Firework displays

HS(G)123 Working together on firework displays - a guide to safety for firework display organizers and... 

HS(Gjl24 Giving your own firework display - how to run and fire it safely... 

Fireworks displays are fascinating to watch. Neon lights and sodium vapor lamps can transform the skyline of a city with their brilliant colors. The eerie phenomenon of the aurora borealis is an unforgettable experience when you see it for the first time. All of these events relate to the generation of light and its transmission through space. 

The colors of fireworks displays are produced by emission from atomic ions as described in Chapter 7. The explosions of fireworks promote electrons to excited states. The energy level scheme of every element is different, so fireworks manufacturers can change colors by incorporating different elements. Sodium ions emit... 

Eor example, street lamps use the emissions from excited sodium atoms, the dazzling colors of a fireworks display come from photons emitted by metal ions in excited states, and the red light in highway flares often comes from excited Sr ions. 

When aluminized AP composite propellant burns, a high mole fraction of aluminum oxide is produced as a combustion product, which generates visible smoke. If smoke has to be avoided, e. g. for miUtary purposes or a fireworks display, aluminum particles cannot be added as a component of an AP composite propellant In addition, a large amount of white smoke is produced even when non-aluminized AP composite propellants bum. This is because the combustion product HCl acts as a nucleus for moisture in the atmosphere and relatively large-sized water drops are formed as a fog or mist This physical process only occurs when the relative humidity in the atmosphere is above about 60%. If, however, the atmospheric temperature is below 260 K, white smoke is again formed because of the condensation of water vapor with HCl produced as combustion products. If the HCl smoke generated by AP combustion cannot be tolerated, the propellant should be replaced with a double-base propellant or the AP particles should be replaced with another... 

Aspects of special effects described in this chapter include fuses (quickmatch and plastic fuse), lances (small coloured flares), set-pieces and devices (assemblies consisting of various types of fireworks linked together), flash, bang and whistle compositions and daylight fireworks (smoke puffs and coloured smokes). Finally, the electrical firing of firework displays is discussed. 

The rather complicated setting up of electrically-fired displays is more than compensated for the split-second timing that is achievable. This is especially important when large displays are fired to accompany music, which might be the way of all firework displays in the future. 

Thus, in perspective, the journey by road to any firework display might well be significantly more dangerous than the display itself. However, in order to maintain this high standard of safety it is important to educate, so far as is possible, anybody who is even remotely associated with the handling of fireworks. 

In the broader context we must consider safety as it applies to a long list of topics. For every firework display there is the safety of the general public to consider. Equally important is the safety of the spectators, stewards and attendants, not forgetting the operators themselves. The list should also take account of the safety of animals and property, including buildings, vehicles and personal effects. An ill-aimed rocket can quite easily penetrate a bathroom window and continue burning once inside the room. 

MSER covers the manufacture, storage and handling of all explosives (e.g. ammunition and blasting explosives) and there is specific reference to fireworks, fusing fireworks and assembling fireworks displays from components. 

It should also be noted that the Regulations apply to the manufacture and storage of explosives whether this is for work or non-work purposes. This means that they would apply to anyone storing explosives for personal recreational use, or to clubs or societies storing for firework displays or re-enactment events. 

M. A. Williams, Modern Rack and Mortar Designs for Professional Fireworks Displays , J. Pyrotechnics, Issue No. 2, 1995. 

Sometimes, the celebration of a major event is accompanied by a spectacular firework display. In particular, firework displays are a traditional way of commemorating great victories in war the loud explosions and brilliant flashes that light up the sky recapturing the thrill and excitement of battle while allowing the whole experience to be enjoyed in safety. But how are these gloriously noisy and colorful displays produced ... 

Not all chemical processes are as energetic or spectacular as a firework display. But even striking a match involves a chemical reaction. Heat produced by friction when the match head is rubbed against the side of the box sets off a chemical process similar to that in a firework. 

Pre-WWII. The use of LP for space travel appears to have been first suggested by Ziol-kowsky in 1898, but not published until 1903 (Ref 1). He also suggested the piggy-back launch, ie, a rocket launched from another rocket, although this principle had been used much earlier in fireworks displays... 

Figure 22. Seventeenth-Century Fireworks Display, Lorrain, 1630. Flaming swords, shields and pikes, wheel of fire, rockets, stars, candles, serpents, water fireworks. The sun and the moon which are pictured are presumably aerial bombs, and the dragons are probably dragon rockets running on ropes but may possibly be imaginative representations of serpents of fire. The picture is convincing evidence that many of the varieties of fireworks which are now used (in improved form) for display purposes were already in use three centuries ago.

Draw and then color an original composition based on a holiday celebrated with nontraditional colors. Or, draw and then color a scene or a single object using atypical or unexpected colors (e.g., a green hamburger in a blue bun or a forest of blue and pink trees). Include a chemical change in each composition for example, a Fourth of July fireworks display or the forest of pink and blue trees on fire. 

Demonstration 1.2 More Excitement in Atoms A Fireworks Display. .. 31... 

There was an accidental fire last summer as reported in the newspaper article attached herewith, which resulted 17 injuries, some of which were serious. Three high school students were seriously wounded, and one of them unfortunately died on December 1. Such a tragic mishap was caused first by middle—school pupils playing with fireworks close to the fireworks display counter, and secondly by the unavailability of an emergency exit, the back door, because it had been closed and barred to protect against possible robbery. 

Please post the signs "No Fire" at firework display counters and other appropriate... 

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