WEBVTT - Rerun: Fireworks, Part Two 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.480 either and Welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:17.880 I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio and how 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:22.520 the tech are you Today? We are going to listen 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:27.680 to the second part of my two part series on fireworks, 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:30.640 or our two part series, I should say. It's a 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:34.240 different era of tech stuff we're talking about here. And um, yeah, 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:37.280 we had part one yesterday because it was fourth of July, 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:43.360 and I just figured we'd run both parts. So sit back, relax, 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:49.320 and enjoy this second part about how fireworks work. As 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:54.080 of about the Italian Renaissance, people started adding different metals 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.960 into the gunpowder to make it burn in different colors, 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:01.000 and I suspect that this was tie into the fact 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.080 that also around the Italian Renaissance, people were starting to 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:07.200 make brilliantly colored paints of many different kinds, and the 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:09.920 same the same metal compounds that were being used for 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:14.680 those paints, I'm guessing is what got parted over into fireworks. Absolutely. Yeah. 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:16.440 They also found, you know, if you were able to 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:19.399 get a metallic salt and say burn it, it would 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:22.399 burn with a particular color of flame, so you would 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:25.360 get a flame that would be green or blue or 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:28.520 whatever based upon the metallic salts that were in that mixture. 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:33.440 And that's when they said, hey, this this firecracker stuff. 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:35.800 If we were to put this in combination with the 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.760 firecracker stuff, we'd get these different colors of light that 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:43.080 would go off because of the explosion could ignite a 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.800 secondary charge that would have a mixture of these metallic 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.840 salts in them. So we just mixed together the right way, 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:52.000 we get the right color. Now, the important thing to 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:55.040 remember is that these ingredients they don't change the chemical 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:58.520 reaction of the explosion itself. It's more like adding a 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:02.200 little flavor. So your basic ingredient is still the same. 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:05.240 It's that black powder, but it's what you mix with 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.320 it that gives you the bright, pretty colors. Right, And 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:12.360 to explain what creates those bright pretty colors, we need 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:15.480 to get down to an atomic level of how photons 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:20.360 are created, yeah, or not well, given off given off? Yeah. Yeah. 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:22.920 So if you have an atom, one of the things 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:25.800 that one of the sub atomic particles that make up 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:28.519 that atom is the electron. Right, you have electrons that 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.919 surround the new trol the nucleus with neutrons and protons, 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:35.760 or in the case of hydrogen, just proton, and if 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:38.160 you were to add energy to that atom, you would 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:40.840 excite the electron. And I don't mean it'd be like, oh, 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:43.600 I cannot wait until of interest to age of ultron 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:45.799 comes out. Actually that's kind of I imagine that the 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:47.880 dance that the electron does is very much like that 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.720 dance that I do. Yeah, the little the little little 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.880 arms are are at shoulder height and and clinched in 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:55.880 fists if you want to envision it, and then you 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.359 just kind of wiggle a little bit. So these electrons, Yeah, 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:02.320 they get excite did from their normal energy state, which 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:04.320 is called the ground state. That's the one that they 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.519 naturally inhabit, and they're just hanging out exactly. So, so 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:12.960 that excited state will kind of push the electron further 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:16.520 out athletes. Yeah. So the thing is this is not 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:20.680 sustainable forever. If you take the energy source away, then 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:24.040 the electron will gradually come back down to its ground state, 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:26.440 but it has to give off all that energy it 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.520 accepted in the process, all right, So when it snaps back, 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.400 it gives off energy in the form of a photon, right, 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:36.240 and depending upon the element, you will get a different 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:40.640 color of light, a different a different wavelength of photon exactly. Yeah, 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.160 the photons light is dependent upon its wavelength and the 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:47.000 amount of energy that it has equals the color that 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:49.839 you see. Yeah. So, and and the thing is, once 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:54.040 you know which elements are generating a certain color, it's 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:56.960 going to be that way all the time. It's pretty dependable. Yeah. 