“Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing.” -T.H. Huxley
“Celebrate the independence of your nation by blowing up a small part of it.” -The Simpsons
When gunpowder was first invented more than 1,000 years ago by mixing activated carbon (charcoal), sulfur and potassium nitrate together, its first major application was to the development of fireworks. By combining four simple elements – a launch, a fuse, a burst charge and ignitable stars – the most spectacular explosive shows could be produced.
"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong." -Voltaire
It's been another great week over on the main Starts With A Bang blog, where we got to touch on a number of remarkable topics, including:
Black Holes Won t Incinerate You, After All scienceblogs.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scienceblogs.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.