...There are many different classes of fireworks from the ones that you see on the fourth of july to sparklers. Even though these two fireworks are completely different they are very close to the same on a chemical level. The chemistry behind fireworks is a series of oxidation and reduction reactions which result in the desired sound and light. This happens as propellants push the firework into the sky. Oxidation reactions ensure that the oxygen needed to burn the mixture of reducing agents and excite the atoms in the light-emitting compounds is produced. Oxidizers used such as chlorates and nitrates and reducing agents such as carbon and sulfur are available off the shelf for people who make their own. Black powder, which mainly contains nitrates, is the most commonly used oxidizer. A look at an explosion under the use of potassium nitrate to provide nitrate ions (NO3-) after decomposition can be represented as, Potassium nitrate potassium oxide + nitrogen gas + oxygen gas. The reaction is more controlled since when reacting, nitrates only release two in every three oxygen atoms, the reaction is not vigorous since not all the oxygen atoms are actively used up. But the nitrates do not provide enough power to propel the firework into the sky and also ignite the package. So they cannot be used in star explosions since they cannot produce temperatures high enough to energize most color metal salts. Star reactions need a temperature ranging from 1700 to 2000°C. This was found by the...
Words: 1005 - Pages: 5
...Chemistry used in our lives A firework is a flammable material that can be used for entertainment. There are chemicals located in the nose of the rocket that explode, producing the colours seen. Fireworks were created for the purpose of entertainment and today they are still widely used in celebration to mark special occasions. The thrill and excitement generated by fireworks, brightening the night sky with vivid displays of colour, is what makes them a crowd pleaser. But behind all the excitement of fireworks, chemistry plays an important role in creating the vivid colours. The actual chemical reactions that take place in the explosions require the use of oxidizers. While the production of light in fireworks, rely on basic chemical principles such as redox reactions, combustion and the excitement of electrons in metal ions when heated. Redox reactions are chemical reactions in which both oxidation and reduction take place. Oxidation is a process where oxygen is gained, or hydrogen lost and reduction is where oxygen is lost and hydrogen is gained. NO3 (s) + S (s) → NO (g) + SO2 (g) With any explosive device, combustion occurs. Combustion is a process of rapid oxidation of a substance with simultaneous release of heat and sometimes light. This is important in fireworks because of the redox reactions that occur. S (s) + O2 (g) → SO2 (g) Fireworks require chemical reactions to create the vivid colours that are created. However there are three essential chemical items needed...
Words: 551 - Pages: 3
...Chemistry behind Fireworks Did you know that when you see a commercial fireworks display you are looking at chemistry in action. You may have asked yourself “I wonder what is going on to make all those pretty colors and patterns” It is controlled chaos!! I tell you. Let us break this down to the basic we will start with a typical shell. Starting at the bottom we have a lifting charge which contains good ole black powder. The lifting charge gets the party started by creating an explosion after it is ingnited by the fuse. An explosion occurs which produces hot rapidly expanding gases . This is an example of the “Law of Volumes” which is an experimental gas law which describes how gases tend to expand when heated. Since all the kenetic energy is contained in a tube the shell has no place to go but up. This is Newton’s third law in action which states (in laymans terms) “for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction”. The next two stages in the process happen almost simultaniously the bursting charge, explodes out ward dispersing the pellets or stars which give us our colors and patterns. This happens when the ariel shell is at the apex of its climb via a time delay fuse. Chemical Agents Oxidizer, what is an oxidizer? The word "burning" describes the oxidation of a fuel in air. A campfire, for instance, uses oxygen from the air to turn wood (cellulose) into steam (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2), among other things. So why do fireworks need an oxidizer...
Words: 1144 - Pages: 5
...Chemistry of Fireworks Composition The Chemistry of fireworks is based on the simple theory of combustion. The composition inside the firework must however contain 6 vital ingredients: Fuel Charcoal, commonly known in the pyrotechnic industry as black powder is the most common fuel used in fireworks. Normally, all fuels will contain an organic element such as charcoal or thermite. The mechanism by which the fuel functions in the firework is relatively simple. The fuel loses electrons to atoms within the oxidiser (thereby reducing the oxidiser) and releasing atoms from the oxidiser. During this process, bonds are formed between the fuel and oxygen atoms forming a product which is relatively stable. However, only a minimal amount of energy is required to start the combustion of this fuel-oxidiser compound. When combustion does start, the result is a massive release of energy as the solid mixture liquefies and vaporises into the flame of ignition. This maximises the probability of reaction of the oxidiser as it is brought into the close proximity of the flame. Oxidising Agents The function of the oxidising agent is to produce the oxygen needed in order for the mixture inside the firework to burn. These oxidisers can be nitrates, chlorates or perchlorates. Nitrates only give up a third of their oxygen as the equation above illustrates. On the...
