“Most today fire electrically…you push a switch a current goes through a filament and heats up the powder and gets it to go.” It certainly limited the artistry how fast that guy could run,” Conklin said. “In the old days, someone with a torch would walk along the line of the mortars and individually light the fuses for the shells. As they fall to the ground, the light energy the pellets release forms the classic firework shape we see.

When the casing explodes, pellets containing the chemical color mixtures are propelled outward. As it flies through the sky, slow-burning potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur combust, heating the main casing of the firework. The flame travels through the lift charge, the first blast of gun or black powder that sends the firework upward. It’s a very distinct wavelength for the different chemical elements.”Ī firework is ignited by lighting a main fuse, which kicks off the chemical reaction inside. In doing so, that extra energy is emitted as a photon - a particle of light. “When it cools off, that electron drops back down to its normal energy state. “At high temperatures, an electron can get excited and jump to a higher energy level,” said Conkling. Due to copper’s narrow temperature range, blue is the most difficult color for pyrotechnic experts to create. Lithium and strontium carbonates produce deep reds and purples, copper chlorides produce blue titanium, aluminum, and magnesium are silvery calcium chloride is orange sodium is yellow and finally, barium burns green. Posted by PBS NewsHour on Friday, July 1, 2016ĭifferent elements burn at different visual wavelengths, but the pigments we see all originate from metals and metallic compounds. Our guest: John Conkling, Former executive director and technical director of the American Pyrotechnics Association. Toll Science Center at Washington College to talk about the chemistry of fireworks. Happy July 4th weekend! On Monday, millions of Americans will watch fireworks light up the night sky, but have you ever wondered how those explosive displays work?We’re live at the John S.

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