Fireworks Designer or Pyrotechnician

Chemists create different kinds of fireworks. Those colorful rockets and sprays that go up on holidays and for special events involve a complex bit of chemistry to achieve the array of shapes and colors. Therefore, fireworks designers need a solid chemistry background to even get started. From there, training and experimenting on the job results in new firework patterns, colors and types.

Pyrotechnics is the art of manufacturing or setting off fireworks. 

Pyrotechnicians design fireworks using different chemical compounds that create spectacular results. Many supplies go into the creation of fireworks including fuses, ignition supplies, plastic bases, shells, and tubes, to name a few. Chemicals, from acetone to zinc stearate, are used for special effects as well as binding agents, solvents, catalysts, and propellants.

What is the origin of fireworks?

Ancient China is most likely where they originated. Legend has it; thousands of years ago a Chinese chef mistakenly mixed together three common kitchen ingredients: Potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal. He then ignited, which resulted in flames of many different colors. This man also realized that when burned in a closed bamboo shoot, an enormous explosion was produced. 

At first the ancient Chinese only used this for fun. Soon they realized that the noise created by these curiosities would be great for driving away evil spirits. Eventually they began to use them in weddings, religious ceremonies and victory parties.

So what are the types of fireworks?

·         Roman candles: These long tubes shoot compact balls of chemicals from one end, creating a series of flaming stars. Inside the tubes, the chemical balls are packed one on top of the other, with layers of sawdust between them.

.    Rocket type: Rockets are actually powered by an internal engine. These fly through the air when ignited. They sometimes carry parachutes, stars, or big bangs when they reach the peak of their flight.

·         Fountains: These are cone-shaped and sit on the ground. A hole in the top allows gases to escape, shooting colored sparks into the air.

·         Smoke bombs: They smoke a colorful smoke. That is all they do, so what more can one say about them?

·         Sparklers: These are long pieces of wire. Half of the length of the wire is covered in chemicals that give off bright sparkles of light when lit. Sparklers are credited with causing some of the most serious firework accidents.

·         Aerial shells: These are the kings of fireworks. The most spectacular visually, and usually the loudest. These are the ones the professionals use. These are launched the same way military mortar shells are launched. After placing the shell into a skyward facing tube, an external fuse is lit. The explosion of the lift charge inside the tube then launches the shell. 

Colors in fireworks are generated by "stars", which contain ingredients that when lit, produce different colored light depending on the types of chemicals contained in the stars. There are five ingredients that are most commonly in the stars. These ingredients are: an oxidizer, a fuel to burn, a binding structure to hold everything together, and a chlorine donor ingredient to brighten the color.

What produces the colors are incandescence and luminescence. Incandescence is light that is produced from heat, which makes it glow brighter colors depending on the temperature. The temperature of a firework can be controlled to make certain colors at certain times. To increase the temperature of the firework, metals like aluminum and magnesium are used.

Luminescence is light that is produced using other energy sources than heat, which is why it is also called "cold light". It is produced by 'excited' electrons in an atom or a molecule and then returning to the lower energy level, which releases light, called a 'photon'. Fireworks are, chemically, spontaneous reactions in which much free energy is released. A spontaneous reaction is a reaction that naturally occurs and forms products at certain conditions. 

As a conclusion, we find that the career of a fireworks designer is rather interesting though very dangerous and risky. In addition to that, setting off fireworks is a blast when memorializing festive occasions. Fireworks create a sense of wonder, excitement, and surprise. As long as you are careful, this can be good clean fun.