Today,
fireworks mark celebrations all over the world. From ancient China to the New
World, fireworks have evolved considerably. The very first fireworks —
gunpowder firecrackers — came from humble beginnings and didn't do much more
than pop, but modern versions can create shapes, multiple colors and various
sounds.
How
fireworks work
Before
diving into the history of fireworks, it is important to understand how they
work. Each modern firework consists of an aerial shell. This is a tube that
contains gunpowder and dozens of small pods. Each of the pods is called a
"star." These stars measure about 1 to 1.5 inches (3 to 4
centimeters) in diameter, according to the American
Chemical Society(ACA), and hold:
- Fuel
- An
oxidizing agent
- A
binder
- Metal
salts or metal oxides for color
A
firework also has a fuse that is lit to ignite the gunpowder. Each star makes
one dot in the fireworks explosion. When the colorants are heated, their atoms
absorb energy and then produce light as they lose excess energy. Different
chemicals produce different amounts of energy, creating different colors.
For
example, when sodium nitrate is heated, electrons in the sodium atoms absorb
the energy and get excited. As the electrons come down from the high, they
release their energy, about 200 kilojoules per mole (a unit of measurement for
chemical substances), or the energy of yellow light, according to the website
of the University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Bassam Z.
Shakhashiri. [How Do Fireworks Get Their Colors?]
According
to the ACA, this is how some fireworks colors are made:
- Blues
are made with copper-chloride compounds.
- Reds
are made with strontium salts, strontium carbonate and lithium salts.
- Purple
is made with a mix of blue-producing copper compounds and red-producing
strontium compounds.
- Orange
is created with calcium salts and calcium chloride.
- Green
is made with barium chloride and other barium compounds.
The
beginning of fireworks
Most
historians think that fireworks were invented in China, though some argue that
the original birthplace was in the Middle East or India. We do know that
somewhere around A.D. 800, Chinese alchemists mixed together saltpeter, sulfur
and charcoal and created a crude gunpowder, according to the American
Pyrotechnics Safety and Education Foundation. This wasn't what they were
aiming for. They were actually looking for a recipe for eternal life, but what
they created changed the world anyway. Once they realized what they had made,
the Chinese came to believe that these explosions would keep evil spirits away.
To
create some of the first fireworks, they would pack the new gunpowder into
bamboo shoots and throw the shoots into a fire, which created a loud blast.
After this, fireworks evolved. Paper tubes replaced bamboo stalks, for example,
and instead of throwing the tubes in a fire, people added fuses made from
tissue paper.
By
the 10th century, the Chinese had figured out that they could make bombs with
the gunpowder, and so they attached firecrackers to arrows that they shot at
enemies. Within the next 200 years, fireworks were honed into rockets that
could be fired at enemies without the help of an arrow. This technology is
still used today in firework shows.
The
spread of gunpowder
In
1295, Marco
Polo brought fireworks to Europe from Asia. (However, Europeans likely
were introduced to gunpowder weaponry during the Crusades a few years earlier,
according to the Smithsonian.)
Then, around the 13th century, gunpowder and the recipes to create it made
their way to Europe and Arabia via other diplomats, explorers and Franciscan
missionaries, according to the Smithsonian.
From there, the West developed the technology into more-powerful weapons that
we know today as cannons and muskets. People in the West still retained the
original idea of fireworks, though, and used them during celebrations. Jesters
would also entertain crowds with fireworks in medieval England.
In
England, rulers used fireworks displays to entertain their followers. The first
royal fireworks display is thought to have taken place on Henry VII's wedding
day in 1486. In 1685, James II's coronation presentation was so amazing that it
earned the fire master a knighthood. Not to be outdone, Czar Peter the Great of
Russia put on a 5-hour fireworks show to mark the birth of his son.
Learning
the art of explosions
During
the Renaissance, pyrotechnic schools were popping up across Europe, according
to History.com.
The schools taught eager students how to create elaborate explosions. In Italy,
fireworks were particularly popular, and in the 1830s, people in that country incorporated
trace amounts of metals and other ingredients to enhance the brightness and to
make creative shapes.
They
also finally developed more colors for fireworks. Up until then, all fireworks
were orange. The Italians created mixtures with various chemicals, producing
fireworks displays that are much closer to modern versions. They used strontium
for red, barium for green, copper for blue and sodium for yellow.
Journey
to the New World
As
Europeans traveled to the New World, so did their fireworks recipes. Some say
that Capt. John Smith set off the first American display, in Jamestown,
Virginia, in 1608, according to History.com. On July 4, 1777, the first
anniversary of the day the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of
Independence, fireworks became a Fourth of July tradition.
The
year before, John Adams wrote in a letter, "The day will be most memorable
in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by
succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be
solemnized with pomp and parade … bonfires and illuminations [fireworks] … from
one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward
forevermore." His prediction was right, and the tradition continued in
1777 and every year since then.
Not
everyone liked fireworks, however, Because of some shenanigans, in 1731, Rhode
Island outlawed the use of fireworks for "mischievous ends,"
according to the Smithsonian. In the 1890s, other states and some cities
created regulations to control how and where fireworks could be used. Today,
many towns and states still have their own laws governing the use of
fireworks.
Still
in the fireworks business, China produces and exports more fireworks than any
other country in the world, according to History.com.
Sumber: Alina Bradford, Live Science Contributor