The First Rocket

Since humanity could grasp the idea that there is something beyond our world for us it has strove to reach those frontiers. Of course, the place many wanted to go was the sky above. Whether it was to meet the fabled Orion and his scorpion or simply for exploration, the reasons why a person would want to reach up and above are endless. Despite this incessant desire to reach beyond our natural bounds fueling advancements in rocket technology in modern times. Before rockets were used to put humans into the celestial sphere it was used to put people in the "celestial plane" through it's military purposes. In fact, the first rocket was thought to be created in China during the Sung Dynasty.

Instead of these rockets being like the modern rockets we know and love today. They were more like really powerful fireworks that could obliterate an entire squadron of enemy soldiers. These rockets were first used in the 13th century during the Mongol invasion. They were first dubbed the name "flying fire lances" for obvious reasons.

But these rockets differ from the rockets of today for one major reason. They do not use liquid propellants such as hydrocarbons and oxygen. Instead, these rockets used a propellant called solid rocket fuel that is still used today in the form of firecrackers and fireworks.

While liquid-propelled rockets use a liquid oxidizer and fuel to create thrust by increasing pressure the solid rocket motor uses basic solid chemicals. Solid oxygen is used as the oxidizer, usually in the form of some exogenous rock. It is then paired and mixed with a fuel, for solid fuels, especially with the old rockets, the most common fuels were gunpowder and charcoal. Once you thoroughly mix the oxidizer and the propellant you simply need to ignite the rocket and combustion will occur. From this, the thrust can be used in large-scale rockets or "flying lances".

Despite the vast achievements that the human race has made with regard to the development of rocket technology, we can hardly say that past inventions are hardly of any importance. Simply because these solid-propelled fire lances are old doesn't mean we don't have anything to learn from. Humans should strive to learn from anything in life, whether it's something in the past, in the classroom, or something random that you see on the street.