How do fireworks turn out? How are fireworks made? Journey inside the fireworks

Everyone without exception has probably seen the periodic table. Many of these elements and a wide variety of substances are available and necessary for pyrotechnicians in their work to create explosive, unique, truly grandiose fireworks in scope and color palette. To obtain a certain light effect or flames of various colors, you need to accurately and competently place each ingredient in the composition of the future fireworks. If you are wondering what “ingredients” professionals use to prepare fireworks so that each of them is unique, bright and mesmerizing, then this article is especially for you.

So, here is a list of all kinds of chemical components for creating an enchanting pyrotechnic cocktail:

the addition of aluminum to the composition allows you to achieve the most bright and saturated white and silver in the pyrotechnic ensemble.
Barium is needed to produce bright green lights and is a necessary ingredient in the stabilization processes of certain highly volatile constituent elements.
Carbon is a powdery substance used to ignite a projectile. By the way, soot, starch and - just imagine - regular sugar do an excellent job of this task.
The calcium in fireworks allows the lights to turn a very beautiful orange-orange color.
Chlorine is used in pyrotechnics as an oxidizing agent, and it is also an essential component for metal salts that are involved in the reproduction of a particular color.
Cesium also plays a role in oxidative processes, and allows you to achieve a deep and beautiful indigo color.
The use of copper halides is due to the need to create a full palette of blues, while ordinary copper gives an unusual blue-green color.
To produce a spark in the charge, iron is added to the pyrotechnic mixture.
A beautiful pink-violet color is formed when potassium is added to the composition. Potassium compounds are also used in oxidation processes.
Lithium carbonate is an essential pigment element in the composition of some pyrotechnic mixtures. Lithium produces bright red lights.
Magnesium in fireworks burns snow-white to create a spectacular sparkling waterfall, and, like antimony, is used to provide maximum shine.
Sodium, if not diluted properly with calm shades, produces an incredibly intense yellow color.
An essential element in fireworks fuel is phosphorus, which has such useful properties as burning quickly in the air and shining unusually brightly in the dark.
Oxidizing agents in pyrotechnics are needed to release oxygen, which provides more efficient combustion. Oxygen is also often required to create any color.
Rubidium produces colorful red and purple colors.
The most important ingredient to launch fireworks into the sky is sulfur. Sulfur is a component of black powder.
Strontium is used to produce red lights in a fireworks ensemble, zinc is used to create bluish-white lights, and titanium is added to admire the scattering of beautiful silver sparks.

A single fireworks is a tube at the end of which there is a stand-plug. The device from the inside: a festival ball that creates a fireworks effect, a charge and a wick that comes out. When the fuse lights up, the propellant charge is activated, causing the ball to fly out of the tube. While the ball reaches its maximum height, the moderator burns out in it, and the main charge of the ball itself is initiated in the sky. This creates a beautiful fireworks effect.

Fireworks battery device

Firework batteries are pyrotechnic products that combine a certain number of single fireworks. One battery can have different single fireworks - with different calibers and different visual effects. Therefore, batteries are best suited for organizing holiday fireworks. The internal structure of the battery is similar to the device of a single fireworks, the only difference is the number of fireworks. Main characteristics of the battery: caliber and number of salvos. Gauge is the diameter of the launch tube and is measured in inches. The larger it is, the more powerful the fireworks. The number of salvos is equal to the number of single fireworks included in the battery.

Before launching a fireworks battery, be sure to carefully inspect its packaging. It must be intact, without streaks, creases or traces of mechanical damage. It is not recommended to use batteries in torn or dented packaging. A damaged pyrotechnic product may either not work at all (at best) or work in a completely unpredictable manner, which is fraught with serious consequences. It is safest to soak such a product in water for a day to neutralize the flammable mixture, and then dispose of it.

The firing battery is started as follows:

Open the top cover and fold it back at least 180 degrees.
Place the battery on a horizontal surface (it should be level and non-slip). If the base of the battery is smaller than its height, it is necessary to ensure that it falls over. To do this, cover it with snow, earth or bricks.
Light the wick using a sparkler or lighter. Do this with your arm extended and without bending over the product.
Quickly run away to a safe distance (at least 20 m). Only now can you turn your face towards the salute battery.

Roman candle device

Roman candles (in pyrotechnic slang - Romans) at first glance seem to be quite simple products. In fact, the design of a Roman candle is quite complex. A Roman candle is a multi-layer launch tube designed to fire several volleys. For each salvo there are 3 required elements. Let's look at this design from top to bottom:

A charge with a pyrotechnic effect (star).
The ejection charge required to eject and fire the sprocket.
A moderator that transfers the fuse to the next charge.

Lit Roman candles are dangerous to hold in your hands. They should always be buried half the height in the ground or snow, or attached with tape to a strong stick or reinforcement. The most important thing is to securely fasten the Roman candles.

Pyrotechnic rocket device

Despite the fact that all rockets have the same design, they are considered the most interesting type of fireworks. Each rocket has a stabilizer - an object with carefully adjusted weight and dimensions. The stabilizer can be the rocket body itself or a wooden stick on which the charge and engine are mounted. An engine is understood as a dense sleeve with a nozzle containing a pyrotechnic composition in the shape of a concave cone, which increases the combustion area. Each missile also has a moderator and charge. The retarder burns out as the rocket gains altitude, and then a charge is initiated, which creates the visual effect of the fireworks.

Remember that rockets with broken stabilizers cannot be used! The flight trajectory of such missiles can be completely unpredictable.

A single fireworks is a tube at the end of which there is a stand-plug. Inside there are: a festival ball that creates a fireworks effect, a charge and a wick that goes out.