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:01.040 So we have a list of color and a list 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.800 of the elements the metallic salts that are commonly used 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.560 to create said colors in your typical fireworks display. So 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.760 we're going to alternate describing these. Do you want me 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:15.680 to go first? It's the longest list, So all right, 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:17.960 here we go. All right, So for the color, we're going, 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.680 by the way, in the order of roy G BIV. 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:26.000 Technically we're doing roy g bit because because indigo actually 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:29.119 gets turned into indigo and violent get turned into purple. Also, 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:31.960 I guess it's technically roy g bits because we have 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:34.120 an S at the end. All right, fair enough, here 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.880 we go, starting off red. To create the color red, 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:41.560 you would typically add metallic salts such as strontium salts, 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:46.560 lithium salts, lithium carbonate, or strontium carbonate, which creates a 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:50.920 very bright red. So the again, depending upon which ones 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:54.240 you use, you get different hues of whatever color you're 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:58.799 looking at. Sure, orange you've got calcium salts or calcium chloride. 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:03.320 Yellow you have sodium salts or sodium chloride. Green can 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:08.760 be barium compounds plus a chlorine producer, or barium chloride. Yep. 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:12.159 Blue would be copper compounds plus a chlorine producer you're 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:16.640 probably noticing some trends here, or copper chloride. Purple can 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:19.600 be a mixture of blue and red compounds, so so 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:23.039 like strawntium and copper. And then you have silver, which 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:26.719 is essentially something like aluminium, titanium or magnesium that's just 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:30.800 burning and those things burn really super bright. That's what 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:37.120 gives fireworks there their silvery sparkly look. Yeah, so those 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:41.040 are your basic ingredients. So how do we end up 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.560 with the starburst patterns? I mean, obviously, if you just 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:47.760 had an explosive with just these metallic salts mixed willy 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.400 nilly in there and it exploded, it would just be 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:54.080 a big, massive light in different colors. But we see 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:57.240 these beautiful starburst patterns that come out. So what is 0:05:57.279 --> 0:06:01.400 it that causes that. Well, it's all in the actual 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:07.080 manufacture and design, the layout design of right. Yeah, it's 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:11.039 it's how you have uh situated the various metallic salts 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:12.839 and you put them well. Well, okay, so so we 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.480 mentioned we mentioned at the end of the last episode 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:18.560 that the basic let's run down again, the basic way 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:21.000 that a firework is composed. Sure, okay, So if you 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:24.440 were looking at a firework from top to bottom, if 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:27.200 you cut one right in half. Yeah, so the yeah, 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:28.640 if you cut of right in half, you would see 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:30.720 that in the center is a burst charge. That's that's 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:34.800 your your black powder that's designed to push everything outward 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:38.400 in uh, in whatever formation you happen to have. And 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:40.520 then surrounding that, you're going to have some kind of 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.960 a clay or or other material that's holding what's called 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:46.840 in the industry stars. Yeah, this is the metallic salts 0:06:46.880 --> 0:06:49.279 that are placed in And these these stars are small, 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:51.880 they're like three or four centimeters across, so they look 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:54.880 like pellets, and the pellets can be put around. There's 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.120 also black powder around those, so it can really project 0:06:57.120 --> 0:07:00.159 them out and also ignite them so that they burn properly. 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:05.600 Now you've got these layouts that will determine exactly what 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:08.000 kind of effect you'll have. It's also the shape of 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:12.160 the projectile shell itself, but really it's the layout of 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:14.080 those those stars. If you put the stars in a 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:18.080 really tight circle around this this uh, this burst charge, 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:20.520 then when the fireworks goes off, you're going to get 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:24.400 a perfect circle that expands outward as these metallic salts 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.440 ignite and fly outward. And the cool thing is that 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:31.760 a lot of these stars they have it where there 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:35.040 it's a three sixty degree thing. But because of the 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.800 way we perceive fireworks, it looks to us more like 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:41.440 a two dimensional circle that expands out, but it's actually 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:45.560 going out in all directions. It's a true explosion. Uh. 