A couple of random notes about this article. 1. Chemical reaction. Claiming there is "a" chemical reaction is ludicrous! Potassium Nitrate is an oxidizer. It can oxidize either carbon or sulfur under the right conditions. This article notes that in one study the *actual* products were carbonate, sulfate, sulfide, and thiocyanate as well as ammonium carbonate. The not-chemically-clueless would note that sulfate results from the oxidation of sulfur, while the sulfide results from sulfur's reduction - opposing reactions (they would also note that thiocynate is an intermediate in the oxidation of C to CO2, S to SO2 and N to N2. By all this I mean that there *is* no single chemcial "reaction" - there's a great many, probably hundreds, if not thousands. 2. Writing about the "balanced" reaction, without specifying the starting ratios, is misleading - it gives the reader an unjustified and incorrect precision that just doesn't exist in reality. 3. Charcoal is *crude* carbon, at best. The composition of "fresh" charcoal varies between ~50% carbon to 95%, typically there is about 3% ash (inorganic carbonates, oxides, silicates) and between 0.5% to 40%(!) "tar" (where tar is a complex and variable mixture of condensed hydrocarbons (with both N and O present)). Charcoal rapidly absorbs moisture to 5% - 10% upon sitting.4. Methane and water. While I've no doubt methane, water, carbon monoxide and various NOx compounds are produced, it isn't obvious to me that *any* of them are *necessary* reaction products. The article uses products not as a chemical term (i.e. reactants and products) but as a practical term (what was "left" after the reactions) and this is a bit misleading.5. Finally, the article should be up-front about the reactions varying because of the physical processing of the various components, as well as their chemical composition. Black Powder has a wide (imho) range of compositions, even if we limit considerations to single pure components (KNO3, S, C) and this will *change* the reactions which occur - the speed, net energy release, and final residuals (both particulate (*why* oh, why they're referred to as "solids" here, IDK...no liquids (absorbed) present??) and gaseous. 6. OK, I know I said #5 would be last, but here is the hearsay: I've read from a semi-reliable source that black powder is currently being used in modern weapon systems. I can't recall if the use was as part of the propulsion system or part of the detonation chain. Claiming it is "obsolete" is like claiming horses are no longer used in "modern policing" - it's just not true.98.17.44.45 (talk) 07:34, 22 September 2023 (UTC)