Fireworks are a personal favourite of mine, with firework science being particularly popular amongst my pupils. The different colours are created using different chemicals, and one of two different chemical reactions: incandescence (light created through heat) and luminescence (light without heat).
Fast Fact: The largest single firework to be set off was in Japan in 1988. The burst was over 1 kilometre across.
| Colour | Chemical |
|---|---|
| Orange | Calcium |
| Red | Strongtium and Lithium |
| Gold | Iron |
| Yellow | Sodium |
| White | Magnesium or Aluminium |
| Green | Barium plus a Chlorine producer |
| Blue | Copper plus a Chlorine producer |
| Purple | Strontium plus Copper |
| Silver | Aluminium or Magnesium powder |