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:47.280 If you were somehow able to be in the middle 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:50.000 of one. For example, if you were I don't know, 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:52.800 to fly a drone with a video camera on it 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:55.800 into a fireworks display, which happened this year, then you 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:57.800 would be able to see that it explodes outward in 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:01.480 all directions, not just in a two dimensional circle, which 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:05.480 is pretty cool. Uh. At any rate, you end up 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:08.680 mixing those metallic salts with an oxidizer or reducing agent, 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:12.320 which is also a fuel, oxidizers and reducers work together 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:15.280 to create the Bernie Bernie, and then also a binder 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.840 which holds all the stuff together. Now, the oxidizers and 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:22.280 the stars aren't usually potassium nitrate like you would find 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:25.720 a black powder, because those oxidizers don't allow for high 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.320 temperatures that are needed to produce the chemical reactions necessary 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:32.400 for the different colors. In other words, potassium nitrate doesn't 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:36.440 burn hot enough to ignite those metallic salts, so we 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:39.480 usually end up going with something like potassium chlorate, which 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.440 we mentioned in the previous episode, creates these more even 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:47.600 more spectacular explosions or combustions. Uh just it burns even 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:51.840 faster than regular black powder does, making it much more dangerous. 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:54.400 But that's what you need in order to generate these colors. 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:57.120 Although again also that we mentioned in the last episode, 0:08:57.440 --> 0:09:00.760 people are looking at alternatives because potassium chlorate is not 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.680 the best thing in the world to get in the environment. 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.360 Once it has combusted, you get chloride for one thing, 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.520 not a good stuff, but you do get those more 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:13.840 intense reactions, which allows the the starbursts to ignite and 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:18.840 fly outward. We're interrupting this episode because we're about to 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:21.560 take a break for some messages will be right back. 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:32.000 So you would typically have lots and lots of these 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:35.439 stars packed into a single firework and you place the 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:39.199 meticulously inside the rocket. And by meticulously I mean this 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:43.679 is done by hand. People hand make these fireworks so 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:48.520 that the patterns are exact. They will place the stars strategically. Uh, 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:50.439 this is how you are able to get something like 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:53.400 a smiley face effect because it's it's it's all based 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:56.240 on physics. You know that you know exactly how far 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:58.760 something's gonna fly based upon the amount of black powder 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:02.240 in there, and it's or orientation within the firework itself. 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:05.160 So there's nothing special in the sense of there's no 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:09.080 special tech that makes this heart shape or this smiley face. 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:12.360 It's all in how those stars are right in there. 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:17.440 It's very careful chemistry and mixing and physics. Yeah, physics 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:19.120 does the rest for you, as if you've done your 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:22.360 job correctly in the design of the physical firework. Physics 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:24.560 takes care of the rest. It'll just make stuff go 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:26.600 boom and it'll fly the way it's supposed to fly 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:28.920 based upon where you put it. And I'm sure machines 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.360 could could even more precisely than humans create these mixtures 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:34.720 and put them down in But the thing is that 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.520 machines tend to get a little bit warm and sparky 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.240 while they're doing their things, so overall it's a lot. 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:42.720 I mean, my hand is way less sparky than most 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:45.319 machines that I know. Yeah, so also get rid of 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:48.360 that stack electricity before you go in there. But see, 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:50.320 one thing you could do is you could use computer 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:53.400 programs to help you figure out what's the ideal layout. 