Pyrotechny

Pyrotechny, the art of producing an attractive scenic display by the application of fire. Fireworks have been known to the Chinese from a very remote period, but the first attempt to construct them in Europe was the result of the invention of gunpowder in the 13th century. To produce the desired result there must be a combination of combustible or oxidisable materials, such as carbon and sulphur and their compounds, with substances which promote their speedy combustion, such as nitrate and chlorate of potash, the oxygen contained in these salts occasioning the rapid consumption of the forementioned materials when fire is applied. The variety in colour, on which the beauty of fireworks chiefly depends, is produced by means of simple metals, compounds of which are introduced as ingredients into the mixture. The compositions which have been described are placed in cases of paper or pasteboard - usually cylindrical in form - the construction of which requires great care. A due relation must be observed between the length and the diameter, and it is essential that the aperture through which the burning materials are to escape should be of the right size. Most fireworks are capped with touch-paper, prepared with a solution of nitrate of potash in alcohol. a quick-match of cotton-wick being used to unite the parts of complex designs and portfires containing saltpetre and similar materials to set fire to the cappings.