Given the global importance of guns (Guns / Firearms) in war, military forces, police, self protection, sport & hunting & especially given all of the handgun accidents that result in the death of so many children each year, school shootings & other mass shootings, lets take a look at the history of firearms.
Industrial metals, pathogens & death machines, from accidents to catastrophes & tragedies, when a person misuses chemicals or devices or methods to harm other people- they can cause great harm, death of many others & worse. Look at how nuclear weapons came about & their horrific use during war times of past & ongoing threat of worldwide nuclear war - mutually assured destruction - a way of keeping peace worldwide with the thread of weapons so powerful they can end human life on Earth if we use them foolishly.
Consider also the more recent use of directed energy weapons shooting laser light or concentrated MASER microwave laser beams or neutron beams & jets of plasma or rail gun output approaching the speed of light / going into FTL or faster than light travel with exotic classified physics & stuff that I cannot even mention - you can find it on the dark web if you want to try using the onion & beware- once you see whats on the dark web, you cannot unsee it - it can stain your mind & consciousness with images you will wish you never looked at! You can literally buy anything you can think of, anything, as long as you pay with bitcoin to protect the identity of the buyer & seller //
I never condone or endorse violence or harming or hurting other people & go out of my way to help others with random acts of kindness, sharing edifying words about health & nutrition information I have learned by failing as an American with mixed metabolic confusion diet patterns. Pollution kills more people with preventable diseases than guns have in the entire history of gun availability! Microbes & pathogens have kills hundreds of millions or billions of people. If you add climate change & its impact on food prices & agriculture, soil degradation, fresh water pollution, water scarcity & water security + the negative health impacts of the general public breathing coal power emissions & tailpipe fumes & soot. While advances like 3 way catalytic converters helped to clean automobile tailpipe emissions, electrical power generated by burning carbon a very dirty & toxic air pollution generating activity on a grand scale worldwide. Swimming pools are also dangerous to small children, not just handguns to those untrained in basic gun safety.
You might claim that mixing all of those topics together in an article about guns & gun issues, an example of rhetoric or verbal manipulation, but my intent to show there exists many risks & hazards in the world, including natural disasters, that harm & hurt & kill many more people annually than accidental or intentional deaths caused by the use of guns. Automobile & motorcycle & motorcycle & bicycle & walking fatalities because of a mistake or human error executed by a poorly skilled driver of an automobile - who fails to pay adequate attention to driving safety while navigating their ~3000lb iron intensive wheeled vehicle on roadways near other people!
Sure, guns were designed to kill people, but they are often just used for sport, for self protection, for hunting in nature, for competition shooting & even in Olympic Sport Shooting // shooting guns not just about causing harm, sometimes a gun in the right hands of a sane balance person, like an upstanding honorable honest citizen- acts to give this person force multiplication that they, like law enforcement, can use as a visual threat to stop a crime, to hold a criminal until the police show up, to impose a non-fatal injury to a "bad" person- to stop personal harm from coming to the person carrying a handgun for EDC self protection -like I do - in one of several GLOCK flavors 9mm - I will never give up my weapons - to take mine someone will have to kill me & pry it out of my warm dying hands! I am a protector of myself & others near me & will never let harm come to anyone near me through either action or inaction. With God on my side as a believer & doer of the Holy Word & through excellence in all ways by embracing Christ Jesus as my Lord & Savior - I will always be a natural helper & do my best to help other people at all times & to honor God & my country (America)!
What follows is wikipedia context copies & pasted & very lightly edited! Enjoy reading the worlds biggest & best online encyclopedia!
Wikipedia (English Language) "Gun" / "History" : the following section copies & pasted & lightly edited from the respective page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun#History
The first firearm was the fire lance, which appeared in China between the 10–12th centuries. It was depicted in a silk painting dated to the mid-10th but textual evidence of its use does not appear until 1132, describing the siege of De'an. It consisted of a bamboo tube of gunpowder tied to a spear or other polearm.