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:56.880 I'm sure, I'm sure that those algorithms exist. Yes, yeah, 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.439 they do. Where you can actually you have all because 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.520 the law of physics are pretty consistent. You know, we 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.360 don't generally have our laws turned upside down from one 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:07.679 day to the next. As we'll talk about in the 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:11.800 next section. There are some factors that can cause a 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:16.720 little bit of havoc. Weather, humidity, all that kind of stuff. Pressure, 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:21.040 I'm sure. So looking at a rocket completely in cross section, 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:23.800 let's say you're cutting it in half long ways, not 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.640 not horizontally, so vertically, uh, and you're looking at it 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.439 from top to bottom, here's what you would have. You 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:33.760 would have a one main fuse that would lead down 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:38.520 from the top of the projectile into the firework. That 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:42.400 would ignite two separate other fuses. All right, So you've 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:45.120 got one fuse that's a time delay fuse, and it 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:47.520 burns more slowly. Then you have a quick burning fuse, 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:51.960 which obviously burns faster. The quick burning fuse goes along 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:55.680 the outside of the firework down into its base. That's 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:58.040 where you have the lift charge. That's the black powder 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:01.600 that's going to provide the force to project the the 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:05.520 firework into the sky. Uh. The second the time delay 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:08.360 fused will continue to burn, and if you've designed the 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:11.280 firework correctly, again based upon the laws of physics, you 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:15.719 will have it ignited just the right uh arc right right, 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:19.400 usually when the firework has reached the peak exactly, and 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:22.520 so that would light the burst charge that's the one 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:24.559 that has all the stars centered around it. So you've 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:27.080 got two charges, the lift charge and the burst charge, 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.280 and the two have to be separated or else you 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:32.360 just get a mortar that explodes in a bright color 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:35.640 of light, which we've had happened before that accidents have happened, 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:38.040 um and then right, and then each of those little 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:42.040 stars inside the package have their own oxidizers that are 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:44.800 going to set off at the star exactly. And you 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:47.800 may even have a multi break firework which would have 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:52.040 multiple chambers that have burst charges and stars in them, 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:56.080 so that you get multiple explosions from one projectile. Uh. 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:58.880 Those would have even separation charges that you can think 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:00.719 of it kind of like a pocket that goes into 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.160 outer space. You know, when the engines are done, you 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:06.560 have the little separator charges that explode, separating the engines 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:08.640 away so that the rest of the vehicle can continue 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:11.160 going off into space. Same sort of thing with your 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:13.440 basic firework, except of course you're not shooting it nearly 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:15.760 as high, but you have little little Yeah, you have 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.920 a little separation charges that will allow the multi breaks 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:22.080 to happen. Meanwhile, that fuse just continues to slowly go 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:26.960 through the entire uh firework, lighting each section uh in 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:29.880 the right order. So it's pretty cool. So let's talk 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.440 about some of these different kinds of shells and what 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:35.440 exactly they do. Sure, yeah, so these are these are 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:39.400 terms in the fireworks industry. So the kind of shell 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:43.000 you have, the design of it, the the physical shape 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:44.720 of the shell as well as the layout of the 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:49.880 stars are what determine the how it behaves. So for example, 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:51.640 I guess we can alternate with these two. You have 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:56.440 a palm shell, which contains large comets or charges in 0:13:56.480 --> 0:14:00.439 the shape of a solid cylinder. These travel outward, they 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.000 explode and then curved downward like the limbs of a 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.640 palm tree. So those are you know, now you'll be 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:08.280 able to impress your friends when you watch a fireworks display. 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:11.360 That's a palm charge. It's a classic palm c really 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:16.600 well done. You've also got the round shells. Those perhaps 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:21.040 expectedly explode in a spherical shape, usually of colored stars. Yeah, 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:23.440 this is what I always think of when I think fireworks. 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:26.280 This is the particular style I think of, just the 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.880 big round globe of glowing stars like red or green, 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.840 flying outward. I actually think of the palm first. Yeah, 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.040 I can, I can see it all depends on I guess, 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:37.520 your own personal experience. I've seen a lot of Disney 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:41.240 fireworks and and these round shells are They're very fond 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:43.120 of them. Yeah, because if you do three of them 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:46.280 in the right orientation, they look like a mickey head. Yes, exactly. 