image courtesy of Jay Jacobson: http://www.fractalism.com/
FIREWORK COLOURS
The first fireworks were as early as 100 B.C. by the Chinese. The original function of fireworks were for religious ceremonies, but later became used as “flaming arrows” by a variety of military groups.
image courtesy of Jay Jacobson: http://www.fractalism.com/
Fireworks consist of two different chemical
components, gunpowder and “stars”. The
gunpowder is composed of Sulphur, charcoal and
Potassium nitrate. The chemical composition of the
stars will determine what colour you will see when the
firework explodes. Different types of chemicals will
emit different colours of light when they explode, the
chart below shows the chemical composition of
different colours of fireworks.
Colour |
Chemical Compounds |
Red |
Strontium salts, lithium salts |
Orange |
Calcium salts |
Gold |
Incandescence of iron (with carbon), charcoal, or lampblack |
Yellow |
Sodium compounds |
Electric White |
White-hot metal, such as magnesium or aluminium |
Green |
Barium compounds + chlorine producer |
Blue |
Copper compounds + chlorine producer |
Purple |
Mixture of strontium (red) and copper (blue) compounds |
Silver |
Burning aluminium, titanium, or magnesium powder or flakes |
A typical red firework would contain:
Stars composition (by weight):
Potassium perchlorate (KClO4) – 67%
Strontium carbonate (SrCO3) – 13.5%
Pine root pitch (fuel) – 13.5%
Rice starch (binder) – 6%Gunpowder composition (by weight):
Potassium nitrate (KNO3) – 75%
Charcoal (Carbon) – 15%
Sulphur – 10%
Question #1
A firework technician wants to make a red firework with a total “star” weight of 247g, and a total gunpowder weight of 126g. How much of each of the 7 chemicals does the technician need?
