WEBVTT - Lab 027: Here Comes the Boom 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:02.760 Okay, so we've got to talk about the elephant in 0:00:02.759 --> 0:00:05.640 the room. As soon as we thought that the list, 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:08.719 like you couldn't pile anymore on top of us. In 0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:13.239 twenty twenty, we've had enough. Then y'all started shooting off 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:15.120 fireworks every day. 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:17.840 But what are we celebrating? I don't know. And that's 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:20.439 the thing. It's like all the rules have been broken, 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.040 like people are. I heard fireworks two nights ago in 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:26.640 my neighborhood. I heard fireworks during the day. 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:30.800 We can't even see those anywhere, you though, what's happening. 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:35.600 I'm t T and I'm Zachiah and from Spotify. 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:56.840 This is Dope Labs. 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:12.560 Okay, Zee, listen to this. What is that? 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:14.759 I know you know this sound because it has been 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:18.320 keeping us all up at night. It should have sent 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:24.880 shivers down your spine. Is the fireworks and this sounds specifically, 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:29.520 are fireworks in my neighborhood that I was hearing at 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:31.080 night not too long ago. 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:35.520 I don't know what's going on. Did everybody get together? 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:38.360 I mean I missed the meeting because I didn't get 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:40.679 any fireworks. I don't know who was handing them out 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:43.680 or what. But it's mind boggling, and it's driving a 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:45.800 lot of people nuts. I've seen a lot of people 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:51.440 ranting on Twitter and on Instagram about fireworks and being 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:54.720 kept up late because of fireworks and how it's driving 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:55.280 them crazy. 0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:58.880 I was initially thinking, Okay, this is just limited to 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:01.160 the Internet, these are jokes. But then The New York 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:04.800 Times ran a piece talking about the conspiracy theories, and 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:07.840 that told me that we needed to investigate. So today's 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:10.960 lab is all about fireworks. We're going to tell you 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:15.280 exactly how they work and what you should probably consider 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:18.520 before you jump in on this. Let's get into the recitation. 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:23.760 So what do we know? I know people keep setting 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:25.760 the fireworks off I know that they're supposed to be 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:26.359 illegal here. 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:30.440 I mean we know that, you know, fireworks can be 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:36.760 cultural and that folks love them. They range in what 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:41.160 they look like, what they sound like, and their size. 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:43.640 But beyond that, I don't know too much. I know 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:45.640 I enjoy them, which is crazy to me because the 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:48.680 things I enjoy I really like to really dig deep. 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:51.000 So what do we want to know? We want to 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.119 know what are the basics behind fireworks. I don't really 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:53.920 know how they work. 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:55.440 And I want to know why are there so many 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:57.920 fireworks going off in neighborhoods? 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:01.440 And I don't know if everybody else got their pyrotechnic license, 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:06.639 but I feel like there's some basic safety we need 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:06.959 to cover. 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.240 I want to know how the field, like, how the 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:13.359 fireworks field has changed over the years, and what can 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:14.680 we expect in the future. 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:18.160 I saw on Twitter a couple of weeks ago some 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:22.480 drones doing a firework display? Is that the new firework drones? 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:24.400 So you're gonna be able to shoot a firework from 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:27.160 your iPhone? Yep? Is you're going to be an app? 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:29.440 You know, you send the message, now you can send 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:31.079 it with confetti. It is going to be a real 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.800 firework in a sky. Yes. For closer to the hunger 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:39.880 games that we thought, let's jump into the dissection. 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:44.080 In this lab, we brought in pyrotechnics expert Fran Scott. 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:48.960 I'm Frank Scott, and I'm a pyrotechnician and engineering presenter 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:50.240 and a general maker. 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.680 Pyrotechnics is the science and art of self contained and 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:59.280 sustained reactions, and those reactions make heat, light, gas, smoke, sound, 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:03.520 you name it. Fireworks are just one type of pyrotechnic. 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:07.640 Okay, So first we had to figure out, like where 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.279 do we even start with fireworks? 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:12.480 Yeah, and it seemed. 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:14.640 Like a good place to start would be with fire. 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:19.320 I've always been fascinated with fire, like I like candles, 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.080 like it's nobody's business. And yes, I like the aroma, 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:25.240 But I think half of that, maybe seventy five percent, 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:29.440 is just striking a match. You know. I can remember 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:31.000 as a kid, and I don't even think I told 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.880 my parents this. My grandma used to keep matches in 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:36.320 the bathroom, and you would light a match if it 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.720 was really stinky in there. Uh huh man, I was 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.440 a match light and ful. Okay. I would go in there, 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:44.960 people would be outside. I'd go right in the bathroom. 