sparklers- an indispensable attribute of any fun holiday - New Year, birthday (and not only children's), wedding. They cost a penny, are sold everywhere, are absolutely safe for indoor ignition. However, people still continue to be interested, create colorful joy and interest with the children, and increase the anticipation of the holiday. Moreover, the process itself is simple, and the necessary substances are quite accessible.
Composition recipes
Craftsmen have come up with several ways to do it yourself. Depending on what is easier for you to get, you can choose any of the recipes. In one group we include the compositions, which include without fail 50% by weight barium nitrate and 12-14 percent dextrin. Additional Ingredients can be selected from the following list:
- From 6 to 8% fine aluminum powder plus 30% sawdust - necessarily steel and blued.
- The same amount of similar sawdust is added to the base, and the powder is replaced by PAM No. 4 - this is short for aluminum-magnesium powder.
All options are good because they contain neither potassium / sodium salts, nor sulfur, so candles will not give smoke, as well as various kinds of toxins. Result: lights can be used in the house without fear of poisoning.
Another composition has a radically different recipe. For 6-8 fires, aluminum gunpowder weighing 5 grams is taken, dextrin - 2 grams and sawdust, this time cast iron, which will take from 5 to 6 g. These lights will have to be used only in the fresh air.
Getting the right ingredients
It is not always possible to buy some of the necessary substances. So before you make a sparkler at home, you may have to prepare the components. The easiest way is with dextrin: it is formed when ordinary starch is heated in the oven. The temperature is set at 195 Celsius, the processing is carried out until the initial substance acquires a brownish tint.
If you settled on a recipe with aluminum powder, you will have to do it outdoors. In a mortar, aluminum powder and sulfur are ground in proportions of 30:45:25.
Important: wire
It is worth paying attention to the basis for which you will keep your "fireworks". Here, too, there are several subtleties. First, the length: cut the wire into pieces of at least 14 cm, so you protect your hand from sparks or hot composition. Second, thickness. Take a wire with a cross section of 2-3 mm. Thinner ones can burn out and break. Thirdly, the material. Neither copper nor aluminum are suitable - the combustion temperature of the mixtures is high, and they simply melt. Look for it. And don't forget, before making a sparkler at home, bend one end into a hook so that you can hang it to dry. If the bend bothers you, you can straighten it or bite it later.
How to make a Bengal fire with your own hands: instructions
In addition to all the chemicals and rods, you will need a container in which the composition will be prepared. First, aluminum powder or barium salt is poured there, then - dextrin, and only after mixing - the remaining components of the selected mixture. When the dry powder is mixed until approximately homogeneous, a little solvent is poured into it (you can use water, but alcohol is better). The consistency should be like boiled condensed milk. A piece of wire is lowered into the composition, leaving 5-7 cm for the “handle”. The future sparkler is hung to dry for a quarter of an hour, after which the manipulations are repeated twice more. Three layers will dry for half an hour, and then two more are applied in the manner already described. The final drying will take half a day, and you can set it on fire.
Another way
Often people use a slightly different technology, how to make a Bengal fire at home. First, a strong paste of starch is cooked and tap water. Then an incendiary mixture is ground, which includes fine-grained iron filings, magnesium powder (as an option - aluminum), kitchen salt and Bertoletova. The latter must be handled with care, and wet it a little before pouring. The mixture is kneaded in brewed starch until smooth. AT ready topics the rods are dipped in the same way with time intervals between the application of layers.
Burning bengal fire
Bengal lights are an indispensable attribute of the New Year. But why are sparklers so called? What are sparklers made of, what is their composition and how to make them at home? You will find answers to these and other questions in this article.
All sparklers are composed of fuel, an oxidizing agent, metal powder (for sparks), combustible glue and a rod for the entire mass. Most often, the composition of sparklers is as follows:
- aluminum or magnesium powder is used as fuel,
- barium nitrate (barium nitrate) is used as an oxidizing agent,
- as a binder, dextrin or starch is used,
- oxidized iron and steel filings are used to generate sparks,
- metal wire is used as the basis for the combustible mixture.
Why are sparklers so called?
I am sure many of you have wondered why sparklers are called so. Why Bengali? The name comes from the province of Bengal, which is located in India.
In this province, for the first time, a similar composition was used as an alarm. After that, the name Bengal fire went, i.e. fire from Bengal.