By the late 1100s, ingredients such as pieces of shrapnel like porcelain shards or small iron pellets were added to the tube so that they would be blown out with the gunpowder. It was relatively short ranged and had a range of roughly 3 meters by the early 13th century. This fire lance is considered by some historians to be a "proto-gun" because its projectiles did not occlude the barrel.There was also another "proto-gun" called the eruptor, according to Joseph Needham, which did not have a lance but still did not shoot projectiles which occluded the barrel.
Transition to true guns
In due course, the proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximise its explosive power. To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced by metal. And to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely.
Fire lance barrels made of metal appeared by 1276. Earlier in 1259 a pellet wad that filled the barrel was recorded to have been used as a fire lance projectile, making it the first recorded bullet in history. With this, the three basic features of a gun were put in place: a barrel made of metal, high-nitrate gunpowder, and a projectile which totally occludes the muzzle so that the powder charge exerts its full potential in propellant effect. The metal barrel fire lances began to be used without the lance and became guns by the late 13th century.
Guns such as the hand cannon were being used in the Yuan dynasty by the 1280s. Surviving cannons such as the Heilongjiang hand cannon and the Xanadu Gunhave been found dating to the late 13th century and possibly earlier in the early 13th century.
In 1287, the Yuan dynasty deployed Jurchen troops with hand cannons to put down a rebellion by the Mongol prince Nayan. The History of Yuan records that the cannons of Li Ting's soldiers "caused great damage" and created "such confusion that the enemy soldiers attacked and killed each other." The hand cannons were used again in the beginning of 1288. Li Ting's "gun-soldiers" or chongzu (銃卒) carried the hand cannons "on their backs". The passage on the 1288 battle is also the first to use the name chong (銃) with the metal radical jin (金) for metal-barrel firearms. Chong was used instead of the earlier and more ambiguous term huo tong (fire tube; 火筒), which may refer to the tubes of fire lances, proto-cannons, or signal flares. Hand cannons may have been used in the Mongol invasions of Japan. Japanese descriptions of the invasions mention iron and bamboo pao causing "light and fire" and emitting 2–3,000 iron bullets. The Nihon Kokujokushi, written around 1300, mentions huo tong (fire tubes) at the Battle of Tsushima in 1274 and the second coastal assault led by Holdon in 1281. The Hachiman Gudoukun of 1360 mentions iron pao "which caused a flash of light and a loud noise when fired." The Taiheki of 1370 mentions "iron pao shaped like a bell."
Spread
The exact nature of the spread of firearms and its route is uncertain. One theory is that gunpowder and cannons arrived in Europe via the Silk Road through the Middle East. Hasan al-Rammah had already written about fire lances in the 13th century, so proto-guns were known in the Middle East at that point. Another theory is that it was brought to Europe during the Mongol invasion in the first half of the 13th century.
The earliest depiction of a cannon in Europe dates to 1326 and evidence of firearm production can be found in the following year. The first recorded use of gunpowder weapons in Europe was in 1331 when two mounted German knights attacked Cividale del Friuli with gunpowder weapons of some sort. By 1338 hand cannons were in widespread use in France. English Privy Wardrobe accounts list "ribaldis", a type of cannon, in the 1340s, and siege guns were used by the English at Calaisin 1346.
Early guns and the men who used them were often associated with the devil and the gunner's craft was considered a black art, a point reinforced by the smell of sulfur on battlefields created from the firing of guns along with the muzzle blast and accompanying flash.
Around the late 14th century in Europe, smaller and portable hand-held cannons were developed, creating in effect the first smooth-bore personal firearm. In the late 15th century the Ottoman empire used firearms as part of its regular infantry.
In the Middle East, the Arabs seem to have used the hand cannon to some degree during the 14th century. Cannons are attested to in India starting from 1366.
