Sakharov then tested a MK-driven " plasma cannon " where a small aluminium ring was vaporized by huge eddy currents into a stable, self-confined toroidal plasmoid and was accelerated to 100 km / s.

The fort was garrisoned by French soldiers and armed with at least four cannon and two heavy mortars.

On the African continent, the cannon was first used by the Somali Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi of the Adal Sultanate in his conquest of Ethiopia in 1529.

It was during this period, the Middle Ages, that cannon became standardized, and more effective in both the anti-infantry and siege roles.

As rifling became commonplace, the accuracy and destructive power of cannon was significantly increased, and they became deadlier than ever, both to infantry who belatedly had to adopt different tactics, and to ships, which had to be armoured.

The invention of the cannon, driven by gunpowder, was first developed in China.

Among the first generals to recognize that artillery was not being used to its full potential, Napoleon often massed his cannon into batteries, and introduced several changes into the French artillery, improving it significantly, and making it among the finest in Europe.

As the battlefield was muddy, recoil caused cannon to bury themselves into the ground after firing, resulting in slow rates of fire, as more effort was required to move them back into an adequate firing position ; also, roundshot did not ricochet with as much force from the wet earth.

The practice of rifling — casting spiraling lines inside the cannon's barrel — was applied to artillery more frequently by 1855, as it gave cannon projectiles gyroscopic stability, which improved their accuracy.

One of the earliest rifled cannon was the breech-loading Armstrong Gun — also invented by William George Armstrong — which boasted significantly improved range, accuracy, and power than earlier weapons.

Realizing that iron was more difficult to pierce with breech-loaded cannon, Armstrong designed rifled muzzle-loading guns, which proved successful ; The Times reported: " even the fondest believers in the invulnerability of our present ironclads were obliged to confess that against such artillery, at such ranges, their plates and sides were almost as penetrable as wooden ships.

The cynical attitude toward recruited infantry in the face of ever more powerful field artillery is the source of the term cannon fodder, first used by François-René de Chateaubriand, in 1814 ; however, the concept of regarding soldiers as nothing more than " food for powder " was mentioned by William Shakespeare as early as 1598, in Henry IV, Part 1.

For example, the Panzer III was originally designed with a 37 mm gun, but was mass produced with a 50 mm cannon.

To counter the threat of the Russian T-34s, another, more powerful 50 mm gun was introduced, only to give way to a larger 75 mm cannon, which was in a fixed mount as the StuG III, the most-produced German World War II armored fighting vehicle of any type.

The new ship, the Adventure Galley, was well suited to the task of catching pirates ; weighing over 284 tons, she was equipped with 34 cannon, oars, and 150 men.

As a small child, Fritz was awakened each morning by the firing of a cannon.

Several centuries later, in late Dark Age Europe, the term " firearm " was used in Old English to denote the arm in which the match was held that was used to light the touch hole on the hand cannon.

The original predecessor of all firearms, the Chinese fire lance and European hand cannon were loaded with gunpowder and the shot ( initially lead shot, later replaced by cast iron ) through the muzzle, while a fuse was placed at the rear.

They also capture a boy named Jefri Olsndot, whom Steel intended on killing but eventually exploits in order to develop advanced technology ( such as cannon and radio communication ).

Field artillery cannon in Europe and the Americas were initially made most often of bronze, though later forms were constructed of cast iron and eventually steel.

" Harvey Mudd eventually returned the cannon after the Caltech President threatened to take legal action.

This conflict brought prominence to Admiral Yi Sun-sin as he contributed to eventually repelling the Japanese forces with the innovative use of his invention, the turtle ship, a massive, yet swift, ramming / cannon ship fitted with iron spikes and, according to some sources, an iron-plated deck ).

It is believed that this cannon was the inspiration for Heinlein's original title for the work which eventually became The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.

During the American Revolutionary War, General Henry Knox led a detachment of troops that hauled cannon from Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain over the Berkshires and through Blandford, eventually on to Boston to bombard the British, forcing their withdrawal from the city.

" The cannon, rediscovered in 1898, eventually inspired a name change for the growing community.

The first US anti-aircraft cannon was a 1-pounder concept design by Admiral Twining in 1911 to meet the perceived threat of airships, that eventually was used as the bases for the US Navy's first operational anti-aircraft cannon: the 3 "/ 23 caliber gun.

These lighter Renaissance pieces eventually led to the development of the 3-pounder and 4-pounder regimental guns of the 17th century as well as the leather cannon, notably in the army of Gustavus Adolphus.

With the advent of gunpowder, firearms such as the arquebus and cannon — eventually the mortar and artillery — were developed.

The next attempt to mount weapons on platforms was made at sea, with catapults and eventually cannon mounted on their final form as ships of the line before the advent of ironclad warships mounting turrets.

Starting in Wave 5, demons also divide into two smaller, bird-like creatures that eventually attempt descent onto the player's cannon.

The garrison, whose cannon were all pointed away from the river ( not expecting enemy fire to come from that direction ), eventually turned their guns around, and the French fire was returned to some effect.

Lightfoot eventually learns that the " minister " is really a notorious bank robber known as " The Thunderbolt " ( Clint Eastwood ) for his use of a 20 millimeter cannon to break into a safe.

Reports of Kane's demise were inconsistent however ; some say he was buried underneath rubble when the Temple started to fall apart, but other sources stated that the Global Defense Initiative's ion cannon firing upon the main Temple structure had killed Kane — indeed, a security video eventually substantiated this story.

The mortar pursue Jerry through the cellar and eventually he leads them into a hose, which he shoots like a machine gun back into the barrel of Tom's cannon.

Just as the crew is to be fired upon, a French vessel appears and commences cannon fire on the Avenger, and the crew eventually returns fire.

In the jungle, Geist takes effortless care of their encounters, eventually they reach the temple to discover a Nexrum ship armed with a large cannon.

Fort Mosquito ( Fort Myggenborgh ), as it was commonly nicknamed, was eventually abandoned, the soldiers succumbing not to enemy cannon fire but bites.

This improvement in castle defence caused innovation in offensive cannon fire, which eventually required maps.

They eventually uncover the cannon and thousands in gold bullion after perilous underwater adventures.

Virginia Heinlein retained the cannon after her husband's death in 1988, and it was bequeathed to Linaweaver in her will, after Virginia died in 2003.

Some events, such as Tarleton's actual pursuit of Francis Marion and his fellow irregular soldiers who escaped by disappearing into the swamps of South Carolina, found their way into the film directly while others were adapted, such as the final battle in the film which combined elements of the Battles of Cowpens and Guilford Court House, with Cornwallis ' order to fire the cannon on friend and foe alike an accurate depiction of the events at the Battle of Guilford Court House.

To make matters worse, during the battle, Napoleon's close friend and Grand Marshal of the Palace, General Geraud Duroc, was mortally wounded by a cannon ball and died hours after the battle.

Harriot was a friend and assistant of Sir Walter Raleigh, who had set Harriot the problem of determining how best to stack cannon balls on the decks of his ships.

The French lost over 20, 000 men including one of Napoleon's ablest field commanders and close friend, Marshal Jean Lannes, who died after being mortally wounded by an Austrian cannon ball in an attack on Johann von Klenau's force at Aspern, which was backed up by 60 well-placed guns.

Mrs. Washington reported to a friend that " some days we have a number of cannon and shells from Boston and Bunkers Hill ".