When the fuse lights up, the propellant charge is activated, causing the ball to fly out of the tube. While the ball reaches its maximum height, the moderator burns out in it, and the main charge of the ball itself is initiated in the sky. This creates a beautiful fireworks effect.

Fireworks batteries

The firing battery is started as follows:

Open the top cover and fold it back at least 180 degrees.

Place the battery on a horizontal surface (it should be level and non-slip). If the base of the battery is smaller than its height, it is necessary to ensure that it falls over. To do this, cover it with snow, earth or bricks.

Light the wick using a sparkler or lighter. Do this with your arm extended and without bending over the product.

Quickly run away to a safe distance (at least 20 m). Only now can you turn your face towards the salute battery.

roman candles

Roman candles (in pyrotechnic slang - Romans) at first glance seem to be quite simple products. In fact, the design of a Roman candle is quite complex. A Roman candle is a multi-layer launch tube designed for several salvos. For each salvo there are 3 required elements. Let's look at this design from top to bottom:

A charge with a pyrotechnic effect (star).

The ejection charge required to eject and fire the sprocket.

A moderator that transfers the fuse to the next charge.

Pyrotechnic rockets

Remember that rockets with broken stabilizers cannot be used! The flight trajectory of such missiles can be completely unpredictable.

Most holidays in Russia are traditionally accompanied by fireworks. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a wedding or Victory Day, which is celebrated at the state level, fireworks of varying complexity decorate the sky for any occasion. But how does an explosion turn into art?

10 12 2015
00:56

A beautiful picture in the sky is created with the help of two components - the shells themselves and the launchers.

The general diagram of the fireworks charge device is as follows: casing, gunpowder, inclusion of elements to create an image, charge and wick. Let's take a closer look. Let me make a reservation in advance that most, but by no means all, fireworks are made in the manner described below, so the technology may change.

Making fireworks starts with the body. Recently, plastic is most often used as a material for it. The main cord is glued to the bottom of the case, through which the spark will pass to the charge.

In the center of the future fireworks there is a compartment that is filled with powder explosives - it is this that will provide the first level of the explosion. Once filled, the compartment is sealed to prevent its contents from mixing with the outer layer. The latter is filled with so-called stars - explosives containing magnesium (gives a white flash), copper salts (blue), charcoal (orange) and other additives to create multi-colored sparks in the sky. For greater effect, so-called “comets” are added to fine explosives - small charges with a different visual effect. This entire explosive mixture is filled with a strictly calculated amount of gunpowder.

If the fireworks display is conceived as a complex, for example, two-component show, then the number of compartments increases. A shock absorber made of corrugated cardboard is installed between them, which is necessary to create a delay between explosions. The second, as well as all subsequent compartments, are filled in the same way (in accordance with the customer’s wishes).

One projectile contains several different compartments that separate different charge zones from each other. This is necessary in order to create stepped flashes. The result is a “bomb” elongated along one of the axes, to which a lid made of the same plastic as the rest of the body is glued on top.

The finished projectile is wrapped in paper and also supplemented with a small bag of gunpowder, which will serve as a lifting charge. A cord is attached to it, which is ignited when the fireworks are launched. The internationally color-coded label helps determine the size of the charge, and the labels indicate the components used to determine the appearance of the explosion. Often, for safety of transportation, the projectile is delivered immediately with the launch tube (if its size allows it).

Work with gunpowder is carried out in compliance with maximum safety precautions. To avoid static discharge, assembly line employees wear thin rubber gloves at all times to avoid detonation of explosives.

It may seem like that's all it takes to paint the sky with different colors, but the fireworks won't take off without the proper launcher. And if we divide the show into stages, then the first of the two claps is precisely the sound of a volley.

Trigger devices can be divided into several types. The first of them is the simplest - the launch tube. As the name suggests, it is a hollow cylinder covered with multiple layers of insulation and protection for repeated use. Most often it is used to launch several small projectiles separated by a moderator - most often a fuse that takes the fuse, burns for a while and only after that sends the “start” command to the next charge. Such fireworks usually fly low (at or slightly above the level of the house) and are sold in retail fireworks stores for the public due to their low cost of production.

Fireworks batteries are a more complex design. They are also found in stores, but are somewhat more complicated - in them, individual charges are connected to each other in a special way, which allows them to be combined to create certain effects in the sky.

This type of fireworks, like rockets, does not require special devices to launch. However, large charges need to be set in the correct direction. This is done using two elements - stabilizers and the same launch tube. The more stable a rocket flies, the less likely it is to damage nearby objects.

The difference between professional devices and “household” ones is reliability and scale. Those fireworks that we see during major public holidays are launched using cannons. Moreover, their design may well be similar (but not identical, of course) to the same launch tubes and batteries, but steel or cast iron is used as the material for it. The size of such launchers is also impressive - they are more like anti-aircraft guns, or multiple launch rocket systems (which, with some stretch, they are).

We have completed the journey inside the fireworks and now we know what the technology for creating bright and colorful celestial pictures looks like from the inside. Happy New Year everyone!

Dmitry Potapkin, especially for Obzor.press.

Calling it a fireworks is not entirely correct. In fact, a salute is a greeting with shots (from rifles, but more often from guns). And when it’s beautiful in the sky, it’s fireworks. The two terms are often confused. By the way, they mix it up in practice: an artillery salute can be accompanied by festive fireworks.

The general diagram of the charge device is as follows: shell, gunpowder, inclusion of elements to create an image, charge and wick.

Let's take a closer look.

Making fireworks starts with the body. Recently, plastic is most often used as a material for it. The main cord is glued to the bottom of the case, through which the spark will pass to the charge.