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The First Firecrackers
 The
history of fireworks goes back thousands of years to China during the
Han dynasty (~200 B.C.), even long before gunpowder was invented.
It is believed that the first "firecrackers" were likely
chunks of green bamboo, which someone may have thrown onto a fire
when dry fuel ran short. The rods sizzled and blackened, and
after a while, unexpectedly exploded. Bamboo grows so fast that
pockets of air and sap get trapped inside of the plant's segments.
When heated, the air inside of the hollow reeds expands, and
eventually bursts through the side with a long bam!
The strange sound, which had never
been heard before, frightened people and animals terribly. The
Chinese figured that if it scared living creatures so much, it would
probably scare away spirits - particularly an evil spirit called Nian,
who they believed to eat crops and people. After that, it
became customary for them to throw green bamboo onto a fire during
the Lunar New Year in order to scare Nian and other spirits far way,
thus ensuring happiness and prosperity to their people for the
remainder of the year. Soon, the Chinese were using bursting
bamboo for other special occasions, such as weddings, coronations,
and births. The "bursting bamboo", or pao chuk
as the Chinese called it, continued to be used for the next thousand
or so years.
Discovery of Gunpowder
Though a precise date of origin is
impossible to determine, most historians believe that the very first
pyrotechnic composition - a precursor to gunpowder - was first discovered sometime during
the Sui and Tang dynasties (~600-900 A.D.) in China. It was
most likely discovered accidentally by alchemists who were
experimenting with sulfurous mixtures in an attempt to create an
elixir of life. During this period of chemical discovery and
experimentation, the alchemists kept records of certain poisonous and
dangerous compositions that should never be mixed - including one
particular mixture consisting of sulfur, saltpeter (potassium
nitrate), honey, and arsenic disulfide. The texts make
reference to such a mixture igniting accidentally while being cooked
over a fire, resulting in a large, bright, hot flame that burned the
hands and faces of the alchemists tending to it, and even burnt down
the shack there were cooking it in! Despite the warnings, some
alchemists were intrigued by the mixture, and continued experimenting
with it to try to find ways to make it more powerful. Their
crude mixtures weren't as powerful as modern gunpowder because it
didn't contain as much potassium nitrate, but nevertheless burned
very hot and bright. It was named huo yao, or the
"fire chemical" or "fire drug". It was soon discovered out that if
the "fire drug" was put inside of bamboo tubes and
thrown in the fire to be ignited, the gases produced by the burning
powder would blast the tube apart with a much louder and more
powerful bang than just green bamboo. The firecracker was born.
Over time, chemists
discovered that the key to the vigorous burning of gunpowder was the
fact that saltpeter was rich in oxygen, which it released as it
burned. They soon figured out how adding more saltpeter to the
mixture made it burn faster, thus making it a more powerful explosive
and louder when used in firecrackers. Charcoal - the by-product
of the incomplete combustion of cellulose-based plant matter, such as
wood - was replaced honey and other materials in the early
formulas. Through much
experimentation, it was discovered that gunpowder-based devices could
function in many different ways, depending on their
construction. As previously mentioned, when gunpowder was
ignited in a confined space, such as a bamboo tube, log, or iron
shell, it would generate hot gases under enormous pressure that would
eventually rupture the container, creating a load report and sending
pieces of the container flying in all directions. If placed in
a container with an open end, the burning powder would create a
brilliant eruption of flame, sparks, and dense smoke out of the end
of the container. The Chinese were well
aware of the killing power of these explosive devices, and by the
10th century, began using them for military purposes. The
Chinese used their gunpowder to create a variety of explosives,
including crude bombs and "fire arrows" - bamboo firecrackers
attached to regular arrows and shot at the enemy. The initial
intent behind the early Chinese bombs was simply to practice
psychological warfare - the terrifying, earth-rattling,
lightning-like explosions had never been created by any man-made
device, and they could easily frighten and confuse enemies, forcing
them to flee.
Eventually, however,
the aim shifted from scaring the enemy to actually inflicting
harm. Fire arrows could be rained down upon the enemy from a
great distance, and bombs could be dropped from the walls of
fortresses onto enemy troops. Another weapon, known as the fire
lance, consisted of an open tube filled with gunpowder attached to a
lance, which could be used as a crude flamethrower. Bits of
rock, metal, pottery and even arrows could also be mixed with the
powder inside of the fire lance, which would be spewed out as it
burned, inflicting additional damage. Around the 11th century, the
proportion of saltpeter in gunpowder was raised to about 75% of the
total mixture, along with about 15% charcoal and 10% sulfur (that same
formula is still used today, nearly 1000 years later!).
