As I have mentioned in previous posts, the first step I had to take in my pyrotechnic journey was to learn how to safely and legally make blackpowder, as blackpowder is the foundation of fireworks.
Blackpowder was discovered by the Chinese about 1,200 years ago and it has been used in fireworks for many centuries; the problem with blackpowder is that it is a dangerous and regulated substance.
For those reasons, I checked federal, state, and county laws to understand when, where, and under which circumstances it is legal for me to make blackpowder before I ever attempted to make any blackpowder; I also researched how much blackpowder I was allowed to make. After making sure I was following the laws, I then learned about the safety precautions and the dangers of blackpowder in order to make, handle, and store the blackpowder safely.
DO NOT attempt to make blackpowder; if you make or handle it improperly, you could not only face criminal charges, but also suffer severe bodily injury or death. Always treat dangerous compounds and chemicals with the appropriate care and respect.
I mentioned once before that carbon is what gives blackpowder its color. The color is merely a byproduct of the presence of carbon, which is the fuel of blackpowder. Carbon can burn in the air, but it burns slowly due to the fairly low concentration of oxygen in the air. When an oxygen-containing compound is directly added to the carbon, the added compound provides the oxygen required to burn the carbon; this mixture is what we call blackpowder.
A fun fact about my blackpowder is that I personally isolated the carbon from wood and ground it in order to make it into blackpowder. Here is a quick video of my mixing the ingredients.
I find blackpowder intriguing from a chemistry standpoint and entertaining from a pyrotechnic perspective, however, because of its dangerous nature, it deserves to be handled with great respect and I cannot condone the manufacturing or handling of blackpowder by anyone other than experts. Please do not try to replicate anything featured in this post.
What is your favorite firework?
Onward American 