Abstract

Pyrotechnics involves the combination of science and art to chemically generate heat, and from that heat create light, color, audible effects, and gas pressure for entertainment, emergency signaling, and military applications. The civilian side of pyrotechnics includes fireworks, highway flares (fusees), air bag inflators, and special effects devices for the entertainment industry. Military and aerospace pyrotechnics include a wide range of devices for illumination, signaling, obscuration, and gas generation. A pyrotechnic mixture typically contains one or more oxygen-rich oxidizers and one or more fuels, which undergo an exothermic reaction when heated to the ignition temperature of the mixture. The heat that is produced then creates the desired pyrotechnic effect. The selection of the chemicals used in a pyrotechnic composition, as well as the particle sizes of the chemicals and the degree of intimacy to which the composition is blended, determine in large part the speed of the pyrotechnic reaction. Safety in all aspects of manufacturing and using pyrotechnic mixtures and devices is important.