Flitter

Flitter, D. U.S. Patent 3,663,597 May 16, 1972 assigned to American Home Products Corporation... 

Flitter WD, Garland WA, Van-Meerveld BG, Irwin I. Aryl nitrone therapeutics and methods for treating inflammatory bowel disease, US Patent No. 6545056, April 08, 2003. 

Titanium is therefore an important ingredient in fountain compositions. It is characterised as a non-volatile metal with non-volatile oxides. The particles are easily ignited, even in the form of large flitters , and once ignited they grow progressively brighter and finally explode in a spectacular star formation. 

More exotic effects call for more exotic materials, and considerable effort has gone into formulating compositions that are both spectacular in effect and safe to produce and handle. Thus a 30 mm fountain might contain mealed (or hue) gunpowder, potassium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal, antimony trisulhde, barium nitrate, hue aluminium and flitter aluminium with a dextrin binder. This composition is certainly a good deal more complicated than that used for sparklers but is relatively safe to produce and gives a good burst of white sparks. 

The charcoal, or rather the coated charcoal, contributes to the fountain effect as does the gunpowder and aluminium by processes such as those described above. The flitter aluminium has a rather coarser particle structure than does the fine aluminium so that sparks from the former are longer lived and can survive a greater drop-height. Antimony trisulfide is commonly used to enhance the glittering effect in a series of chemical reactions with the gunpowder and aluminium. 

Varying the ratios of the components must be done with a degree of caution however. With titanium compositions in particular there is a dehnite limit to the gunpowder/titanium balance beyond which the composition can explode during pressing the titanium flitters act as tiny razor blades which can friction ignite the gunpowder. 

FLITTER (colloquial) A spark that gives a transient but twinkling effect. 

Flitter" refers to the large white sparks obtained from the burning of large aluminum flakes. These flakes burn continuously upon ejection from the flame, creating a beautiful white effect, and they are used in a variety of fireworks items. 

Large flakes, called "flitter" aluminum, are widely used by the fireworks industry to produce bright white sparks. A special "pyro" grade of aluminum is also available from some suppliers. This is a dark gray powder consisting of small particle sizes and high surface area and it is extremely reactive. It is used to produce explosive mixtures for fireworks, and combinations of oxidizers with this "pyro" aluminum should only be prepared by skilled personnel, and only made in small batches. Their explosive power can be substantial, and they can be quite sensitive to ignition. 

Prathumpai W, Flitter SJ, McIntyre M et al (2004) Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 65 714-719... 

Acetamidobenzamide derivatives, (V), prepared by Flitter (7) were effective in treating dopamine-associated neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson s disorder. 

Sowiml flitter qu tonutrjr tiaUdoe pit4 hi -qiiatQntef> >h uMinMilM prepamd. 

Urea inclusion complexes. Normal alkanes having seven or more carbon atoms form inclusion complexes in which hydrogen-bonded urea molecules are oriented in a helical lattice in which a straight-chain hydrocarbon fits. The guest molecule is not bonded to the host but merely trapped in the channel. Discovered in 1940 by Bengen, the hydrocarbon-urea complexes have been studied particularly by Schlenk, Schiessler and Flitter, and Smith (X-ray analysis). The principal findings are as follows. 

R. W. Schiessler and D. Flitter, Urea and Thiourea Adduction of C5-C42-Hydro-carbons, Journal of the American Chemical Society 74 1720-1723 (1952). 

---