Serpentine Powder

In military technology: Serpentine powder. The earliest gunpowder was made by grinding the ingredients separately and mixing them together dry. This was known as serpentine. The behaviour of serpentine was highly variable, depending on a number of factors that were difficult to predict and control.
Uses:- Propellant in firearms, artillery, rocketry, and pyrotechnics, including use as a blasting agent for propellant in firearms, artillery, rocketry, and pyrotechnics, including use as a blasting agent for explosives in quarrying, mining, and road building.