Wow!
Fireworks!
Look at them go!
Hi kids!
Do you like fireworks?
Have you ever wondered how they work?
Why they’re so loud?
Or how they make different shapes and colors in the night sky?
Let’s get into it!
Fireworks were invented in China a very, very long time ago.
I’m talking all the way back to the 7th Century!
That’s over 14 centuries ago.
Wow!
In 1295, Italian merchant and traveller Marco Polo is believed to have brought fireworks
to Europe from China starting the globalization of firework fun.
In the 1830s, Italian pyrotechnicians invented the container most modern fireworks use today,
called the aerial shell.
The Italians also figured out how to make fireworks in many beautiful, different colors.
I like the purple ones.
When you see fireworks go off, you’re witnessing chemical reactions!
A firework needs three key components to work: an oxidizer, a fuel and some special chemicals
to produce the color.
Oxidizer - I like that word!
An oxidizer is a type of chemical that a fuel requires to burn.
Most oxidizers on Earth use oxygen, which is very common in our atmosphere.
Oxidizer.
Oxygen.
That’s easy to remember, they’re both “Ox” words!
The most commonly used oxidizers are nitrates,chlorates and perchlorate.
(Not so easy to remember but it gets the exploding job done.)
The second component, fuel, is typically charcoal or sulfur.
When set off, the fuel combines with the oxygen released by the oxidizer, breaking the chemical
bonds in the fuel.
This releases all the energy that’s stored in those bonds and Boom!
Explosion.
To ignite this chemical reaction, all you need is a bit of fire.
I'm feeling hot hot hot!
The fuel and oxidizer chemicals are used in three different ways.
First: THE FUSE.
The fuse that is used to light the tiny rocket is made of very fine gunpowder, which allows
the wick to burn at a very controlled rate.
This gives whoever lit the firework some time to get out of the way! Trust me, you don’t
want to be near a firework when it goes off.
In fact, fireworks in professional shows no longer have wicks.
Instead, special electronic ignition equipment is used.
This makes the job much safer for pyrotechnicians, plus they’re able to time the equipment
to set off the fireworks more precisely.
Nice.
I snuck in a very big word there, did you notice that?
Pyrotechnicians.
That means - people who work with fireworks!
Now comes Stage Two: LIFTOFF!
The burning fuse lights a larger patch of gunpowder at the bottom of the firework.
That explosion carries the rocket into the sky!
Wheee!
Finally, there’s another bundle of gunpowder that’s packed into the firework’s body,
called the burst charge.
This is stage 3 - the big show!
This is what ultimately causes the firework to burst apart!
Kaboom!
Explosion.
Let’s look at a picture of a firework packed in a big aerial cone to see how a big modern
day firework is packaged!
So to set this firework off, the fuse is lit at the top!
The fuse burns all the way down to the bottom and hits the “lift charge” and off into
the sky it goes!
Woo!
Then up in the sky, the third chamber, the burst charge, gets ignited and KABOOM!
The big explosion happens!
And now it's time for the stars to come out!
Isn't that cute, they're called stars.
The stars contain the chemical mixture that produces the color.
The stars are also packed in a special way to make whatever shape you want the firework
to make in the sky.
Neat!
Now let’s talk about how to make fireworks different colors!
The chemical mixture to produce the color is known as the colorant and the binder.
The colorant chemicals make the different colors we see, and the binder is what sticks the fuel,
oxidizer, and colorant together.
They're friends!
When the firework explodes, the chemical elements burn, exciting their electrons, which releases
energy in the form of light, produced at very specific wavelengths.
These specific wavelengths is how our eyes see color.
Oooh, shiny.
The colors produced in a specific firework all depend on the different chemicals used.
For red, it’s a strontium or lithium compound,
and for green, it’s a barium compound.
Sodium compounds give a yellow or orange color.
Carbon makes a golden glow.
Aluminum and magnesium are needed to make a silver or white explosion.
Blue is the hardest firework color to produce.
Experts combine copper and chloride to make a blue firework.
If you look closely, blue-colored fireworks appear dimmer than other fireworks.
Whoah, I see it now.
Isn’t chemistry neato?
All fireworks are noisy.
They’re explosions, after all.
But have you ever noticed that some hiss, sizzle and whistle too?!
Guess what?
That’s more chemical reactions!
Layers of different chemicals
burn one at a time.
As each layer burns, it slowly releases a gas, creating the whistling sound associated
with most firework rockets.
Aluminum or iron flakes create hissing or sizzling sparkles,
while titanium powder is
responsible for the loud booms.
Wowee wow wow!
Fireworks are an amazing sight to see but are also very dangerous.
So if you are playing with fireworks, be sure to have a responsible adult nearby.
Even little sparklers burn at 537 degrees Celsius.
That’s hot hot HOT!
Another thing, our pets don’t like fireworks at ALL.
The loud booms scare them.
So make sure to put your animal friends somewhere they feel safe and can hide.
Then go outside, look up at the night sky and enjoy the chemical reaction explosion show!
What do you think about fireworks?
Are they fun or scary?
What’s your favorite color firework?
(The correct answer is purple.)
Let us know in the comment section below.
We want to know what you think!
Now it’s time to watch another Socratica Kids video!
Click on the video you want to see next!
The ones with me are the greatest!
Ha ha ha just kidding.
I like that little frog guy too.