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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. They even developed a two-stage rocket for their armies. -
The Chinese who first made gunpowder were alchemists, people who practiced a blend of science and magic known as alchemy. Alchemists experimented with mixtures of natural ingredients, trying to find a substance that might allow people to live forever.
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Printers used wood block printing to make the cards from thick paper. Famous artist drew the designs that appeared on the backs of the cards. before that time, coins were the only form of currency. Like game cards, paper money was printed with wood blocks.
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The Chinese first made steel, a very useful metal, before 200 B.C.E. steel is made from iron, but is less brittle than iron and easier to bend into different shapes.
The earliest Chinese steel was made from 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. -
The Chinese also made great strides in medicine and disease prevention. They discovered how to stop the spread of disease by using disinfectants.
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Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The mixture is baked in a kin or pottery oven at very high temperatures.
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The earliest Chinese paper was probably made from hemp and then the bark of the mulberry tree. Later, the Chinese used rags.
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The invention of paper made another key development possible
printing. The Chinese invented a technique called woodblock printing. -
The new clock was more accurate than earlier timekeeping devices, such as sundials and hourglasses.
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For several thousand years, tea made by letting tea leaves steep in boiling water was drunk mostly as medicine.
