An is a one piece, fixed elevation mortar used by ordnance departments and armories to test the strength of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

. A carefully weighed quantity of powder (charge) was placed inside the device, followed by a standard weight shot. The charge was fired and the distance the shot flew was measured and compared to the expected standard distance. were first introduced in the middle of the 1600s and went out of general use by the middle of the 19th century. Eprouvette pistol

were also used to test the strength of small-arms powder, starting in the second half of the 1500s. These evolved into pistol-size devices which were used until the end of the

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

era, at the close of the 1800s.

References

External links

Eprouvette Mortar
Mortars Trial and research firearms {{artillery-stub