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.040 So then you have the ring shell. This explodes to 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:51.400 produce a symmetrical ring of stars. The way this works 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:53.600 is that again, if you were to cut a ring 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:56.760 shell in half, you would see just a perfect ring 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:01.480 of the the pellets, the star pellets around the burst charge, 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.040 and it would just shoot them all out, uh, in 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:07.920 a circle, you know, in in equal directions. So that's 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:10.080 all that one works. Uh. Then you've got a willow. 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:14.440 These contain stars with a high charcoal composition to make 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.480 them really long burning um so that they'll fall out 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:19.920 in the shape of willow branches and and stay lips, 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.400 stay visible sometimes even until they hit the ground. Yeah, 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:23.800 these are the ones that you know, you see those 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:26.560 sparkles and they just the long trail of sparkles as 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:30.440 they slowly descend. They're very, very impressive. We're making so 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.400 many gestures over here, folks. It's really there's a lot 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:36.760 of like, uh, spirit fingers going on inside the studio 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.440 right now. Then you have the round dell, which bursts 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:43.240 into a circle of maroon shells that then explode in sequence. 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:47.160 Maroon shells is that the color actually no in in 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:51.920 fireworks language, maroon shells are shells that make a boom noise. 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:53.880 These are the ones that I really didn't like as 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:57.240 a kid. The very loud bangs. So by the way, again, 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.520 the way you create that loud bang is you really 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:03.680 compress that black powder uh in in uh fireworks factories. 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:05.480 The way I've seen this is that you create the 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:09.000 parchment shell, the black powders in it. You then have 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:12.840 that shell wrapped in string that is very tightly wound 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:16.320 so it compresses it. Then you put wet parchment paper 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:18.800 on the outside of it, tightly wrapped so that when 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:22.360 it dries, it compresses it even more. Yeah, pretty impressive. 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:25.600 Our next type is the chrysanthemum shell, which which person 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:28.400 into like a spherical pattern of stars that that leave 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:30.640 a visible trail, so the effect is something like a 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:33.280 chrysanthemum blossom. Yep. Then you have the pistol, the p 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.640 I S T I L, which is like the chrysanthemum shell, 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.120 but this one has a core. There's a different color 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.400 than the stars that fly out from the middle, So 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:43.920 the middle has one color, the stars the second color. 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.120 You can have just a maroon shell yep. So if 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:50.640 you just just a bang, yeah, I hated those. And 0:16:50.680 --> 0:16:54.360 then you had the serpentine, which is my strategy, and halo, 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:59.280 which never works. But no serpentine fireworks shell burst to 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:03.680 send small tubes of incendiaries skittering outward at random paths, 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:06.000 which may culminate an exploding star. So if you ever 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.600 see the ones that have like the crazy Spinney's that 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:11.760 fly off, yeah, those are serpentines. So those are your 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.520 basic types of fireworks shells. Of course, there are other 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.840 variations on these, or there's some that use this as 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:20.520 a basis and then they create a different effect. But 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.000 if you were in the fireworks trade, those are the 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:25.600 kind of terms you would be hearing, and people would 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:27.720 just call them out as they would see them launchic. Oh, 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:30.960 that's a round, l that's a serpentine. You wouldn't have 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:32.600 to say that's a maroon because everyone would be going 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:36.280 what anyway. So we've talked a little bit about this, 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:41.840 but actually launching fireworks, especially in terms of displays. So yeah, 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:44.800 the basic one we've covered the idea that you know 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:47.400 you have the slow burning fuse and the quick burning fuse. 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:50.280 The quick burning one lights the black powder. One thing 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:51.879 we didn't mention is that you do have to have 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.080 a mortar, which is essentially a pipe that has a 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.000 closed off end on one side, and you know In 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:01.320 the old days, you would essentially light the one main fuse, 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:05.800 drop the package into the mortar, and then run the 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:10.080 heck away before everything started going bonky. So once that 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:14.879 lift charge ignites, it creates a lot of gas, and 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:18.000 that gas expands and that's what provides the thrust to 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:21.000 push the package out of the mortar and into the air. 