As the gunpowder
became more energetic,
firecrackers began to change. Rather than using bulky bamboo
stems, firecracker makers began filling stiff paper tubes with
gunpowder and inserting fuses made from tissue paper with a trail of
gunpowder inside. A variation of a firecracker, called a "ground
rat", was first believed to have been discovered around 1200 A.D. It consisted of a
lightweight paper
firecracker that was open on one end. Like the fire lance, the
burning gas inside shot out of the opening and propelled the "rat"
randomly around the ground. Rats were quickly adapted for use
by the Chinese military because of their psychological effect on the
enemy - scaring soldiers and causing horses to go wild. Often,
the unpredictable movement of the rats would fly into the air momentarily, which gave
the military designers the idea of putting guidance fins on the rats
to straighten their flight path. This led to the creation of
the first rockets. Civilian firework makers took the military's
rocket design and modified it to include an explosive charge, which
were then fired into the air - marking the first use of aerial
fireworks.
Warfare
Through use of
the fire lance, it was discovered that the more solid objects (such
as arrows or stones) that were packed in with the gunpowder of a
lance, the more force they were shot out with. If the arrows
and other objects were replaced with a single large projectile only
lightly smaller than the diameter of the tube, the burning powder
would eject the object at a considerable speed and propel it a
substantial distance - the cannon was born. The first
cannons made by the Chinese were constructed from bamboo tubes!
However, bamboo was often too weak to contain an explosion, so crude
cannons began to be fashioned out of metal tubes. The military
use of gunpowder slowly began to spread across Asia and into
the Middle East, and during the 1200s, cannons and rockets were used
extensively in the Mongol Conquests in Asia.
During the same time
period - about the middle of the 13th century - the news of gunpowder
traveled across the world to Europe via Dominican and Franciscan
friars. One of these friars actually brought back some Chinese
firecrackers and gave them to Roger Bacon, a Franciscan monk and
lecturer at Oxford University in England. Bacon became one of the
first Europeans to study gunpowder and write about it. He knew
that saltpeter was the driving force behind the terrifying noise of
firecrackers, and discovered a way of purifying the natural mineral
out of the earth to make more powerful gunpowder. He realized
the potential of this substance to revolutionize warfare and cause
many deaths, so he wrote in findings code.
Eventually, however,
efforts by other scientists to improve gun powder (as well as the
decoding of Bacon's formulas) led to a warfare revolution in Europe.
People created bigger, stronger, more powerful cannons that were
capable of propelling large iron balls to far-off targets. It
was then that traditional, centuries-old medieval warfare came to an end - because of gunpowder,
metal armor could be punctured by bullets, and the once
seemingly-impenetrable walls of castles could easily be disintegrated
by cannon balls. Soon after, cannon balls were made hollow so
that they could be filled with gunpowder and a fuse. If aimed
correctly, these flying bombs would explode right before or near the
time of impact with the target, which proved very effective in
blasting apart walls and showering the enemy with metal shards
(shrapnel).
In order to compete
with and defeat other armies, it became essential that each and every
kingdom in Europe be equipped with artillery divisions. To
supply the amount of gunpowder needed by these armies, factories
known as "powderworks" were built in order to grind and mix
gunpowder. These facilities typically used the power of mules
or running water to turn heavy circular stones in order to crush the
power and achieve a homogenous mixture. Not surprisingly, these
places would occasionally explode due to a friction-generated spark
on the grinding wheel, which often resulted in many fatalities.
Armies would often celebrate each victory with thundering booms and
bright flashes from their weapons. Rather than being aimed for
ground targets, cannons and rockets were pointed towards the sky to
make aerial bursts.
During 1400-1600,
advances in metallurgy allowed for the creation of more advanced
cannons, as well smaller gunpowder weapons such as muskets.
Though the weapons were inaccurate, unreliable, and no where near as
powerful as modern firearms, they were much more advanced than bows,
arrows and catapults. Firearms technology in Europe eventually
surpassed that of China.
