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The Chinese invented the art of papermaking by the second century. The earliest Chinese paper was most likely made from hemp and then the bark of the mulberry tree.
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Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The mixture is baked in a kiln, or pottery oven, at very high temperatures. The resulting pottery is white, hard, and waterproof.
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The first Chinese compasses were pieces of a magnetic mineral called lodestone. Earth itself is like a giant magnet with north and south poles.
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The Chinese invented a technique called woodblock
printing. The printer first drew symbols on
paper. Then glued the paper to a wooden block. When
the glue was dry, the printer carved out the wood around
the characters, leaving the characters raised on the wood. -
The new clock was more accurate than earlier timekeeping devices, such as sundials and hourglasses. The Chinese devised a wheel that made one complete turn every 24 hours. Dripping water made the wheel turn.
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Chinese alchemists accidentally discovered gunpowder when trying to find a substance that would make humans live forever.
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Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper. Famous artists drew the designs that appeared on the backs of the cards.
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The earliest Chinese steel was made from cast iron. The Chinese were the first to learn how to make cast iron by melting and molding iron ore. Later they learned that blowing air into molten, or melted, cast iron causes a chemical reaction that creates steel. Steel is a great deal stronger than iron.
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Rockets were powered by a black powder made of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur.At first, rockets were used only in fireworks. Later, the Chinese used them as weapons.
