Fireworks

By Cole Domann

The invention of Gunpowder.

• Invented accidentally by Chinese cook.• First firework probably a closed bamboo

tube with gunpowder inside.• Figured out that if a hole was in the

bottom of tube it would fly up.• Chemists developed modern mixture of

75% salt peter (which comes from bat dung), 15% Charcoal, and 10% sulphur (still used more than 1000 years later).

Invention of Firecrackers• Started as gunpowder in bamboo tubes.• Progressed to gunpowder in paper tubes

with tissue paper fuses.• “ground rats” were invented to scare

enemies in war • Rats ran around in unpredictable

patterns and sometimes flew up in the air.

• Chinese put guide fins on the rats which led to rockets.

Advancements in fireworks.

• Gunpowder and fireworks brought to the west by explorers.

• Italians try to advance the science of pyrotechnics.

• Until the 1800’s fireworks were still missing one key component of fireworks we all know and love…

Color

Pyrotechnicians experiment with chemicals to create color.

Colors and chemicals are as followed: 1. Red; strontium salts, lithium salts

lithium carbonate (for red), strontium carbonate (bright red)

2. Orange; calcium salts, calcium chloride, calcium sulfate

3. Gold; incandescence of iron (with carbon), charcoal, or lampblack

Color Contd.

• Yellow; sodium compounds, sodium nitrate, cryolite

• Electric white; white-hot metal, such as magnesium or aluminum, barium oxide

• Green; barium compounds, chlorine producer, barium chloride

• Blue; copper compounds + chlorine producer, copper acetoarsenite, blue copper, turquoise blue.

• Purple; mixture of strontium (red) and copper (blue) compounds

• Silver; burning aluminum, titanium, or magnesium powder or flakes

Shell Types

As with colors, shells are as followed:• Palm Contains large comets, or charges in the shape

of a solid cylinder, that travel outward, explode and then curve downward like the limbs of a palm tree

• Round shell Explodes in a spherical shape usually of colored stars

• Ring shell Explodes to produce a symmetrical ring of stars

• Willow Contains stars (high charcoal composition makes them long-burning) that fall in the shape of willow branches and may even stay visible until they hit the ground

Shells Contd.

• Roundel Bursts into a circle of maroon shells that explode in sequence

• Chrysanthemum Bursts into a spherical pattern of stars that leave a visible trail, with an effect somewhat suggestive of the flower

• Pistil Like a chrysanthemum shell, but has a core that is a different color from the outer stars

• Maroon shell Makes a loud bang • Serpentine Bursts to send small tubes of incendiaries

skittering outward in random paths, which may culminate in exploding stars

Firework laws

• Currently 18 states allow almost all types of fireworks (green)

• 20 only allow “safe and sane” fireworks, (ones that don’t fly up and explode) (blue)

• 6 States only allow sparklers (yellow)

• 6 states don’t allow any fireworks (red)

Firework Injuries

• In 2006, eleven people died and an estimated 9,200 were treated in emergency departments for fireworks-related injuries in the United States.

• An estimated 5% of firework injuries required hospitalization.

• Most common injuries were to the hands, eyes and head totaling 5,200 injuries.

• More than half of those are burns.• Also cause many house fires.

Injury controversy

• The firecracker category is responsible for 1600 injuries a year.

• In 2003 13% of all firecracker injuries were because of M80’s, silver salutes, quarter sticks, cherry bombs, etc.

• These fireworks are not classified as illegal fireworks they are classified as illegal explosives.

Fun Facts

When newlyweds Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette celebrated their royal bonds with a fireworks display on May 10, 1774, they inadvertently set in motion a stampede which left 800 of their wedding attendees dead.

The use of fireworks more than doubled in the United States in the decade between 1992 and 2002. In 2003, American citizens blew up more than 220 million pounds of the decorative explosives.

some fireworks used in religious ceremonies in Thailand and china were 8-10 feet long and were on bamboo sticks more than 40 feet long

Bibliography

1. Bradley, Colin. “The History of Fireworks,” Pyro Universe. 2007. January 28, 2009. <http://www.pyrouniverse.com/history.htm>

2. Kuklin, Susan. Fireworks; the science, the art, and the Magic. South China Printing Company. 1996

3. Cobb, Vicky. Fireworks: Where’s the Science Here? Millbrook Press. 2006

4. “Fireworks-Related Injuries.” Centers for disease control and prevention. June 26, 2008. January 29, 2009. <http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/fworks.htm>

5. “How Fireworks Work.” How Stuff Works. 1998-2009. January 29, 2009. http://people.howstuffworks.com/fireworks2.htm

6. “Chemistry of Fireworks.” About.com. 2009. January 29, 2009. http://chemistry.about.com/od/fireworkspyrotechnics/a/fireworkcolors.htm