The Joseon kingdom in Korea learned how to produce gunpowder from China by 1372 and started producing cannons by 1377. In Southeast Asia, Đại Việt soldiers used hand cannons at the very latest by 1390 when they employed them in killing Champa king Che Bong Nga. Java was confirmed to use hand cannon in 1413 during Zheng He's voyage. Japan knew of gunpowder due to the Mongol invasions during the 13th century, but did not acquire a cannon until a monk took one back to Japan from China in 1510, and guns were not produced until 1543, when the Portuguese introduced matchlocks which were known as tanegashima to the Japanese.
Gunpowder technology entered Java in the Mongol invasion of Java (1293 A.D.). Majapahit under Mahapatih (prime minister) Gajah Mada utilized gunpowder technology obtained from the Yuan dynasty for use in the naval fleet. During the following years, the Majapahit army have begun producing cannons known as cetbang. Early cetbang (also called Eastern-style cetbang) resembled Chinese cannons and hand cannons. Eastern-style cetbangs were mostly made of bronze and were front-loaded cannons. It fires arrow-like projectiles, but round bullets and co-viative projectiles can also be used. These arrows can be solid-tipped without explosives, or with explosives and incendiary materials placed behind the tip. Near the rear, there is a combustion chamber or room, which refers to the bulging part near the rear of the gun, where the gunpowder is placed. The cetbang is mounted on a fixed mount, or as a hand cannon mounted on the end of a pole. There is a tube-like section on the back of the cannon. In the hand cannon type cetbang, this tube is used as a place to stick poles.
Arquebus and musket
The arquebus was a firearm that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire in the early 15th century.[58] Its name is derived from the German word Hackenbüchse. It originally described a hand cannon with a lug or hook on the underside for stabilizing the weapon, usually on defensive fortifications. In the early 1500s, heavier variants known as "muskets" that were fired from resting Y-shaped supports appeared. The musket was able to penetrate heavy armor, and as a result armor declined, which also made the heavy musket obsolete. Although there is relatively little to no difference in design between arquebus and musket except in size and strength, it was the term musket which remained in use up into the 1800s. It may not be completely inaccurate to suggest that the musket was in its fabrication simply a larger arquebus. At least on one occasion the musket and arquebus have been used interchangeably to refer to the same weapon, and even referred to as an "arquebus musket." A Habsburg commander in the mid-1560s once referred to muskets as "double arquebuses."
A shoulder stock was added to the arquebus around 1470 and the matchlock mechanism sometime before 1475. The matchlock arquebus was the first firearm equipped with a trigger mechanism and the first portable shoulder-arms firearm. Before the matchlock, handheld firearms were fired from the chest, tucked under one arm, while the other arm maneuvered a hot pricker to the touch hole to ignite the gunpowder.
The Ottomans may have used arquebuses as early as the first half of the 15th century during the Ottoman–Hungarian wars of 1443–1444. The arquebus was used in substantial numbers during the reign of king Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (r. 1458–1490). Arquebuses were used by 1472 by the Spanish and Portuguese at Zamora. Likewise, the Castilians used arquebuses as well in 1476. Later, a larger arquebus known as a musket was used for breaching heavy armor, but this declined along with heavy armor. Matchlock firearms continued to be called musket. They were used throughout Asia by the mid-1500s.
Transition to classic guns
Guns reached their "classic" form in the 1480s. The "classic gun" is so called because of the long duration of its design, which was longer, lighter, more efficient, and more accurate compared to its predecessors 30 years prior. The design persisted for nearly 300 years and cannons of the 1480s show little variation from as well as surprising similarity with cannons three centuries later in the 1750s. This 300-year period during which the classic gun dominated gives it its moniker.
The classic gun differed from older generations of firearms through an assortment of improvements. Their longer length-to-bore ratio imparted more energy into the shot, enabling the projectile to shoot further. They were also lighter since the barrel walls were thinner, allowing faster dissipation of heat. They no longer needed the help of a wooden plug to load since they offered a tighter fit between projectile and barrel, further increasing the accuracy of firearms – and were deadlier due to developments such as gunpowder corning and iron shot.
Modern guns
Several developments in the 19th century led to the development of modern guns.