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:47.560 I get that pack of matches and I'll just let 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:49.440 it sizzle. Sometimes I was stick it in water to 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.039 see what was gonna happen. I mean, I don't know 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.760 where that fascination comes from. Are you? Are you fascinated 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:55.080 with fire? 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:58.640 Tet No, I'm not a pyromaniac, so I don't. I 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.760 don't have these I don't have these problems. But now 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:04.040 I'm worried, see I am, because you do have a 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:05.120 lot of candles in your house. 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:06.080 I was just reflecting. 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:08.240 I was like, hmm, okay, so now I know what 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:12.080 my friend has been doing during the quarantine, relaxing, keeping 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:12.839 herself busy. 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:13.600 Light fires. 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:21.000 So with fire, fire is something that I feel like 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:24.440 most people interact with, but none of us know really 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:25.560 what it is. 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:29.960 Yeah, fire is a plasma, so it's a charged gas. 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:31.679 With fire, we'll all. 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:34.760 Gladly sit round it and look at it. But if 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:37.599 you were to ask someone what is it. Is it 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:39.200 a liquid, is it a gas. If it's a gas, 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:40.719 why can we see it? Why does it change color? 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:42.280 Why is it orange? Why is it red? Why does 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.160 it flow in that certain way? All of these questions 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:48.080 that most people, including myself, would be like, hang on, 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:51.919 just let me google a little bit, because it's so intriguing, 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:56.039 and yet we we actually as a population, know so 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:56.840 little about it. 0:05:57.279 --> 0:06:02.200 So a fire starts when a material is rapidly oxidized, 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:05.600 so that means that it's losing electrons at a really 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:09.400 really rapid rate, and energy is also released in the 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:12.279 form of heat, light and other things, and then a 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.680 flame is produced. And when you think about how quickly 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:17.200 we see a flame when it comes to fire, that's 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:19.960 how quickly those reactions that I was talking about happen. 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:24.880 It's happened so quickly that there's really we don't visually 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:29.280 see any time between when we light a match and 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:33.080 when we see the flame. Right, I never thought about 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.880 it that way. Usually we don't. But I have these 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:41.640 matches and they're really cheap and there is a delay. No, 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.240 I'm serious. I got them from home goods. They're really cute. 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:47.000 They say stuff like you go girl, and you know 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:51.440 stuff like that. Stay calm, be focused. That's exactly what's happening. 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:54.400 There's that first strike, those materials on the tip of 0:06:54.440 --> 0:07:00.400 that match are being oxidized, and then the flame comes up. Yeah, exactly. 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:01.440 I never thought about that. 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:05.839 So yeah, once that flame is produced and all these 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:08.880 reactions are continuing to occur over and over and over again, 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:11.560 that's the reason why that flame stays alive and it's 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:15.520 releasing gas. That reaction is the foundation of what Fran 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:17.040 does as a pyrotechnician. 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:22.480 The whole basis of explosions and pyrotechnics is the faster 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:26.400 something burns, the fraaster it produces hot gases, which means 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:29.240 when it actually expands, that it expands so quickly that 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:30.000 you hear a bang. 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:33.080 So what's in a firework? What are the main ingredients? 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:35.480 The main ingredient for most of the firework is basically 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:39.200 gunpowder and gunpowder if you don't know, it's like what 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:41.880 we call black powder. They're basically the same stuff, and 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:45.600 they're a mix of charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate. 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.400 So from the charcoal you get carbon, and carbon acts 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:52.680 as your fuel, and from the potassium nitrate you get oxygen. 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:57.440 When you mix carbon and oxygen together, they're going to burn, 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.320 but they burn pretty slowly. Dting the sulfur is what 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:05.640 makes all the difference. Sulfur is the intensifier. It melts 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:07.440 at one hundred and twenty degrees celsius. 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:09.960 For those of y'all who don't live in celsius, that's 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.440 around two hundred and fifty degrees fahrenheit lower than you'd 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:13.240 even set your oven. 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:15.840 And so when it starts to melt, then it starts 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:19.480 to accept some of the oxygen that's already in this reaction, 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:25.120 and that turns the sulfur into sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:28.160 releases energy in the form of heat, and that heat 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.360 will interact with the carbon and the oxygen that's already there, 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.640 so that keeps that initial burning reaction going and it 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:37.640 speeds it up. And so that's how you get the 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:41.199 bang because all of these reactions are happening so quickly. 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:45.600 So if you cram that black powder into a tube 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.440 and you have it open at one end, if you 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:52.240 like that tube, that that hot gas needs to go somewhere, 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:54.280 So it comes out at the bottom of the tube 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:55.440 and shoots it up into the air. 