Millions of people around the world enjoy the beautiful aerial displays of the fireworks every year on New year’s day. Whether it’s New Year’s Day, 4th of July or any other special occasion lighting a firework signifies its time to celebrate the moment.
There is nothing more beautiful and soothing than seeing fireworks going off. However, have you ever wondered how fireworks work? Read further in the article to know about the working mechanism of fireworks.
Fireworks have been in use for over a thousand years. It is believed to have originated from China and since then the recipe has been almost unchanged. The first ingredient that any firework requires is black powder. To create a basic firework all you will need is to put the powder in a container usually made of thick cardboard or paper.
The mechanism of fireworks works like the following. Once the container is lit with a fuse or a spark, the sulfur begins melting at 235 F (112.8 C). The sulfur then starts flowing over the potassium nitrate and charcoal, which then burn. This combustion reaction then quickly produces a large amount of energy and gas-in simple words- an explosion. If there is a small hole for the gas to escape, then the reaction launches the firework into the air whereas in a confined space, it tends to blast the components of the firework apart and ignite everything nearby.
If you are a curious mind, then you may be wondering if you put black powder in a confined space, it just explodes in a cloud of heat, gas and noise. So where do the wonderful colors, bright light and sparkles come from? And how are multi color fireworks. made?
The colors:
Whenever you heat up any material, what you are basically doing is putting energy into the electrons of that material’s atoms. If you can excite the electron’s enough, when they fall back to their normal energy levels they release that excess energy as light. When you add different elements in a firework and heat it, different wavelengths of light are released which appear as different colors. Here is a list of elements that make different colors when heated.
By the mixing of elements in the pyrotechnic formula, a multi-colored firework is made.
What about sparks?
The sparks and flashes we see during a firework display are produced by adding various metals into the pyrotechnic formula. Metals like aluminum, magnesium and titanium produce white sparks. To get gold sparks, iron is added and mixing of various types of charcoal can produce red and orange sparks.
Whether you want to light up the sky for new years, 4th of July or any other celebratory moment, Affordable Flags & Fireworks is the best option in town. We have different flags and fireworks for sale. You can find a wide range of multi-colored fireworks, so feel free to pay us a visit or contact us if you have any queries.
