What is the chemical composition of gunsmoke?

maple_leaf_eh

maple_leaf_eh

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Serious question - what are the chemical compounds found in gunsmoke? Smokeless and blackpowder?

We know what chemicals are in gunpowder, give or take for proprietary reasons. What do those chemicals transform to after firing?

(( And I'll close the thread if too many jackwagons shout idiocies like, 'Freedom!' or 'Victory!'.)
 
Google is your friend.

It is a complex subject with a complicated answer. Not all smokeless powders are the same. There are single base powders and double base powders, with different chemical compositions. Then there is the primer composition, of which there are at least three different types. You are not going to get a simple answer that involves two or three different resultant chemicals.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
Google is your friend.

It is a complex subject with a complicated answer. Not all smokeless powders are the same. There are single base powders and double base powders, with different chemical compositions. Then there is the primer composition, of which there are at least three different types. You are not going to get a simple answer that involves two or three different resultant chemicals.
Click to expand...

I'll have to go back to chemistry class, but I think you're on to something.
 
The bulk of the mass of smokeless powder will be organic molecules like cellulose and glycerine, with some nitrates (-NO3)

The organic molecules will be chains of carbon atoms, each with some hydrogen atoms attached here and there, but some of the hydrogens substituted with nitrate groups (NO3).

Upon combustion, the nitrate groups give up oxygen, which combines with carbon to make CO and CO2, or with hydrogen to make water. The nitrates probably end up as a mix of N2 and NOx, and there may be some free carbon.

So the answer to the question is a mix of carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas, and water, with little bits of carbon soot and NOx. There may be some residues and heavy metals from the primer, as well.
 
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You can't "close the thread", just FYI, that's not how this works. I guess you can request that a mod close the thread, but where would be the fun in that.
 
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