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.040 But once it's in the air, I'm still waiting for 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:01.600 the beautiful display. What gives fireworks their colors? 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.960 I think before we get too deep into the firework 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.199 color that there's some basic things that we need to 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:08.040 establish first. 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:09.000 All right, let's hear it. 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:11.320 So, each element in the periodic table is made up 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:14.280 of atoms, and atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.960 and electrons. The protons and neutrons are at the core, 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:19.440 and the electrons are all just spinning around that core. 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:22.160 So those are elements. And when you combuiny more than 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:25.920 one element, that's a compound, and some compounds. 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.120 Give off energy in the form of light when you 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.480 apply heat. We talked a lot about these things in 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:34.480 the Conda Forever episode, So you should definitely go back and. 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:36.120 Listen to that. It was so much fun. 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:40.120 But with fireworks, there's a different metal compound in each 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:43.280 firework that when you add heat, gives off light with 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:46.960 a specific color, and that's what's happening when the fireworks 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:47.880 burst in the sky. 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:51.520 Now, once they're up there, there's actually another part, and 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.280 that part is basically where all the effects are, and 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:58.840 in there there's more black powder. There's also things called stars. 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:01.400 And stars are like little container for the metal compounds. 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:05.599 So are there some preferred elements that people using fireworks? 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:08.439 So if you use barium, then it will become green, 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:10.959 if you use strontium, it'll become red. 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:13.640 So that's the basics of a firework. So the charcoal, 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:17.160 sulfur and potassium nitrate that's gonna get you up in 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:21.400 the air, and then these other metal compounds that burn 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:23.920 and give you different colors from that reaction. 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:26.520 Yeah, and it's just the build up of that gas 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:30.479 inside of this contained space that causes that huge boom, 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.199 that sound that's keeping us all up. 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:38.959 But the basics of a firework haven't actually changed since 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:40.800 they're invented about a thousand years ago. 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:44.400 Let's go back to six hundred to nine hundred AD. 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:48.319 We're in China. I'm your favorite cook, and I'm just 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:50.200 whipping it up in the kitchen. You know, I'm seizing 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:53.880 up these chicken legs. I have some little beef tender loins. 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:57.120 I'm getting it right. Okay, I hope I'm invited. M 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:01.079 It depends on how you act. And you know, I'm 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:05.280 mixing things together. I'm reaching for my saltpeter. That's potassium nitrate, 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:07.640 which was common then? Is that in season all? I 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:11.640 use season all everything, season all over Goya, So absolutely 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:14.040 you know where we stand with that. Yeah. So you 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.480 have your saltpeter, your charcoal, sulfur, and all these other ingredients, 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:18.920 and you're just like, oh, this is gonna be gill 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:20.880 to we sprinkle a little bit of this on here. Ooh, 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:24.800 I'm gonna give him a little extra spice. Unwittingly, you're 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:29.320 making gunpowder. Okay, you're seasoning your chicken and then boom. 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.720 Can you imagine nobody's gonna believe you? First of all, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:35.920 but I guess they must have had a recipe because 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:39.200 they're able to recreate it. Once they figure this out, 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:41.720 they take this mixture and they put it in bamboo shoots, 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:46.240 and you already know. You take a bamboo shoot with 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:50.199 basically gunpowder in it and you throw it over a fire. 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:52.360 That's the birth of the fireworks. 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:55.160 My friends, we ask Fran what's her theory on all 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:58.160 these fireworks going off all the time. 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:01.960 It's funny because firework soft off can go into two 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.960 compartments in society. I would say, they can be the 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:09.120 celebration part and they can be the anarchy part. And 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:13.720 at the moment, I would say, in society we're sort 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:17.439 of in both is those phases. 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:21.240 That is very true. There's a lot going on right now. 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:24.480 A lot of folks were not celebrating the fourth of 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:28.760 July because not all people were free on Independence Day, 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.120 and also people were celebrating the fourth of July. 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:36.120 So sometimes the fireworks are a celebration or a way 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:38.880 of saying, hey, we're still here, We're glad to be alive. 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:40.880 This is a little bit of boom, a little bit 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:43.760 of celebration for that. And then sometimes it's a little 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:45.480 bit of anarchy, like we're still alive, but what the 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:46.280 heck is going on? 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:48.600 You're right, and trying to draw attention and make sure 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:51.160 people are still paying attention, you know what I mean. 