Words: 623 - Pages: 3
...DISADVANTAGES OF FIREWORKS ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT Name of Group Member 1. Nur Izzati binti Abdul Latif 153692 2. Nurhalida binti Abdul Rasid 154082 3. Aifa Syazwani bt Awang Damit 150415 4. Sarah Atiqah bt Abdul Rahim 155656 Group Number: 09 Name of Lecturer: Asiah binti Mohd Shafiee Course: Allied Health Science Semester: 1 PROJECT PLANNING OBJECTIVES. 1. To analyze the function of every substance in the fireworks. 2. To study the properties of substance that cause damage towards health and environment. 3. To find the solution on how to reduce the damage of fireworks. 4. To investigate the rate of damage that cause by fireworks to health and environment. DIVISION OF WORKS. Name Tasks | Nur Izzati bt Abdul Latif. | Nurhalida bt Abdul Rashid | Aifa Syazwani bt Awang Damit | Sarah Atiqah bt Abdul Rahim. | Objectives | | | * | | Division of work | * | | | | Timeline | | * | | | Introduction | * | | | | Discussion of Issues | * * History of fireworks. * Development of fireworks. | * * Properties of fireworks. | * * The type of fireworks. | * * How do fireworks work. | Analysis of Issues | | * * Disadvantages of firework on environment...
Words: 6536 - Pages: 27
...and the explosion of multi-colored sparks brightens up the sky. The lone rocket signals to the crowd; the Independence Day celebration fireworks show has began. More rockets are propelled into the sky in different combinations; two, three, five rockets fired into the air, each vary in size, shape, and color. The crowd “oohs” and “ahhs” with the beauty of the fireworks. A brief pause silences the crowd again. Thuds ring out from the motors again, to many to count, and the sky is as bright as day, as the countless explosions fill the vision entirely. The grand finale signals the end of the yearly celebration of a tradition that has been passed on since 1777. While many countries still argue over the origin of fireworks, most seem to agree, it was a happy accident by a Chinese cook over 2000 years ago, which brought the world such a beautiful and dangerous technology to the world. Fireworks can be dangerous, and in many countries their use is prohibited, however, production of fireworks as an industry has generated millions of dollars, changed the face of military as the world knew it, and has brought an exciting outlet for fun and celebration. The true origins of fireworks may never be determined. It has been discussed that a Chinese alchemist, not a cook, discovered fireworks, while others state it was in India that fireworks were invented. Regardless,...
Words: 5475 - Pages: 22
...HUMN432 Week 6 Assignment: Final Draft of the Paper Technology: The Invention of Gunpowder Professor: Adam Ravalovich August 12, 2011 Title: The Invention of Gunpowder A. Introduction: The invention of gunpowder was one of China’s four greatest inventions that made a significant contribution to Chinese culture. Gunpowder in Chinese is called “huo yau”, meaning flaming medicine. The use of gunpowder gave the Chinese a greater ability to protect them from enemies and to conquer and control others. Although fireworks today are used as entertainment, the Chinese used it to scare-off enemies in the time of war. Chinese firearms, fireworks and gunpowder were also popular items of trade along the Silk Road to Europe. As we can imagine this invention had a profound effect on human history and although gunpowder was invented by the Chinese, it gave rise to the powerful western world while it inevitably left China and the Eastern World behind. B. Description of the Chinese Culture (Brandy Miller) 1. Chinese Society: Understanding a people's culture exposes their normalness without reducing their individuality. There are many different realms of Chinese society. China is well known for its centuries of traditional values, customs and beliefs. These beliefs are deeply linked with the language, religions and collective values which have always been the center of traditional festivals, customs and everyday life of man as a collective in harmony with nature...