Development of Fireworks
Meanwhile, the
Italians had been fascinated with fireworks ever since the explorer
Marco Polo brought back firecrackers from the Orient in 1292.
During the Renaissance in Europe (1400-1500), the Italians began to
develop fireworks into a true art form. Since this was a period
of artistic creativity and expression, many new fireworks were
created for the first time. Military rockets could be modified
by adding powered metals and charcoal in order to create bursts of
gold and silver sparks in the sky. The Italians were able to
develop aerial shells - canisters of of explosive composition
that were launched into the sky and exploded at the maximum altitude
(the Chinese also developed shells that were spherical in shape).
However, the most spectacular firework displays were still those made
at ground level. Firework makers discovered how a special
slower-burning gunpowder mix could be put in an open-ended tube,
which would give off sparks when lit. The dense showers of
bright sparks resembled water spewing from a fountain, so the new
pyrotechnic device was named accordingly. If rocket engines
were attached to a wooden wheel framework, it would spin around
rapidly and give off sparks in a circular pattern. Sculptors
would carve giant, detailed models of castles or palaces, which would
be adorned with fountains, wheels, and torches. These
"temples", as they were called, were a beautiful and
crowd-pleasing sight when ignited. Such displays became in high
demand throughout Europe. The idea of controlled fire was
fascinating to all, and kings saw no better way to show their wealth
and power then by having fireworks at their religious festivals,
weddings, and coronation ceremonies.
These firework displays grew more
and more elaborate over the years, employing the work of carpenters,
metalworkers, masons, and painters to help construct the temples.
Firemasters learned that the effects of fireworks could be greatly
enhanced by setting them on small floats in water, where more light
and noise would be reflected back towards the audience.
Starting in the early 1530s, fireworks would usually be ignited by
"green men", a term given to firemasters who covered their
faces in soot and dressed in leaves in order to both protect
themselves from sparks and be hard to see as they ran around lighting
fuses. From 1500-1700, the most popular type of firework was
the "dragon". The massive device consisted of a
wooden framework which was covered in painted paper-maché scales.
Inside, it was loaded with fountains, firecrackers, and rockets, some
of which would shoot out of the mouth to make it "breathe
fire". Often times, two or more dragons would be
constructed and aimed at each other as they ignited to
"battle".
Around the 1730s, firework shows in
England became huge public displays rather than just the private
entertainment of royalty. People from all over Europe would
come to witness the spectacular fireworks displays at amusement parks
in Britain. The discovery of "quick match" - a
fast-burning fuse made by putting regular fuse into a small,
continuous paper tube - gave firemasters the ability to ignite many
fireworks simultaneously, and enabled the construction of set pieces.
Set pieces are giant pictures/words made from hundreds of small
burning torches, which were often created in the likeness of popular
figures such as royalty.
Fireworks in the New World
Settlers brought fireworks over to
the Americas around the 1600s, where they continued to be used to
celebrate special occasions and to impress or scare off Native
Americans. The very first 4th of July celebration was in 1777,
only one year after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The United States was still in the midst of the Revolutionary War and
the outcome was still uncertain, but beautiful displays of fireworks
instilled a sense of hope and patriotism in the citizens of the young
nation. When trade relations were established between the U.S.
and China less than a century later, Chinese firecrackers became a
major import in America.
For nearly 1000 years, the only
colors that could be produced by fireworks was the orange
flash/sparks from black powder, and white sparks from metal powders.
But in southern Italy in the 1830s, scientific advancements in the
field of chemistry enabled pyrotechnicians (the modern term for the
old "fire masters") to create reds, greens, blues, and
yellows by adding both a metallic salt (strontium=red, barium=green,
copper=blue, sodium=yellow) and a chlorinated powder to the firework
composition. Potassium chlorate (KClO3), a new
oxidizer that burned faster and hotter than potassium nitrate,
allowed pyrotechnicians to make the new colors deeper and brighter.
The harnessing of electrical energy made it possible to obtain pure
magnesium and aluminum by electrolysis, which also made fireworks
burn brighter. When fine aluminum powder was mixed
proportionally with an oxidizer, the resulting mixture - flash powder
- burned much hotter and faster than black powder, allowing for the
manufacture of louder firecrackers and salutes in aerial fireworks.
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