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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 48506" data-attributes="member: 177">No, they did not use &quot;blasting powder&quot;, or at least I cqannot find those words used.&nbsp; What they used is not fully described.&nbsp; The main characters claim that the orcs &quot;lit the fires of Orthanc&quot; beneath the walls.Whether or not it is &quot;normal&quot; black powder explosive is not something we can resolve.&nbsp; But it also isn't very relevant.&nbsp; At the start of LotR, the only known sources for the stuff are wizards, and they aren't talking.&nbsp; Remember that artillery and dragoons use lots and lots of gunpowder.&nbsp; That means lots and lots of preparation.&nbsp; Even if the stuff is completely mundane, by the time the story starts, the wizards don't have time to supervise and teach the production and use of the stuff on the large scale.Why didn't these guys make the stuff before the story started?&nbsp; Because they thought it better not to do so, I expect.&nbsp; Making such knowledge free and open would eventually undermine the power fo the &quot;bad guys&quot; like Saruman and Sauron.&nbsp; Would you trust orcs with it?&nbsp; And the &quot;good guys&quot; like Gandalf probably have it in their heads that letting that knowledge out willy-nilly would do more harm than good, in the long run.And lets not forget that Tolkien himself seems to have had a thing against technology, personally....</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 48506, member: 177"] No, they did not use "blasting powder", or at least I cqannot find those words used. What they used is not fully described. The main characters claim that the orcs "lit the fires of Orthanc" beneath the walls. Whether or not it is "normal" black powder explosive is not something we can resolve. But it also isn't very relevant. At the start of LotR, the only known sources for the stuff are wizards, and they aren't talking. Remember that artillery and dragoons use lots and lots of gunpowder. That means lots and lots of preparation. Even if the stuff is completely mundane, by the time the story starts, the wizards don't have time to supervise and teach the production and use of the stuff on the large scale. Why didn't these guys make the stuff before the story started? Because they thought it better not to do so, I expect. Making such knowledge free and open would eventually undermine the power fo the "bad guys" like Saruman and Sauron. Would [i]you[/i] trust orcs with it? And the "good guys" like Gandalf probably have it in their heads that letting that knowledge out willy-nilly would do more harm than good, in the long run. And lets not forget that Tolkien himself seems to have had a thing against technology, personally.... [/QUOTE]

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