lord_dranack

Hello everyone- been a while since I've posted, but I've been reading most days.

On this page on maltese fireworks http://www.maltafire.../irdieden2.html
I talks about a method of making charcoal that involves burning the wood (vine) for a few minutes, then sealing it in a barrel for 8 weeks.

The maltese do have their own ways of doing many things in pyrotechnics, but I would have thought that this method of charcoal making would be less efficient and repeatable than other almost-as-simple methods.

Has anyone tried this method? What do people think of it?

I just found this page while searching for stuff about flame tests:
http://www.uwm.edu/~...cweb.htm#tomake
It shows how to make a simple spectroscope, which can be used to study different light.
I doubt if it is useful in pyro, but I it might be interesting to view different burning formulae through it.
I'll report back when I've made mine!

I have used these in various fireworks for some time, but never in devices that have been stored for any amount of time. I know that these will both corrode/rust when stored, and that there are ways of preventing this using linseed oil for the iron and potassium dichromate for the Mg. Will other (cheaper) oils work? Can Mg be used with a water soluble binder after it has been treated with potassium dichromate? What is the best method for treating them? (I did search but I couldn't find too much on this topic)
Thanks

I think the answer to this is probably no, but I'll see if anyone knows for sure:

Is graphite powder interchangable with lampblack in formulae to produce a similar effect?

The other day I was talking to my chemistry teacher about pyrotechnics, and he mentioned a deminstration he used to do a long time ago. It was called "Pharaoh's serpants" and involved making mercury nitrate from the metal and acid, then reacting with potassium thiocyanate to give mercury thiocyanate, which was dried and placed in a paper funnel then lit, producing snake-like trails of ash. I can't quite remember the exact method, but I think this was about what he said.

Does anyone know if this was ever used in fireworks in the past? I assume it couldn't be used now for health and safety reasons (thats why I put it under nostalgia not pyro)