History of Fireworks

Past, Present, and Future of

Fireworks

James Lark

Guilford Technical Community College

Abstract

The first thing that comes to everyone’s mine when you think of the forth of July, is Fireworks. The bursting spectacles bring everyone together in great awe. Although the true history of these great balls of fire will remain a mystery, the future of these blazing wonders looks very bright. Even with the advancements of technology and a few additions and changes to the recipe; fireworks still have a way of fascinating the human mind and eye.

The Human Element

And Fireworks

Much to everyone’s surprise fireworks actually pre-date gunpowder (Bradley). Evidence found in China shows that people of the Han dynasty era used the earliest form of fireworks, in the form of dried bamboo. Bamboo grows so fast that it will trap pockets of air inside the tree itself. When the bamboo trees were burned the heated air within the tree would expand and explode out of the tree. Later on during the Tang dynasty the first credited pyrotechnics were used in China (Helmenstine).

While trying to discover the “Secret to never ending Life”, a few monks mixed chemicals together and accidentally burned the room as well as themselves. This “failure” was recorded as a reference of warning for other monks. How ever Human curiosity lead some monks to continue playing with the mixtures, trying to make it brighter, stronger and louder. After learning through countless experimentations that putting the mixtures inside bamboo and then setting them a blaze produced the best result and louder answer. This would lead to fireworks earning it’s first name; the “fire drug”.

It was not long after these events that the Chinese discover gunpowder and rockets. These new inventions coupled with fireworks to be used as a more powerful and propulsive means of pyrotechnics (Bradley).

As with most civilizations if there is a way to weapon-ize anything, it shall be done. These new found inventions were...