Black powder, Green Dot/Red Dot, & Pyrodex: aren they all the same?
No. Black powder is an ancient formula consisting of a homogenous mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. Green Dot, Red Dot, and Pyrodex are a few types of the “smokeless” powders that have replaced black powder as the propellant in modern ammunition. Unlike black powder, which produces a significant amount of solid waste products (seen as smoke particles), smokeless powders consist of a nitroglycerine/nitrocellulose mixture that produces almost exclusively gaseous byproducts, making ammunition much more powerful while greatly reducing the amount of smoke. Nowadays black powder is used only in fireworks, and by antique rifle/cannon enthusiasts. Smokeless powder can be used to make tape fuse, but not black match.
