patrickescotland

Oooh, nostalgia... Love the smell, no bangs and you can set them off in the kitchen! Also great for science demonstrations

and education. Does anyone know more about the formulation of indoor fireworks? There is a company based in the UK that has

started producing them again, in line with current safety regulations. http://www.indoorfireworks.co.uk

Pack of 20 (cost~£10):



I filmed some slow-motion movies of 3 types below...

Green Flash Pellet. In this high speed sequence, note the little red-hot balls of what appears to be molten oxidiser. The

metal ions "exciting" in the flame remind me of the aurora borealis.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=8k7y3PBsvdg


Volcano. Possibly my favourite of all. The old style version used to be wrapped as a foil pyramid, the new pellet form (Hocus

Pocus) seems a lot more robust and easier to light. I recall a school chemistry lesson where our teacher ingnited ammonium

dichromate, which produced amazing volumes of green ash.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=xUmsh4wt25w


Snake. According to the manufacturers these do not contain mercury.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=zUtoYY5L88Y


Others include bengal matches, and smoke puffers - remember those little plastic smoking monkeys from the 1970s/1980s? The magic fern was one that always seemed to be overlooked, but I am particularly fond of them.

I am lucky to still have a few boxes of British bangers from the 80s inclusing Astra, Standard, Esco and Brocks. I have 2 boxes of each, and the plan is to keep at least one box intact and set a few off. In order to preserve these national treasures, I will be recording videos and taking detailed photographs.

Here is the test video of a couple of Esco bangers.

http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=TByeMtvd8_c

Videos are recorded in real time using a high definition video camera, and slow motion using a camera which can record up to 1200 frames per second. The high speed camera is a Casio EX-F1 and cost approx £550. This is the first time that consumer digital camera has included an ultra high speed recording feature. Unfortunately the high speed camera does not record the sound, but I can see it could have very useful applications in pyrotechnics for analysing star compostions, burn rates etc.

The image below shows individual frames montage from the high speed footage. Note there is a particularly "beautiful" moment when the main black powder ignites, creating an eerie glow from within. The banger then starts to accelerate across the ground before the tube breaks and creates the bang.



My personal favourite: Astra bangers



A selection of different types.

Unfortunately no fireworks/tissue paper inside... I like the wording of the "Handling of Fireworks" instructions, particularly rule 12.

I came across these on Star Fireworks site (a sister company to Cosmic fireworks). Has anyone tried them? This is one of the first ever daytime fireworks I have seen. Thinking about placing an order around Christmas, the delivery is relatively cheap at £15.

I have fond memories of the parachute flares of the 70's and 80's and, like many others here, wish they would bring them back to consumers.

Parachute smoke (£10 each)

http://www.starfirew.....e Smoke cake.

Funny Face Rockets (£12 for 5)

http://www.starfirew.....azing effect.

It's amazing what you find on ebay... I couldn't resist buying these tiny 1/12 scale dummy replicas of Standard and Pains fireworks. They are intended for a doll's house; here is a link to the seller's shop:

http://shop.ebay.co....erchant/tyne759

Has anyone managed to create small working fireworks? I'd love to see a nano-fountain, roman candle, etc. I did a search and came across an article on visco powered rockets:

http://www.skylighte...fuse-rocket.asp