How to make sparklers at home
In the book of G.A. Platov "Pyrotechnician. The art of making fireworks” describes several compositions for self-manufacturing sparklers. As you can see below, the main components do not change, only the fuel changes:
- 50% - barium nitrate
- 30% - steel or iron blued sawdust
- 13% - dextrin
- 7% - aluminum powder or magnesium powder or aluminum-magnesium powder (PAM) No. 4.
Barium nitrate can most often be purchased only in specialized chemical stores, so below is the option of making your own sparklers without using barium nitrate.
Attention! The composition for self-made sparklers, which is proposed below, contains sulfur, so their use indoors is prohibited!
To make 15 sparklers you will need:
- 10 g cast iron or steel filings (the color of the sparks depends on the metal)
- 10 g of aluminum powder (50% potassium nitrate, 35% aluminum powder and 15% sulfur must be mixed together and rubbed thoroughly)
- 4 grams of dextrin (dextrin is obtained from starch by baking it at 200 degrees for 90 minutes, for example in the oven)
- Steel wire with a diameter of 1 mm.
Stages of home production:
- At the beginning of the manufacture of home sparklers, it is necessary to cut the steel wire into pieces of the desired length. On one side of the wire, you need to make a hook (it is needed to hang sparklers for drying).
The use of copper and aluminum wire is prohibited, because the combustion temperature exceeds 1000 degrees and the wire will melt.
- We mix all the components by adding a little water or alcohol to bring the consistency of the mixture to a more or less thick state (like condensed milk).
- Dip pieces of steel wire into the resulting mixture and dry for about 15-20 minutes, repeat the procedure 5-6 times.
For these purposes, a test tube is well suited, but if you do not have one, then you can apply the composition to the wire with a brush.
As you can see, making sparklers at home is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance, but it is important to remember the safety rules when using fire indoors and outdoors.
How to light sparklers
Some manufacturers apply a special flammable head (almost like a match head) to the end of a Bengal candle to make it easier to light it.
To quickly light a Bengal fire, it is better to use another, already lit, because. combustion temperature exceeds 1000 degrees.
You should not try to light Bengal candles from a cigarette in your mouth - this can lead to bad consequences.
If you read books about hitmen, then there the main character loves to amaze the dark audience with ingenious handicrafts.
Classic Bengal fire is quite suitable for this.
At the same time, Bengal fire as such is a very ancient invention. But how ancient is fire exactly as we know it?
Bengal fire is named so because it was invented (surprise!) on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, in India. And it was used for signaling and special effects in temples. Well, at least it's all according to legend, because it all happened in the 5th - 6th century.
You can find a lot of Bengal fire compositions, there are definitely more than a dozen of them.
The main thing is that they have several properties. Firstly, a close relative of sparklers is thermite mixtures, which burn at temperatures above 2400 ° C and as a result - a very bright flame. Secondly, the Bengal fire includes not only fuel (in this case metal) but also an oxidizing agent, so the composition of a sparkler is somewhat similar to the composition of gunpowder.
It was in this form that Bengal fire came to Europe. However, at first it was just a bright fire, and then they began to add crushed iron scale or cast iron (iron or steel) filings to it. It is they who give these bright yellow stars that scatter in all directions. And they are also responsible for the characteristic sound of burning Bengal fire. This was already invented in Europe, somewhere in the 6th - 7th century (in Valencia).
I didn't find the ancient sparkler recipe, but let's see what's included now:
1. Metal that oxidizes. Aluminum and magnesium give a pure white flame. Titanium gives a particularly bright color. Now they also use an alloy of aluminum and magnesium with the addition of nickel and tin.
2. Additional fuel that controls the temperature and rate of combustion. These are sulfur and coal.
3. Oxidizers. Nitrates of barium, strontium, potassium. Potassium perchlorate KClO 4 (not to be confused with Bertolet's salt, which is KClO 3, this one will be cooler).
4. Additional pyrotechnic dyes for colored flames. Typically barium and strontium chlorides or copper.
5. The combustible filler is dextrin or nitrocellulose.
You can dig up a mountain of recipes, here are the classic ones:
Composition No. 1
Barium nitrate…………………………..50%
Dextrin…………………………………12-14%
Aluminum powder………………..6-8%
Blued steel sawdust…..30%
Composition No. 2
Barium nitrate…………………………………………..50%
Dextrin………………………………………………..12-14%
Powder Aluminum-Magnesium №4….6-8%
Blued iron sawdust………………….30%
Composition No. 3
Barium nitrate………………………………50%
Dextrin…………………………………….12-14%
Magnesium powder No. 4…………..6-8%
Blued steel sawdust………30%
By and large, I consider the invention of a hitman like a failed undertaking. No matter how much the author of the book would like to invent pyrotechnic effects.
