How are fireworks made?

A firework is a device that uses combustion or explosion to produce a visual or auditory effect. Modern pyrotechnics also includes devices similar to fireworks, such as flares, matches, and even solid-fuel rocket boosters used in spaceflight.

The earliest ancestors of fireworks were paper or bamboo tubes filled with finely grourid charcoal and sulfur used in China two thousand years ago. These tubes produced a flash of fire and smoke when ignited, but no explosion. True fireworks did not exist until saltpeter was added to the mixture to create black powder, the first chemical explosive, one thousand years later. Black powder was probably first made in China, but some scholars suggest that it may have been invented by the Arabs.

The Chinese used black powder for fire-works, signals, and weapons such as bombs and rockets. Black powder was introduced to Europe in the 14th century as an explosive for both fireworks and guns. It was applied to mining and roadbuilding projects by the late 17th century. Black powder was used for gunpowder until it was replaced by nitrocellulose in the late 19th century, and (for industrial purposes) by dynamite in the early 20th century, but it is still used in fire-works today.

Fireworks in China evolved from simple firecrackers to the extravagant displays witnessed by European explorers in the 16th century. In Europe, fireworks began with military explosives adapted for use in celebrating victories and progressed to the elaborate productions designed by Italian pyrotechnists in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. (Even today, most of the large fire-work companies in the United States are run by Italian-American families.) These Italian fireworks were usually shown on lavishly decorated wooden sets, often floating on bodies of water, both for safety and to reflect the beautiful displays. On the other hand, German fireworks of the time were usually shot into the air, much like today’s fireworks.

Although the firework displays of the Italian masters were extremely complex and impressive works of art, the technology of the time limited their color and brightness. During the 19th century, the introduction of aluminum and magnesium greatly increased the brightness, while the development of potassium chlorate by the French chemist Claude-Louis Berthollet (who was trying to improve the gunpowder used by Napoleon’s troops) made it possible to produce more intense colors.

Fireworks came to the New World with the earliest settlers, and have been used to celebrate Independence Day, July 4, since the earliest days of the United States. During the early 20th century these fireworks became bigger, more powerful, and dangerous. Between 1900 and 1930 more than 4,000 people were killed by fireworks. Federal and state governments began regulating the use of fireworks in the 1930s. Explosives are classified as Class A (dangerous substances such as dynamite and TNT), Class B (fireworks used for professional displays) and Class C (smaller fireworks intended for private use.) Class C fireworks must not contain more than 50 milligrams of explosive. Some states allow all Class C fireworks, some allow only “Safe and Sane” fireworks (Class C fireworks that do not move or leave the ground), and some states or counties and cities ban the private use of all fireworks. Some very dangerous fireworks, such as cherry bombs, M-80s, and silver salutes, are banned in all states, but continue to be made and sold illegally. Most firework deaths and injuries in the United States today are caused by these illegal devices.

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