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:23.960 So if this sounds a lot like our discussions about 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:28.399 things like cannon and flintlock pistols and things of that nature, 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.200 it's because it is. We're talking about expanding gases. It's 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:34.840 the same thing that creates the the propulsion for your 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:40.280 basic firearm. So you've got your mortar and your your 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:42.160 lift charge, and that's all you need to be able 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:46.080 to launch it properly. These days, we don't necessarily need 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.480 to have someone physically light a fuse and then dump 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:52.880 it into a mortar. Than right there's there there are 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:56.960 computerized fuses that will h I mean not self light 0:18:57.160 --> 0:18:59.960 but no, no. Why Essentially, you've got you set up 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.440 your your mortar system that already has the various packages 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.760 in each mortar as it's supposed to be uh, and 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:09.240 then you have an electrical charge that can create the 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.720 spark to light the fuse, so that way everything can 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:15.280 be done from a distance. You can either have it 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:18.199 where it's manually done, where you push a button and 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.520 that button is what creates the spark, or you can 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.320 have it fully automated, where you've got a full program 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:25.919 and you say, at this time stamp and when this 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:30.120 program runs, this particular spark needs to happen, and in 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:32.200 that case you can launch a firework. So this is 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:35.960 where you get those big choreograph displays. Right, You've got 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:39.280 a essentially a program that has a beginning to the end. 0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:41.920 And think of it like a video on YouTube. You 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:43.679 would you look at the video and you'd see, oh, 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:46.520 it's seven minutes twelve twelve seconds long. I want to 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:50.840 see what happens at minute three and and twelve seconds 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:52.520 and you go straight to that point and you look 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:56.080 at that frame. Well, in this computer program, you would 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:59.520 be able to see which switches were essentially being thrown 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:05.000 all atronically not mechanically necessarily these days, and you could say, oh, alright, 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:10.320 at that point, orders seventeen three and forty nine all fire. 0:20:10.600 --> 0:20:13.919 There's a roundel in the center, there's a chrysanthemum, and 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:16.760 there's a pistol and all three go up simultaneously to 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:20.119 create the effect you're going for. And you know exactly 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:22.640 what's in which mortar. You know, you program that ends 0:20:22.640 --> 0:20:24.359 you put them there. Yeah, you put them there, and 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:27.280 you say to the computer program, this is the thing 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:31.280 that's in this other thing, and you you cut and 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:34.919 create your fuses. Fuse technology also has a lot to 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:37.200 do with how all of this is going to go off. 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:40.800 And fuses are just really basic things if you've never 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:43.080 created one yourself, that are made of some kind of 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:46.880 fuel um that's coated or or possibly soaked or infused 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:50.280 with some kind of oxidizer, and the exact materials and 0:20:50.440 --> 0:20:52.679 ratios of materials that you use are going to give 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:55.399 you these these different time effects right whether or not 0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:57.680 it will burn at say, you could have the same 0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:00.960 length of fuse and one of them might take fifteen 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:03.120 seconds to burn all the way through, the other one 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:06.000 might burn all the way through in three seconds. Again, 0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:08.639 it all depends upon the the stuff you've put into 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:11.240 that fuse, the oxidizers and any other kind of fuel 0:21:11.280 --> 0:21:15.639 you've imbued the fuse with. So uh, once you know 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:19.200 the physics and assuming your chemistry is good, you can 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:22.280 have very consistent results from one firework to the next. 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:25.359 So that assumes a lot. It means that you have 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.160 to be very consistent and all the ingredients you use. 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:31.000 You have to be consistent in the mixtures, the proportions 0:21:31.040 --> 0:21:34.040 you're using, as well as consistent in the placement of 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:37.200 stars and the fuses that you use. But if you are, 0:21:37.480 --> 0:21:41.280 if you're really good about that, then you know how 0:21:41.680 --> 0:21:44.359 far the thing is gonna fly based upon the amount 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:46.840 of lift charge in it and it's weight, because that's 0:21:46.880 --> 0:21:48.359 the two things that are going to determine how far 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:50.960 projectile flies is how heavy is it and how much 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:53.159