Words: 4816 - Pages: 20
...Exam content- Grade 10 Exam content- Grade 10 Al Nasha’a Al Saleh School Al Nasha’a Al Saleh School Subject | Exam Content | Maths | Grade 10Chapter 9 (Radical Functions)-Inverse Variations. -The Reciprocal Function Family.-Rational Functions and Their Graphs.-Rational Expressions.-Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions.-Solving Rational Equations. Chapter 11( Sequences and Series)-Mathematical Patterns.-Arithmetic Sequences.-Geometric Sequences.-Arithmetic Series.-Geometric Series | English | Reading | Writing | Grammar | Vocabulary | -India-what should you do to help a friend?-sports-The importance of rules-future jobs | -how life will be like in the future-a conversation with a teacher about how to help a friend who is doing something wrong-The Effects Of Television-how to stop violence in sports-a set of school rules-jobs for the future | -future perfect-present perfect and past simple-the present continuous tense -first and second conditional | -idioms-phrasal verbs | GIRLS:Grade 9B and 10BVocabulary WordsReading Comprehension: Author’s PurposeUnderstand irregular verbsBe able to answer essay questions about the stories your group read. Understand the characters, setting conflict, and summary of each story. | Physics | Account for and represent energy into and out of systems using energy transfer diagrams.Explain instances of energy transfer by waves and objects in everyday activities (e.g., why the ground gets warm during the day, how you hear...
Words: 891 - Pages: 4
...1405-034 April 9, 2014 Balancing and Classifying Synthesized Chemical Reactions Abstract During the experimentation, physical and chemical properties of unaltered elements/compounds were noted. The alteration of these physical and chemical properties, were understood to have defined chemical change. The experimental procedures were divided into five phases: Magnesium and Oxygen, Zinc and Copper(II) Sulfate, Metals and HCl, Reactions of Ionic Compounds, and the Sodium Carbonate and HCl. Different Reactions were noted for each respective phase. When necessary, a numerical coefficient would be added before the name of the formula on either the reactant's or product's side to achieve a balanced chemical equation. Introduction Explosion of fireworks, pharmaceutical drugs(medicine), and fuel, what do they have in common? A chemical reaction! Most of these chemical reactions naturally occur without us having the slightest idea on that they exist. The focus of this experiment is to differentiate and classify different types of chemical reactions, and be aware of the significance and importance of these chemical reactions in our lives. One of the primary methods to classifying a synthesized chemical reaction is determining if it came from a : Combination, Single Replacement, Double Replacement, Decomposition, or a Combustion Reaction. Physical and Chemical Properties of the unaltered substances were noted and recorded as it was believed to have influenced the outcome or result of the...
Words: 2128 - Pages: 9
...Great inventions 01 Coffee: The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee. 02 Pin-Hole Camera: The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one. 03 Chess: A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into the form...
Words: 1894 - Pages: 8
... | Ancient Chinese Contributions It was 1271 when an Italian merchant, by the name of Marco Polo, visited China during the Song Dynasty. There Marco Polo found a place like none other in Western Europe. China was far more technologically advanced and here were some of the most important and far-reaching contributions of the Chinese. “The Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques”, compiled by Zeng Goliang in 1044, it states that gunpowder was made of a mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur. Since Zeng describes three different gunpowder mixtures, we can assume that gunpowder was created sometime earlier. It is also stated by Zeng that the Chinese used it for signal flares and fireworks before even trying it with military uses in grenades. The compass is another great invention of the Chinese. Originally, these were created to point to true south, not north, because south is considered their cardinal direction. In 400 B.C. the earliest compasses were made out of lodestone. Lodestone is a type of magnetic iron ore, that when struck by lightning, it becomes magnetized. Very few people have given us as much joy and sorrow as alcohol. You can relate ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, beer, wine, and liquor to the Chinese. By early 300 B.C., the Chinese had figured out how to refine food products like vinegar and soy sauce using fermentation and distillation. Recent archaeological discoveries have pushed the date for Chinese...
