fireworks

The definition of fireworks is exploding gunpowder and chemicals designed to launch colorful bursts of sparks.

Facts About Fireworks

• Process - A fuse is lit. It ignites gunpowder, and a projectile is launched through the barrel. The barrel used to launch the firework shell is called a mortar. It is usually a steel pipe with gun powder, or lifting charge, to push the shell out of the tube.
• Four parts to a firework shell - Container, fuse, bursting charge and stars
• The outer container is made of brass with the inner container usually made of paper and string.
• The inner container runs the length of the brass container and is filled with gunpowder to serve as the lift agent.
• The fuse is ignited at lift-off and expels a large amount of gas out the rear to speed the payload.
• The fuse continues burning as the shell rises. The longer the fuse, the higher the altitude of the display.
• When the container explodes, the "stars" begin to burn, creating the bright sparks in a fireworks show. The colors of the "Stars" are based on the combination of metals and salts which have been added to the binding agent.
• Orange colors are produced by calcium salts, blue colors are produced by copper, lithium and lithium carbonate make colors like red and iron produces a range of different colors from white to yellow to orange and red.
• The arrangement of the metal and chemical salts will determine the shape of the display in the sky, ranging from circular or willow to chrysanthemum or palm.
• Firewords explode due to the production of oxygen and mixed with reducing agents such as sulfer and carbon combined with the simple chemical reaction of incandescence and the process of luminescence.