Firearm

A Japanese arquebus: The arquebus was the first firearm to become a main weapon of warfare.

Firearms are projectile weapons that use directed chemical explosions to propel projectiles at high speeds and are the most commonly used weapons in the world today. Firearms first emerged in China around 1100 and in Europe around 1300, after which they evolved into a form which made them a primary weapon of war by 1500. Over the next five centuries, developments in firearm technology would move warfare more and more towards ranged combat with melee being a minor consideration in war.

Firearms in Science Fiction

In various science fiction series (especially those set in or close to modern times), firearms are often the primary form of small arms.

• The United States Colonial Marines in the Alien series make use of various firearms
• In Stargate, the forces of Earth make use of various projectile weapons
• Firearms are used in the Star Wars universe, generally by civilians among the more backwards sections of the Galaxy.

Firearms in Fantasy

Many fantasy writers steer clear of gunpowder weaponry, prefering to have their fiction in worlds in which gunpowder is absent or at least unrefined for military purposes. The most common reason for this is that most fantasy is based on mythology conceived of well before the development of firearms. The second is the fact that many fantasy writers are interested in pre-gunpowder means of warfare and romanticized conceptions about pre-gunpowder warfare, praticularly the nessesity of martial skill (one of the key reasons why firearms displaced earlier methods of warfare was the ease in which it was possible to train conscripts in their use, thus making it possible to cheaply train armies of peasent Arquebusiers in months which could defeat knights which took years to train).