The Elements of Fireworks

People think that fireworks associates with the fourth of July, but it is mainly created
for and associated with New Years celebrations. There is a legend of a Chinese cook who
accidentally spilled saltpeter into a cooking fire, producing an interesting flame; saltpeter
is an ingredient in gunpowder. Through the mixture burned with a pretty flame in a fire, it
exploded if it was enclosed in a bamboo tube. The invention of gunpowder appears to
have occurred about 2000 years ago, with exploding firecrackers produced later in the
Song dynasty (960-1279) by a Chinese monk named Li Tian, who lived near the city of
Lui Yang in Hunan Province. Also, early fireworks were bamboo shots filled with
gunpowder. They were exploded at the commencement of the new years to scare away
evil spirits. Much of the modern focus is the color.
There are many elements used in fireworks. Some of the elements that are used are
Copper which is used to create blues and little bits of greens. Carbon is used for prime
components of black powder. Aluminum helps produce silver and white colors, and
sparks and flames. Phosphorous helps fireworks ignite spontaneously in the air. Sulfur
helps fuel fireworks. Antimony helps create glitter effects. Zinc contributes to creating
smoke clouds, among other effects. Iron helps produce sparks. Barium is used to create
green colors; it also helps stabilize and oxidize firework mixtures. Strontium brings red
color to fireworks, and helps stabilize and oxidize firework mixtures. Calcium helps
deepen the colors of the other elements, and brings a silver color and a little bit of red to
the fireworks. Magnesium helps create bright white flames. Lithium also adds a red color
to the fireworks. It also gives a deep yellow color. Sodium helps produce the gold and
yellow colors in the fireworks. Potassium also helps oxidize firework mixtures. The last
of our elements is chlorine, which intensifies, or brightens colors. That is how the
different elements and colors make a difference in the fireworks.

The light and colors or the energy levels in electrons in fireworks are important. Also,
Incandescence and luminescence are the two main working parts that produce the color
in fireworks. The light produced from heat is called incandescence. Colors ranging from
infrared to white are produced as heat causing a substance to get hotter. Metals like
titanium and aluminum can be used to increase the temperature and cause the firework to
burn brighter. The light that is produced using energy sources other than heat is called
luminescence. Luminescence is sometimes called "cold light," because it is light
produced, not by heat, but by other energy sources. Energy absorbed by an electron of an
atom or molecule will cause it to be excited and unstable. When the electron's energy
state is lowered, it is released as light. Different elements are combined according to the
reaction they produce, to control the release of colors at different temperatures. Example:
Barium chloride will produce the color green, but isn't stable at room temperature. It has
to be combined with more stable compound like chlorinated rubber to produce the
desired color. The quality of a firework is determined by the purity of the ingredients, the
formulation of the compounds and the skills of the manufacturer. The date the product
was made or age of the firework can also have an affect on the presentation.

Bibliography

The chemistry of Fireworks,

http://library.thinkquest.org/15384/chem/chem.htm
Anatomy of a Firework,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/kaboom/anatomy.html#bottom

How Stuff works,

www.science.howstuffworks.com/question388.htm

History of Fireworks,
http://www.pyrouniverse.com/history.htm

Glow in the Dark,

www.eng.iastate.edu/explorer/topics/glowinthedark/glowdarkhelping.html