Fireworks

This page contains some of the common words you'll read on this website.

There are more specific words associated with fireworks. You can find them at these websites:
http://www.fireworks.com/safety/glossary.asp a good glossary with pictures
http://www.pyrouniverse.com/glossary.htm

a shell that explodes overhead, in the air. Aerial shells are loaded and fired from mortars and can travel up to 200 to 3,000 feet into the sky.
 

the most common material used in fireworks. Black powder was invented by the Chinese around a 1000 years ago. It is a low explosive consisting of 75 % potassium nitrate (KNO3), 10% sulfur (S), and 15% charcoal (fuel). It is used to make sound, lift objects, make fuses, and used in other combinations to make a variety of different effects.
 

a chemical process in which one or more substances are changed into others
 

a chemical process in which a substance reacts vigorously with oxygen to produce heat and light
 

to explode or cause to explode...a heat releasing chemical reaction in which the explosive decomposition of a substance forms an energy wave that travels through the substance at supersonic speeds. High explosives such as TNT and dynamite detonate; fireworks do not.
 

a substance that has the potential to undergo rapid chemical decomposition, producing light, heat, and large volumes of gas. The dry chemical ingredients that are inside of fireworks are explosives. They create the sounds and visible effects or provide the energy for them to work. Blackpowder and flash powder are examples.
 

a short piece of string or twine treated with a pyrotechnic composition or blackpowder.
A firework is ignited by lighting the main fuse. When this is lit it starts one fuse, which quickly carries the flame down to the lift charge, and a time delay fuse, which continues to burn toward the cardboard compartments containing the stars, as the firework is hurtling skyward. The time delay fuse is arranged so that the shell explodes at the right altitude. 
 

the transfer of fire from one source to another 
 

an explosive charge, made of black powder, beneath a shell used to lift the shell into the sky.
 

long tubes made of cardboard, fiberglass, plastic or metal from which shells are launched, are numbered for their firing sequence.

 

a slow burning wooden stick, about 12" long, used for lighting fireworks. Punk is made of compressed sawdust and is ignited at the tip using a match or lighter and is then used to ignite the fuse on fireworks.
 

a thin wood stick or wire, usually 12" long or less, that gives off sparks while burning. About ¾ of the length is coated with a pyrotechnic composition. One quarter of the wire or stick is bare and used as the handle, the tip is ignited by a match or other open flame or another sparkler, and upon ignition, a shower of colored sparks, usually less than 10" in diameter is produced. Though they seem harmless and are considered "safe", they cause more injuries than any other firework