this on several occasions at the UK Military College of Science.

I grant you that igniting glazed, corned GP is probably the hardest thing to do, but igniting GP dust is much easier. As has been pointed out, it is the overall energy in the spark that is the main indicator of its ignition potential, but be in no doubt, the temperature created when air ionises (..which is what a spark is!) is well above the ignition point of GP. When you have a low energy spark, the point temperature is usually quickly dispersed, and the ignition potential is low, but this is never a precise indicator of non ignition.

Achieving high levels of static electrical charge is actually quite difficult as in most cases the environment is usually conductive enough to drain it away. Be careful however of extremes of temperature, both high and low when the moisture level is low as this is when static can build up.

Is this why graphite is used as a component in black powder?
 
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