How do fireworks work?

Did you know that fireworks are chemical reactions? Yet they are!

The central ingredients in fireworks are

• ignition --> fuel (contains own oxygen) --> which makes it burn, though the air (as it fly’s)

Different colors are made though

• different chemicals added

• different metals particals added

A firework is made up of two main parts:

• lifting charge (on the bottom)

• round spheres on the top

Each firework will have its own fuse, which is a long string part. Once you ignite the fuse that will trigger the lifting charge. Then once the firework gets to a certain height it sets of the round spheres.

Different Colour Firworks need different metals. Here is a list of what goes in them:

Red:

• strontium salts, lithium salts

• lithium carbonate, Li2CO3 = red

• strontium carbonate, SrCO3 = bright red

Orange:

• calcium salts

• calcium chloride, CaCl2

• calcium sulfate, CaSO4·xH2O, where x = 0,2,3,5

Gold:

• incandescence of iron (with carbon), charcoal, or lampblack

Yellow:

• sodium compounds

• sodium nitrate, NaNO3

• cryolite, Na3AlF6

Electric White:

• white-hot metal, such as magnesium or aluminum

• barium oxide, BaO

Green:

• barium compounds + chlorine producer

• barium chloride, BaCl+ = bright green

Blue:

• copper compounds + chlorine producer

• copper acetoarsenite (Paris Green), Cu3As2O3Cu(C2H3O2)2 = blue

• copper (I) chloride, CuCl = turquoise blue

Purple:

• mixture of strontium (red) and copper (blue) compounds

Silver:

• burning aluminum, titanium, or magnesium powder or flakes