The fact is that since ancient times, mankind has had fun - to throw into the fire what comes to hand and see what comes out. Thus, the first ceramics were obtained and the first metal was smelted.
Unless it will be very ancient times, but then what kind of metal to burn? And what kind of oxidizer? Wouldn't it be too much effort for such a narrow niche?
A modern sparkling sparkler contains barium nitrate as an oxidizing agent, aluminum or magnesium powder as a fuel, dextrin or starch as an adhesive, and oxidized iron or steel filings to produce sparks.
Bengal candles consist of pieces of iron wire with a sparkler applied to one of the ends.
The name is derived from the province of India - Bengal - where a similar composition was first used for signaling.
In literature
"Bengal lights" - one of the stories of Nikolai Nosov about the adventures of bosom friends Misha and Kolya.
see also
Write a review on the article "Bengal fire"
Notes
Literature
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
- Bengal fire // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. : Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
An excerpt characterizing Bengal fire
“Citizens of Moscow!Your misfortunes are cruel, but his majesty the emperor and the king wants to stop the course of these. Terrible examples have taught you how he punishes disobedience and crime. Strict measures are taken to stop the confusion and restore general safety. The paternal administration, elected from among yourselves, will be your municipality or city government. It will care about you, about your needs, about your benefit. Its members are distinguished by a red ribbon, which will be worn over the shoulder, and the head of the city will have a white belt over it. But, excluding the time of their office, they will only have a red ribbon around their left arm.
The City Police was established in accordance with the former situation, and through its activities a better order exists. The government appointed two general commissars, or chiefs of police, and twenty commissars, or private bailiffs, appointed in all parts of the city. You will recognize them by the white ribbon they will wear around their left arm. Some churches of various denominations are open, and divine services are conducted without hindrance. Your fellow citizens return daily to their dwellings, and orders have been given that they should find help and protection in them, following misfortune. These are the means that the government has used to restore order and alleviate your situation; but in order to achieve this, it is necessary that you unite your efforts with him, so that you forget, if possible, your misfortunes that you have undergone, give yourself up to the hope of a not so cruel fate, be sure that an inevitable and shameful death awaits those who dare to your persons and your remaining property, and in the end they did not doubt that they would be preserved, for such is the will of the greatest and most just of all monarchs. Soldiers and residents, whatever nation you are! Restore public trust, the source of the happiness of the state, live like brothers, give mutual help and protection to each other, unite to refute the intentions of evil-minded people, obey the military and civil authorities, and soon your tears will stop flowing.
Bengal candles, or sparklers, are a very popular, beloved, and relatively safe type of pyrotechnics. So safe that even children are allowed to set fire to Bengals (of course, under the supervision of their parents). From the point of view of the device, a Bengal candle is a piece of metal wire on which a pyrotechnic composition is applied. The effect of splashing lights is created, on the one hand, by oxidized sawdust - iron or steel; as well as powdered magnesium or aluminum. Bengal lights can be of various colors - with the addition of additional chemical ingredients - such as purple, blue or pink. But the classic bengals are still a golden hissing stick that scatters sparks that look like molten metal (in fact, this is what it is).
Despite the ease of use, there are safety precautions for sparklers too. After pulling the begnal out of the package, hold it by the metal end (without sprayed pyrotechnic composition), under a small fire to the ground, so that the sparks fall evenly and scatter in different directions. In no case should you hold a Bengal candle vertically, because. flaming particles of metal filings can fall on the hand and cause burns. Gently light the far end of the candle.
Bengal fires are a flammable product, and it is recommended to set them on fire in the open air. This condition becomes mandatory when it comes to color-flaming sparklers, because. they contain aggressive oxidizing agents.
Before lighting, carefully inspect the surface of the candle. It should be fairly even, with a uniformly applied composition. If there are chips, or in some places the composition falls off, it is necessary to refrain from lighting such a candle - most likely, it is overdue. You don’t want falling pieces of the composition to fall on your clothes or shoes during combustion, do you?
A quality Bengal candle has a silver, gray or black color, depending on what composition was used in its manufacture. Some factories put a special flammable head on the end of the candle (almost like the head of a match) to make it easier to light it. Almost all sparklers on sale are Russian-made. There are a lot of factories that produce such pyrotechnics, among them are NIIPKh (Sergiev Posad) and TSZ (Trinity Equipment Plant), which is part of the Russian Fireworks association. Chinese Bengals are distributed mainly in Siberia and the Far East.
