ABSTRACT
No one appreciates a fireworks display as much as a chemist does. When a beautiful red shell explodes up in the sky, 99% of the audience goes “ooooh.” The chemist says “aah, strontium.”
The production of bright light, often with vivid color, is the primary purpose of many pyrotechnic compositions. Light emission has a variety of applications, ranging from military signals and illuminating devices to highway distress flares to spectacular aerial fireworks and theatrical pyrotechnics. The basic theory of light emission was discussed in Chapter 2, and several good articles have been published dealing with the chemistry and physics of colored flames.1,2
times, or the compositions can be pressed into pellets and fired or expelled into the air. The aerial pellets are referred to as stars, and a large star fired singly is often referred to as a comet. Very small stars are also now widely used in fireworks fountains, where an expelling charge of a black-powder-type composition sprays small microstars into the air to produce spark-type effects of various colors.3