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:53.960 It's a great metaphor for what's going on actually and 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:55.920 what we've been talking about so far in the show. 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:59.839 With the firework, it takes, you know, a light to it, 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:03.200 and then these electrons get excited and then you get 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:06.680 this big boom. And that's the same thing. That's what's 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:10.560 happening with people with us, with what's going on right now. 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:15.400 There is an event that ignites all of these emotions 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:16.079 and feelings. 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:19.720 Everyone shifts to a hot to a different state. Yeah, response, 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:24.400 Everyone responds to that event right exactly, and then boom. 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:26.440 When we get back, we're going to get more into 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:29.520 the field of pyrotechnics at large and it will blow 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:30.080 your mind. 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:48.800 Okay, so we're back, and now we're going to talk 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.160 about the field of pyrotechnics more broadly. 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.120 One of my favorite things I learned when we were 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:57.360 talking to Fran was about the small pyrotechnics that exist 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.640 in our day to day that we don't even think about. 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:01.920 And so we talked to Fran about the materials she 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:05.239 uses in her demonstrations, and one of her favorite materials 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:06.200 is flash cotton. 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:09.640 Flash cotton is I'm a little bit obsessed with it 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.679 because it's basically nitrocellulose. 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:19.240 Nitrocellulose is this compound that is formed by adding nitrogen 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:20.920 groups to cellulose. 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:22.800 And what that means is it's just packed with oxygen, 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:24.960 which means it burns to completion. 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:26.920 Now you want to know what's crazy about this one. 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:29.640 I use nitrocellulose in the lab. What do you use 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:33.080 it for? When I ran Western blots, nitro cellulose was 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:36.040 the membrane I used to kind of capture the proteins, 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.520 so I would separate the proteins in a sample, and 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:40.160 then when you want to image them, you got to 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:43.040 hold them into something. You trap them on a nitrocellulose membrane. 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:45.200 Why didn't they catch on fire? They're flammable at two 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:47.320 hundred degrees celsius and I didn't have a spark or 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:49.880 anything like that. Well, that's good, and I had great 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.840 lab safety skills. Hello, that's why they didn't catch on fire. 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:57.920 That's good, that's good. But I never thought of I 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:00.000 never thought of them. I didn't know they were flashed 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:02.440 kind that it was the same material. It definitely didn't 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:05.680 know that what other materials are used in pyrotechnics. 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:10.160 So hydrogen is an absolute It's a dream for developing 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:13.920 demonstrations because it just sets on fire so easily. 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:15.800 Worlds are pyrotechnics used. 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:20.920 They are all around us. So like airbags, for instance. 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:23.040 I bet you didn't think that you had pyrotechnics in 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:23.680 your car. 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:27.600 So in an airbag, you have a small electronic match, 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:30.400 and once you light that match, that produces the hot gas, 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:34.720 which then actually inflates the airbag. Yeah, when you are 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:37.240 impacted that that will actually set off a switch which 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:39.680 then sets off the match. 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:41.960 The future of pyrotechnics is really wide open. What you 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:45.360 understand the basics. So Fran told us this really interesting 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:50.040 story of lighting a hydrogen rocket with her finger. She 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:52.320 said she was inspired by some YouTube videos of people 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:54.280 lighting buns and burners with their fingers, but I feel 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:58.920 like a bunsen burner and a hydrogen rocket is pretty different. Now, 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:01.640 this is a my ministry, so I'm gonna have tt 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:02.640 explain how it worked. 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.160 The way that she was able to do this was 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:06.480 that she used a Vandergraft generator. 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:08.720 We've all seen it. 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.600 It's a spherical silver ball that usually people put a 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:13.400 piece of glass around and then you'll see all these 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:15.720 little things that look like lightning bolts jumping out and 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:17.440 touching the glass around it. 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:19.640 And when I used to think of what a scientist was, 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:23.000 it was Albert Einstein touching a Vandergraft generator. 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:26.280 Yes, and it makes it makes your hair stands, your 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:28.720 hair stand up. Yeah, what it is. This is an 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:34.680 electrostatic generator. And so from this electrostatic that's generated, if 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.040 you touch it and then you touch something else, you know, 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:39.480 you can shock it. Which I think we've all kind 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:42.239 of done something like that, whether it's using a Vandergraft 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:45.040 generator or rebinar feet on the carpet and then touching 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:45.480 our friend. 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:48.520 Ooh, that's a pastime. That static. 