/sci/ - Science & Math

Imagine a steampunk zinc plated swirling ion bath.
>In Ancient India,[when?] saltpeter manufacturers formed the Nuniya caste.[15] Saltpeter finds mention in Kautilya's Arthashastra (compiled 300BC - 300AD), which mentions using its poisonous smoke as a weapon of war,[16] although its use for propulsion did not appear until medieval times.
>In 1785 Henry Cavendish determined its precise composition and showed that (nitric acid) could be synthesized by passing a stream of electric sparks through moist air.[32]