SPARKLERS FIREWORKS HOW TO

The blue balls are the stars, and the gray is black powder. The shell's fuse burns while the shell rises to its correct altitude, and then ignites the bursting charge so it explodes.Ī simple shell used in an aerial fireworks display. When the lifting charge fires to launch the shell, it lights the shell's fuse. The mortar might be a short, steel pipe with a lifting charge of black powder that explodes in the pipe to launch the shell. In the next section, we'll look at aerial fireworks, such as those you might see in a fireworks display. A variety of chemicals can be added to create colors. The metal flakes heat up until they are incandescent and shine brightly or, at a high enough temperature, actually burn. It is very common for fireworks to contain aluminum, iron, steel, zinc or magnesium dust in order to create bright, shimmering sparks. The fuel and oxidizer are proportioned, along with the other chemicals, so that the sparkler burns slowly rather than exploding like a firecracker. When you light it, the sparkler burns from one end to the other (like a cigarette). Mixed with water, these chemicals form a slurry that can be coated on a wire (by dipping) or poured into a tube. The fuel is charcoal and sulfur, as in black powder. See this Question of the Day for a discussion of oxidizers - potassium nitrate is a very common one. If you look at Patent #3,862,865: Sparkler composition, you can see that a sparkler consists of several different compounds: Sparklers are often referred to as 'snowball sparklers' because of the ball of sparks that surrounds the burning portion of the sparkler. A sparkler burns over a long period of time (up to a minute) and produces extremely bright and showery light. Sparklers are very different from firecrackers. A composition used in a firecracker might have aluminum instead of or in addition to charcoal in order to brighten the explosion. Black powder, discussed briefly in How Rocket Engines Work, contains charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate. They consist of either black powder (also known as gunpowder) or flash powder in a tight paper tube with a fuse to light the powder.

SPARKLERS FIREWORKS HOW TO

The sparkler demonstrates how to get bright, sparkling light from a firework, and the firecracker shows how to create an explosion.įirecrackers have been around for hundreds of years. It turns out that if you understand these two pyrotechnic devices, then you are well on your way to understanding aerial fireworks. For example, you have probably seen both sparklers and firecrackers.

That means you never need to travel to find the perfect fireworks for any occasion, hoping the store will have what you want when you arrive.Just about everyone in the United States has some personal experience with fireworks, either from Fourth of July or New Years Eve celebrations.

We offer bulk pricing for everyone and deliver directly to your door. We love our collection of ground effect fireworks and can't wait for you to explore our website. If you need ideas about incorporating your ground-based fireworks, see what our customers are doing to jazz up their fireworks events!

Who doesn't love setting off smoke bombs and ground spinners to watch them delight us up close and personal? We haven't met anyone who feels that way yet, and we're all determined we would change their minds the moment they see a Jumbo Color Smoke Ball start billowing beautiful plumes of smoke. Even better, you get to be right in the middle of the action with ground effect fireworks! Our Red Apple Fireworks team loves all the terrific ground fireworks manufacturers have created over the years! They are the perfect lead-in for the aerial portion of any fireworks exhibition, whether in your backyard or at a major venue in your city. Wholesale-for-Everyone Discounts on Ground Fireworks - and Home Delivery!

Sparklers fireworks