In 1815, Joshua Shaw invented percussion caps, which replaced the flintlock trigger system. The new percussion caps allowed guns to shoot reliably in any weather condition.
In 1835, Casimir Lefaucheux invented the first practical breech loading firearm with a cartridge. The new cartridge contained a conical bullet, a cardboard powder tube, and a copper base that incorporated a primer pellet.
Rifles
While rifled guns did exist prior to the 19th century in the form of grooves cut into the interior of a barrel, these were considered specialist weapons and limited in number.
The rate of fire of handheld guns began to increase drastically. In 1836, Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse invented the Dreyse needle gun, a breech-loading rifle which increased the rate of fire to six times that of muzzle loading weapons. In 1854, Volcanic Repeating Arms produced a rifle with a self-contained cartridge.
In 1849, Claude-Étienne Minié invented the Minié ball, the first projectile that could easily slide down a rifled barrel, which made rifles a viable military firearm, ending the smoothbore musket era. Rifles were deployed during the Crimean War with resounding success and proved vastly superior to smoothbore muskets.
In 1860, Benjamin Tyler Henry created the Henry rifle, the first reliable repeating rifle. An improved version of the Henry rifle was developed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1873, known as the Model 1873 Winchester rifle.
Smokeless powder was invented in 1880 and began replacing gunpowder, which came to be known as black powder. By the start of the 20th century, smokeless powder was adopted throughout the world and black powder, what was previously known as gunpowder, was relegated to hobbyist usage.
Machine guns
In 1861, Richard Jordan Gatling invented the Gatling gun, the first successful machine gun, capable of firing 200 gunpowder cartridges in a minute. It was fielded by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s. In 1884, Hiram Maxim invented the Maxim gun, the first single-barreled machine gun.
The world's first submachine gun (a fully automatic firearm which fires pistol cartridges) able to be maneuvered by a single soldier is the MP 18.1, invented by Theodor Bergmann. It was introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I as the primary weapon of the Stosstruppen (assault groups specialized in trench combat).
In civilian use, the captive bolt pistol is used in agriculture to humanely stun farm animals for slaughter.
The first assault rifle was introduced during World War II by the Germans, known as the StG44. It was the first firearm to bridge the gap between long range rifles, machine guns, and short range submachine guns. Since the mid-20th century, guns that fire beams of energy rather than solid projectiles have been developed, and also guns that can be fired by means other than the use of gunpowder.
Furthermore from Wikipedia "Firearm" copies & pasted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual.
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make the portable fire lance, operable by a single person, which was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the Siege of De'an in 1132.
In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into the metal-barreled hand cannon. The technology gradually spread throughout Eurasiaduring the 14th century. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms (with the notable exception of smoothbore shotguns) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability.
Modern firearms can be described by their caliber (i.e. bore diameter). For pistols and rifles this is given in millimeters or inches (e.g. 7.62mm or .308 in.), or in the case of shotguns by their gauge (e.g. 12 ga. and 20 ga.). They are also described by the type of action employed (e.g. muzzleloader, breechloader, lever, bolt, pump, revolver, semi-automatic, fully automatic, etc.), together with the usual means of deportment (i.e. hand-held or mechanical mounting). Further classification may make reference to the type of barrel used (i.e. rifled) and to the barrel length (e.g. 24 inches), to the firing mechanism (e.g. matchlock, wheellock, flintlock, or percussion lock), to the design's primary intended use (e.g. hunting rifle), or to the commonly accepted name for a particular variation (e.g. Gatling gun).
Shooters aim firearms at their targets with hand-eye coordination, using either iron sights or optical sights. The accurate range of pistols generally does not exceed 100 metres (110 yd; 330 ft), while most riflesare accurate to 500 metres (550 yd; 1,600 ft) using iron sights, or to longer ranges whilst using optical sights. (Firearm rounds may be dangerous or lethal well beyond their accurate range; the minimum distance for safety is much greater than the specified range for accuracy). Purpose-built sniper rifles and anti-materiel rifles are accurate to ranges of more than 2,000 metres (2,200 yd).
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