Can you make gun powder out of charcoal and sugar?

Answer 1

Well not by themselves. Charcoal and sugar are both fuel, but they will not light fast enough without something added. The magic ingredient in explosive powders such as gunpowder is often an oxidizer (Potassium nitrate-KNO3 most oftenly used). To make an explosive powder, you would want to grind the charcoal and/or sugar with the KNO3 into a fine powder. The finer the powder, the better it is mixed. The better it is mixed, the faster it burns. The faster it burns, the more explosive it is.