Fireworks Research

Fireworks

When thinking of fireworks, many peoples first instinct is to picture bursts of color accompanied by the loud noises of the explosions. Not many people think of what all goes into the production of a firework and how it works. But then again, why would you when you could be enjoying a beautiful firework display? Exactly, you wouldn’t. Let me tell you a little bit about what goes into fireworks and why you see what you see. It will make you appreciate the fireworks even more than you already do.

The technical definition of a firework is “a device containing gunpowder and other combustible chemicals that causes a spectacular explosion when ignited”. In simpler terms it is something that has chemicals in it and when lit on fire makes a beautiful explosion.

There is still so much more to a firework than that, the producers of fireworks don’t just throw chemicals into a little tube, light it on fire and throw it into the air. There are a lot of flammable chemicals involved, and in order for fireworks to be pretty they have to put the right chemicals together and they have to be exactly the right amounts too.

There are four main chemical ingredients that go into fireworks in order for them to work the way that they do; fuel, an oxidizing agent, some type of colorant in which there is a metal, and a binder (Antonis). All of this is found inside of the aerial shell, this is where all of the chemical reactions take place. Once the substances are ignited, the fuel and the oxidizing agent react with each other and this reaction causes intense heat and gasses (Antonis). In the middle of the shell a charge with a fuse on top will explode because of the high temperatures and gasses emitted from the previously stated reaction (A...

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... grass and trees are already extremely dry people say that having their homes greatly out weighed the spectacular show of the fireworks (NYT).

I think that if the people behind fireworks could form a way to enhance them in a way that the risk of fires being started was lowered significantly then they would be a lot better. All of the things put into fireworks are pretty cool and its amazing how they work and how scientists have figured out what chemicals make each color. But having fireworks when you cannot use them because they may start a fire is not any fun.

I used to think of fireworks and think that they were like magic. I never put any logic into it. Now that I know what goes into them, and how they work, I think they are pretty awesome. You never really appreciate how much work goes into something until you know what it takes; you take things for granted.