by Wes Becker

Created on: May 20, 2008

In celebrations all over the world, one specific thing makes it a celebration, that specific thing is fireworks. Fire works were first used in twelfth century china as a way to ward off evil spirits. Soon the Chinese saw firework's true beauty and it became an art, with respected pyrotechnicians (or firework masters). In the eighteenth century fireworks were used as weapons by militaries in the nations of Europe. Now, fireworks have spread all over the world and are commonly used to celebrate certain events such as a birth, wedding, death, coronation, new years festival and in American the independence day festivals.

The production of fireworks is a very complicated task. First the firework tubes must be made by using thick rolling paper. One end of the tube is plugged to prevent chemicals from escaping through holes in the bottom of the tube. The chemical are then placed in the center of the firework tube, when light this is what will create the explosion. For a single firework, a fuse is placed on the top, however to create a square shaped repeater, several tubes are glued on a thin sheet of cardboard, and repeating this until they form a box formation. After you drill two holes in each tube and string a fuse through each hole connecting each firework. After this the chemical powder is placed in each tube, and the tubes are sealed.

Each result of a light firework, the sights and sounds, are the results of several chemical reactions. Oxidizers (oxidation is a process where oxygen is gained and hydrogen is lost) what are used in the black powder of fireworks create the chemical gas that is needed to burn the mixture of agents and to excite the atoms. Oxidizers in fireworks include nitrates, chlorates, and perchlorates. Nitrates (which are the most commonly used oxidizers) release two of three of their oxygen atoms when they react. This helps propel the firework into the sky when light.

Basic chemical principles are in play when fireworks are light. These basic principles include redox reactions, combustion and the excitement of electrons in metal ions when heat is applied. The beautiful colors of fire works require chemical reactions to take place. For reactions in fireworks to take place the oxygen produced by oxidizers needs to burn and reducers reduce the amount of oxygen gas. When light, all the chemical reactions result in a combustion (process of rapid oxidation of a substance with simultaneous release of heat and light). Reducing agents burn off the

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