Pyrotechnic displays

Alkali metal nitrates can be prepared by direct reaction of aqueous nitric acid on the appropriate hydroxide or carbonate. LiN03 is used for scarlet flares and pyrotechnic displays. Large deposits of NaN03 (saltpetre) are found in Chile and were probably formed by bacterial decay of small marine organisms the NH3 initially produced... 

Run as a family business, John Brock established his premises in North London at a time when Pleasure Gardens were growing in popularity and provided ideal venues for the erection of tall frames on which to effect the pyrotechnic displays. 

OPERATOR A person who operates fireworks or pyrotechnic displays (usually in conditions of darkness, cold and damp, with little financial reward, but inestimable dedication). 

Display Rocket. It is a rocket used for pyrotechnic display. It may be constructed using a cardboard case with a chamber in the forward end separated by a plug of clay or other material thru which a piece of quick match passes. The chamber is filled with black powder, and colored light compositions shaped in the form of stars, primed with mealed powder. The tail end of the rocket contains a propellant and a guiding stick. When the rocket is shot into the air. and teaches its maximum height, flame from the propellant is conveyed by quick match to the forward section, igniting... 

Stars are pellets of combustible material. Those which contain neither aluminum nor magnesium nor Paris green have nothing in their appearance to suggest even remotely the magic which is in them. They are, however, the principal cause of the beauty of aerial pyrotechnic displays. 

When Isidor Isaac Rabi was a graduate student at Columbia University in the mid-192 Os, his eye was on Europe, where intellectual fireworks were illuminating the minds of physicists, animating their discussions, and entertaining their ambitions. This was not the situation at Columbia University, where only a sputtering roman candle occasionally lit the corridors and laboratories of the physics building, Pupin Hall. In 1926, the contrast between European and American physics was like that of the grand finale of a major pyrotechnic display and a simple sparkler. 

A PRACTICAL MANUAL FOR MANUFACTURERS OF FIREWORKS, SIGNALS FLARES AND PYROTECHNIC DISPLAYS... 

Strontium discharged into the atmosphere from the operation of coal fired power plants depends on the strontium concentration in coal, the amount of coal burned, and the efficiency of fly ash recovery. Approximately 90% of coal mass is consumed during the combustion process, leaving 10% as a residual nonvolatile material (fly ash) containing 100-4,000 ppm Strontium (or mg/kg) (Furr et al. 1977). Atmospheric concentrations of strontium emitted from coal fired power plants have been found to range from 17 to 2,718 mg/m3 in the western United States and are approximately 9,786 mg/m3 in the eastern United States (Ondov et al. 1989 Que Hee et al. 1982). Phosphate fertilizers are known to contain between 20 and 4,000 pg strontium/g solid by weight (Lee and von Lehmden 1973 Raven and Loeppert 1997). Strontium can be released into the atmosphere in windblown soil to which phosphate fertilizers have been applied. Pyrotechnic displays release low levels of strontium on the order of 5 mg/m3 in the immediate environment of the display (Perry 1999). 

Perry KD. 1999. Effects of outdoor pyrotechnic displays on the regional air quality of western Washington State. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 49 146-155. 

Fountains are particularly suited to festive occasions such as weddings, where silver and gold can be produced alternately from the same fireworks to give graceful arches and fans, or they may be used to supplement other effects such as personalised messages with hearts and flowers. Alternatively, the larger fountains can make successful contributions to daylight pyrotechnics displays. 

Bursts or puffs of smoke are produced by explosively-dispersing very fine particles (aerosols), either in the form of combustion products or as inert, solid ingredients. These effects are seen in daylight pyrotechnics displays or when firing blanks from artillery pieces. In the latter instance, a brass case loaded with grain gunpowder is fired from the breech to give white smoke, which is in fact an aerosol of mainly potassium carbonate particles. Alternatively, if a bag of fine powder such as charcoal dust is... 

The flight line behind a Blue Angels jet erupts in flames during a pyrotechnics display. (AP Photo)... 

Emissions from these elements produce the brilliant colors of pyrotechnic displays. 

The thermodynamics of these metathesis reactions are well illustrated by further consideration of the M0S2 system. The large amount of heat produced in this reaction, emphasized by the accompanying pyrotechnic display (iO), can be quantified from a Hess s law calculation where the heat of the reaction is -213 kcal/mole 11). (Bomb calorimetry... 

Alkali metal compormds are used in pyrotechnic displays—fireworks. 

Calcium, strontium, and barium are obtained by the reduction of their oxides with aluminum Ca and Sr also can be obtain by electrolysis of their molten chlorides. Calcium metal is used primarily as a r ucing agent to prepare, from their oxides or fluorides, other metals such as U, Pu, and most of the lanthanides. Strontium and barium have limited use in alloys, but some of their compounds (discussed later) are quite important. Some salts of Sr and Ba provide vivid colors for pyrotechnic displays. 

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