Words: 965 - Pages: 4
...Review essay on Romeo and Juliet On 27 April 2012, I watched Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. It was directed by Ivan Heng from W!LD RICE. It brought laughter and tears to me, from the witty scenes to the tragic parts. This version was an exciting, refreshing, contemporary twist of the classic love story. The set, costumes, music, sound and casting gave this play a whole new spin to it. I felt the casting was perfect. The main characters, Romeo, played by Hansel Tan and Juliet, played by Julie Wee, really brought out the deep emotions of their characters. Their chemistry was amazing and it wasn’t hard to imagine them as star-crossed teenage lovers. Romeo’s character was strong, with Hansel pulling of his intense feelings brilliantly, such as the part in Act 3, Scene 3 that starts with “Tis torture, and not mercy” when he talks about being banished. Juliet’s transformation from a wide-eyed girl into a self-assured, loyal, and capable woman was well portrayed throughout the play. One memorable character was Nurse, played by Neo Swee Lin. Though I felt she that at some points her Singaporean accent would emerge, it somehow worked to make the character funnier and she injected much humour into the piece with her frequently inappropriate remarks and speeches. Act two, Scene three, where she meets Romeo was especially funny when she kept going for Romeo’s chest. It was hilarious! Every scene kept the audience engaged, from the beautiful, intimate scene where Romeo lies...
Words: 1116 - Pages: 5
...|___D__ Aluminum |A. Used to make “copper” pennies, brass, and nails | |___K__ Antimony |B. Used to make fertilizer, paper, film, matches, tires, and drugs | |__E___ Beryllium |C. Used to make phosphate fertilizer and is found in soft drinks | |___F__ Coal |D. Most abundant element used to make containers and | |__G___ Copper |deodorants | |__H___ Flint |E. Found in metal alloys for air crafts as well as emeralds | |___L__ Fluorite |F. Used to produce 56% of electricity in the US | |____I_ Galena |G. Used to make electrical wires, brass, bronze, coins, plumbing, | |__M___ Gold |and jewelry | |__J___ Gypsum |H. Used to make arrowheads, spear points, and knives; may be | |___R__ Halite |used to start a fire | |___N__ Hematite...
Words: 1067 - Pages: 5
...Jimmy R Najjar Captain Denton ROTC MS 1.5 Class (Book Report) December 11, 2015 Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What the world needs to know After everything that has been happening in the world, from the 9/11 takedown of the twin towers, to the shooting in Paris almost a month ago, the world has been drawn to attention to the extent of surveillance and cyber-espionage practiced by the US government, not only in relation to suspected terrorists but also in relation to the ordinary citizen. After reading Cybersecurity and Cyberwar, I feel like it comes at an interesting time in the history of security services world-wide, when the extent of inter-connectivity of every agency, corporation and individual makes cyber-surveillance easier to put into effect. The authors are experts in their field: Peter Singer is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution, a former coordinator of Obama's defence policy task-force during the 2008 campaign and author of three other books on aspects of warfare. Allan Friedman is also a well-known expert in the field of information security and cyber-security, formerly Research Director for the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution, and currently Visiting Scholar at George Washington University's Cyber Security Policy Research Institute. In other words, this is an authoritative text. In Cybersecurity and Cyberwar,...
Words: 1488 - Pages: 6
...Uses of Lithium Ceramics and glass Lithium oxide is a widely used flux for processing silica, reducing the melting point and viscosity of the material and leading to glazes of improved physical properties including low coefficients for thermal expansion.[83] Lithium oxides are a component of ovenware. Worldwide, this is the single largest use for lithium compounds.[82] Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) is generally used in this application: upon heating it converts to the oxide.[84] Electrical and electronics In the later years of the 20th century, owing to its high electrochemical potential, lithium became an important component of the electrolyte and of one of the electrodes in batteries. Because of its low atomic mass, it has a high charge- and power-to-weight ratio. A typical lithium-ion battery can generate approximately 3 volts per cell, compared with 2.1 volts for lead-acid or 1.5 volts for zinc-carbon cells. Lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable and have a high energy density, should not be confused with lithium batteries, which aredisposable (primary) batteries with lithium or its compounds as the anode.[85][86] Other rechargeable batteries that use lithium include the lithium-ion polymer battery, lithium iron phosphate battery, and thenanowire battery. Lubricating greases The third most common use of lithium is in greases. Lithium hydroxide is a strong base and, when heated with a fat, produces a soap made of lithium stearate. Lithium soap has the ability to thicken oils...
Words: 1402 - Pages: 6
