Gunpowder was a favourite toy of early scientific experimenters. So we were keen to see the enigmatic explosive in action in a replica 17th-century test rig
Behind an anonymous door at the bottom of a multistorey car park in the north of England, I am politely asked to surrender my phone and submit my bag for searching. I am reminded that my video camera should be used to record only the agreed subject of my visit – and not doors or entranceways, under any circumstances.
Once I am through an airport-style security arch and another set of secure doors, the reason for the wariness becomes clear. I am standing in a vast, windowless underground storeroom, its walls and shelves stacked with thousands upon thousands of guns.
This is the UK's National Firearms Centre. Imposing as its repositories are, they are not why I am here. Guns mean gunpowder, and I ...
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