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.040 She can use that to make a spark. So she 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:55.400 was able to use a Vandergraft generator and through many, 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.320 many iterations, so she did a lot of research in 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:01.840 the lab. She was able to generate a significant enough 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.119 spark to light this hydrogen rocket. 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:10.040 And I want to point out something friend is an expert. Okay, 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.160 so I don't want y'all at home rubbing your feet 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:16.359 on the carpet trying to light your gas stove. Right, Please, 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:18.840 don't do nothing stupid. We're just here to give you 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:21.080 the information so you could talk about it with your friends. 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.080 Don't try this stuff at home. This is one of 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:27.600 the major things that stood out to me when everybody. 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:31.480 When I was hearing fireworks everywhere, I was like, Uh, 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:34.360 what are the safety protocols for this? And these fireworks 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:40.400 sound close. They sound close to my home and all 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:42.640 these apartments around here. Something's gonna catch on fire. 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:46.640 So we ask Fran, what are the big safety precautions 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:50.399 that folks should be taking when they are shooting off fireworks. 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:54.680 Distance is the biggest thing you can do to make 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:55.360 it safe. 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:58.320 One aspect of distance is distance from flammables. 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.840 People think, oh, a flammable that's kind of but tane 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:03.280 or light of fuel or whatever. No, it's your lawn. 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:05.680 It's your pile of leaves that you've just swept up. 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:09.879 It's your wooden shed that you haven't looked after for 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:12.639 like three years. It's that type of stuff that's the 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:13.720 things that can catch fire. 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:15.600 So if you think about your grass it's been a 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.680 really dry summer, if you have hair rain recently, maybe 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:22.360 wet the lawn. The second aspect of distance is distance 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:26.359 from you, and then Aside from distance, France says, we 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:27.879 should consider the weather, and. 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:30.080 It's quite scary as well, because especially you know in 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:32.280 the northern hemisphere right now, you know we're going into summer, 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.399 things are getting dry. All it takes is a little 0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:38.440 ember and that's it. That's an entire fire started. 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.280 Fran told us that in the UK that the time 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.200 of year that they're most likely to be shooting off 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:48.240 fireworks is in November, and part of that is because 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:52.560 it's a lot cooler and a lot wetter during that 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:56.480 time of year. In the US, we are shooting fireworks 0:18:56.480 --> 0:19:00.680 off during the hottest, driest time of the year, which 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:05.280 sounds like a recipe for disaster. Yes, so if you 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:09.720 already have fireworks in your possession, how should you be 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:10.440 storing them? 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:17.880 So I would say keep it in a lockable, unflammable cabinet, 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:22.640 because the most dangerous thing I would say that could 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:25.280 happen in households is people getting hold of them that 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:29.440 shouldn't so your kids, your neighbors kids, and so by 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:31.199 putting it in a place that's got key, then you 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:33.240 know that it's only you that can access them. 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:35.199 So a minute ago, we just said distance is one 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:37.439 of the most important things for kind of keeping you 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:40.479 safe if you're going to light fireworks. But luckily there 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:44.120 have been some advances in technology that can also get 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:48.200 you a little bit of space away from that lit fuse. 0:19:48.119 --> 0:19:51.040 Fireworks nowadays, instead of you know, someone going around and 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:54.320 just lighting them with a stick, they're all done electronically, 0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:56.800 so you can get these electronic matches, which again I 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:01.119 quite like the science behind them. These electronic matches are well, 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:03.320 they're just matches, but they've got a little bit of 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:05.960 nichrome wire in and when you run electricity through the 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:08.160 nichrome wire, it heats up, it mounts, and it burns 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:11.360 a little bit of potented material, which when you let 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:13.919 them off just themselves, they're basically just like a Christmas 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:16.760 cracker type spark, but when you put that in a 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:19.480 firework then it burns the bigger bit. 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:22.320 But those things can also go wrong. I don't know 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:25.720 if anybody else remembers there was a fireworks display in 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:28.840 San Diego and instead of a thirty minute show, all 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:32.200 those fireworks were on an automatic fuse and they all 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:35.840 went off at the same time. Please google it. It 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:38.360 was just one big loud bang, and there's someone took 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:40.280 a someone was taking the video and you can see 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:43.320 people like grabbing their partner trying to run away because 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:46.919 they knew something was definitely wrong. Right, it was a 0:20:46.960 --> 0:20:47.760 pretty big fail. 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:51.200 Recently, I was out in Singapore and I actually saw 0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:54.000 a firework display in inverted croma is done by drones, 0:20:55.000 --> 0:21:01.600 and it was totally different to a firework display because 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:04.679