Gunpowder

thumb|upright=1.3|Gunpowder for muzzleloader|muzzleloading firearms in granulation size thumb|American Civil War re-enactors volley firing with black powder thumb|Flash pan starter dispenser

alt=|thumb|upright|A Soyuz-FG rocket launches from "[[Gagarin's Start" (Site 1/5), Baikonur Cosmodrome ]] A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is an elongated flying vehicle that uses a rocket engine to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Unlike jet engines, rockets are fuelled entirely by propellant which they carry, without the need for oxygen from air; consequently a rocket can fly in the vacuum of space, indeed rocket engines operate more efficiently outside the atmosphere.

thumb|upright=1.35|The M16 rifle and the [[AK-47, two common firearms with significant influences on firearm design]] A firearm is any type of gun that shoots projectiles using high explosive pressure generated from combustion (deflagration) of chemical propellant, most often black powder in antique firearms and smokeless powder in modern firearms. Small arms is a subset of light firearms that is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term "firearm" is however variably defined in both technically and legally in different countries (see legal definitions), and can be

chemical compound

exploding artillery projectile

thumb|Chinese firecracker roll being set off thumb|Large flower cracker set off at night thumb|Firecrackers set off in Sibu, [[Pitaki, to celebrate Chinese New Year]] A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental to this goal. They have fuses, and are wrapped in a heavy paper casing to contain the explosive compound. Firecrackers, along with fireworks, originated in China.

thumb|SIG Pro semi-automatic pistol thumb|Battleship USS Iowa (BB-61)|USS Iowa fires a full broadside from its nine sixteen-inch [[naval guns]]

thumb|upright=1.35|Illumination flares being used during military training exercises thumb|upright=1.35|Flares being fired from a ship during a fleet review

Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires from the 16th to 18th centuries

part of a device that initiates function in an explosive, pyrotechnic device or military munition

Chinese writer

small container for gunpowder

Chinese gunpowder projectile

container for storing and dispensing gunpowder or priming powder

defunct chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware

aspect of history

manned naval artillery guns as a member of a warship's crew

conflict of the American Revolutionary War

process by which the casing of a projectile is shattered

building for the storage of gunpowder

barrel of gunpowder