The Science of 4th of July Fireworks

StartsWithABang writes: There are few things as closely associated with American independence as our willingness and eagerness to celebrate with fiery explosions. I refer, of course, to the unique spectacle of fireworks, first developed nearly a millennium ago halfway across the world. But these displays don't happen by themselves; there's an intricate art and science required to deliver the shows we all expect. So what's the science behind fireworks? Here's the physics (and a little chemistry) behind their height, size, shape, color and sound, just in time for July 4th!

Americans setting off fireworks... snicker

[Rei]

New York City for example usually sets off 20-25 tonnes of fireworks on the 4th of July. Meanwhile, little Reykjavík sets off about 300 tonnes on New Years' Eve. Americans average shooting off about 200 grams of Fireworks each over the course of the entire year, combining fireworks shows, personal usage, etc. Icelanders average about a kilogram per person just on New Years'.

And I know it's not just Iceland. I had a friend from Peru who moved to America and was terribly disappointed by what passed for a fireworks display there versus in her home country. Seriously, aren't you guys supposed to be the ones who enjoy blowing everything up? ;) Or do you get it out of your systems in the Middle East? ;)

(Note: not meant as an insult :) )

Re:Americans setting off fireworks... snicker

[sycodon]

Our Federal Government is invested with tens of thousands of people who's job is to suck the fun out of everything.

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[Rei]

Oh come on, what's New Years without an ER visit? ;) But yeah, I know some of your places have fireworks bans due to drought and the like.

In case you're curious, here's [youtube.com] what New Years looks like here. It goes on at that intensity for at least half an hour, half intensity for maybe an additional hour or so, quarter intensity for another hour, etc. All this comes after the "brennur" [youtube.com], which is about a dozen house-sized bonfires scattered all over town.

Basically, if one can make it burn or explode and there's

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[sjames]

Sure it does. You for some reason ASSuME that the fireworks will inevitably set your house on fire (apparently it has yet to happen), so you kill the fun for everyone else. Water your lawn that afternoon and hose down the roof, it'll be fine.

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[sjames]

OMG you must tremble for hours every time a car backfires! A skyrocket through a window? I have NEVER heard of such a thing happening. Unless you mean an open and unscreened window.

Many people in my neighborhood shoot fireworks every year on the 4th and there has never been a fire.

Your description of a firecracker as a "small bomb" tells me you are permanently set to "overreact".

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[sjames]

That was not a normal M1000. It was clearly (badly) hand made or modified. I know this because I used to make fireworks as a hobby until the ATF started hiking it's skirt up and doing the mousey dance every time someone sneezed.

This [youtube.com] is an actual M-1000.The message is clear, don't set off fireworks on the patio furniture.

Some of the ones I made might BARELY qualify as a small bomb but those involved 4 oz. of black powder and a well reinforced tube.

You should note that commercial fireworks are mortar shells,

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[pahles]

In the Netherlands some 60-70 million kilogram of fireworks are sold to the public for New Years' Eve. That's 4-5 kilogram per person on average... Last New Years' Eve some 574 people ended up in the hospital, some of which lost complete eyesight, or lost one or more fingers.

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[Rei]

Whoops, I was wrong - it's nearly 2 kilograms per person [mountainguides.is] here, not 1. But you've still got us beat :) (Also, it looks like America is up to 207 million pounds of fireworks [google.is] per year, a big increase... so 285 grams per capita per year).

I just think it's really weird how Americans see themselves as a major-fireworks nation when they set off so few.

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[rvw14]

Unfortunately fireworks are largely illegal on the west coast of the US due to the high possibility of a wildfire being sparked.

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[Wrath0fb0b]

There are not large parts of Iceland that are a spark away from burning to a crisp.

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[penguinoid]

Other countries don't have to worry about their own citizens blowing them up.

More carp from StartsWithABang

[Anonymous Coward]

From TFA (really SEAN's medium.com blog):

Potassium nitrate is found in sources like bird droppings or bat guano. Take a mortar and pestle, mix them together, and what youâ(TM)ll get is a fine, black powder.

I tried this and my homemade firework only made a little farting sound.

Ouch

[DerekLyons]

I actually lost IQ points reading that mess...

I should have stopped at the third paragraph,

Charcoal, in this case, is not the briquettes you use on your grill, which often contain no actual charcoal, but is the carbon residue left behind by organic matter (like wood) once it has been charred (or pyrolyzed)

Um, who is this moron? Yes, charcoal briquettes contain actual charcoal. They most certainly do contain (among other things) "the carbon residue left behind [etc...]". The rest of the article, breathless clickbait written at the kindergarten level, just goes downhill from there.

Looking at his submission history, he has a record of submitting equally moronic content all from the same site. (And one comment, over a year ago.) Pure slashvertisement.

Headline stolen from Newspaper Sunday suplement'

[BlindRobin]

Now I want to know how the science of 4th of July fireworks differs from the science of say New Years fireworks. I mean that is what I was expecting from the headline Exceptionally American 4th of July Fireworks Sciency Stuff please.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Science

[cdxta]

Fireworks 101:
      What ever goes up, must blow up!