Pyrotechnics Mail Group
Pyrotechnics Links: With Profound Gratitude to the Owners:
Pyrotechnics Guild International.
'Dimocks Pyro Page' -- Excellent.
Skylighter (Top Quality) Pyrotechnic Supplies, Inc.
Firefox Enterprises, Inc. (Supplies, incl. pre-milled Oxidisers & Ball [Gem] Mills).
Iowa Pyro Supply -- Sale in May,'99: -10% & NO HAZMAT.
Rec.pyrotechnics Usenet Group FAQ.
Pyrotechnics Information Page, incl.: Pyrotechnics Formula Page (PFP), Pyrotechnics Webring, & Very Comprehensive Links.
The Chemical Periodic Table of the Elements, with their Properties.
The Visual Periodic Table of the International Chemical Societies; see the Home Site for Extensive Chemistry Links.
Daves Pyro Page: Nutrient dense!
SPECTRUM Scientific -- Excellent Source of Chemical, Safety and Laboratory Products. Wholesale at retail prices, but will negotiate discount Non-tax or Acquire Sales Tax/VAT Number via Blue Pages Government Tax Div.; Apply as 'Sole Proprietorship' if you are an individual starting a company...or search online as guest & order via your local Scientific Supplier.
OneList [Mail List] Group Registry.
The anti-Libertarian Forces in the USA.
National Fireworks Association: PLEASE join this group! They are fighting for our Constitutional rights to manufacture, sell, own, & use Fireworks -- spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in Court, for us! The struggle they are waging for our Liberty crosses all borders!
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary & Thesaurus.
'A collection of pyrotechnic compositions': 74 pp. of excellency: With the usual caveat for untested formulae!
'Welcome to pyrotechnics info -- Home to pyrotechnics on the internet!': One of the best expertly composed Pyrotechnics Website -- a Must!
National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA): with Links to Great Multi-media Gallery & Astronomy Sites!
Textual Explanation of our Page's Cover Image,'Planetary Nebula NGC 6543' -- The 'Cat's Eye Nebula'; See also their Homepage.
The B/W 'Cat's Eye Nebula', showing its wonderful complexity described above!
The National Rifle Association: Join Up Now & Fight for Our Rights!
Paul Tierney's United Kingdom Fireworks Site.
Pyrotechnia is a Correspondind Website of The
ListOne 'Pyrotechnics' Group Community,
dedicated to the
responsible pursuit of the Hobby of the
Science, Craft, & Art of Pyrotechnics.
Founded 28 IV 1999
Pyrotechnic Usenet & Mail Groups:
1) OneList Pyrotechnics Group:
http://www.onelist.com/Pyrotechnics;
restricted; Post to
pyrotechnics@onelist.com.
2) rec.pyrotechnics Usenet Group;
unrestricted; FAQ(!): {rec.pyrotechnics}.
3) alt.pyrotechnics Usenet Group;
unrestricted; underutilised -- Perfect for
our [quality] Posts!: {alt.pyrotechnics}.
4) alt.engr.explosives Usenet Group;
unrestricted;
within the context of [Technical & Practical]
legitimate,
constructive explosives engineering (for
serious issues related to, but not identical
with, pyrotechnics applications). This is a
site peculiar to professionals and does NOT
appertain to illegitimacy.
5) "Anarchy" sites are ugly and sick.
Civilisation had preserved the legitimacy &
graciousness we rebelliously gave up during
the period of the Totalitarian States
(Fascist, Communist, & Militarist) and the
anti-libertarian, social engineerist American
administrations of Roosevelt onwards...!
Now we have the stricturist demeanour of the
modern social police-state vs. their deranged
opposite
wing, the latter-day anarchists; and we must
make the best of it. To that purpose,
regarding the advancement of [esp.] amateur,
hobbiest pyrotechnics, this site is
dedicated!
'HE WHO FURTHER TRAVELS THE PROSE OF THIS
SITE, and its p o e t r y , too, AGREES TO
HOLD HARMLESS THE "LIST OWNER(S)" AND ALL
PARTICIPANTS, directly & indirectly, OF THIS
SITE AND ITS CREATORS & AFFILLIATES, FROM ALL
LIABILITY BOTH CRIMINAL & CIVIL WHICH MAY
RESULT FROM THE USE OR ABUSE THEREOF.' This
is an international site, and it is the sole
responsibility of the users to determine and
accommodate the Law of their respective
jurisdictions; it is the responsibility of
parents and guardians to take reasonable
measures to assure responsible use of this
and all websites and other material by their
children and wards. Experimentation with fire
[GK Pyro] has been virtually universally
practiced by youth, from time immemorial, and
it is neither abnormal nor unnatural that
this phenomenon should continue perpetually;
thus it is the responsibility of adults to
provide correct and comprehensive pyrotechic
information, in so far as that is possible by
fallible man.
As the one of the first original OneList
members so correctly put it, as
being applicable to so many of us hobbiests,
of every age: we are doing the things we
might have done earlier or might find that
the time to do them is now -- and we can,
younger and older, try to practice the
progressive science & art of fire with as
much responsibility based on correct
information and encouragement to good ends to
try our best!
1) INTRODUCTORY PRACTICAL FIREWORKS, Tom
Perigrin (Thomas I. Perigrin, PhD,
Chemistry); 203 pages; Skylighter, Inc.;
Catalog 4, August 1, 1998; p. 11; Item 379;
Specify "Priority Mail" Postpaid @ US $49.25
(Foreign, enquire from Skylighter, linked
below, US $44.95 + S/H):
SKYLIGHTER,
BOX 480,
ROUND HILL VA 20142,
USA.
2) A PROFESSIONAL'S GUIDE TO PYROTECHNICS:
UNDERSTANDING AND MAKING EXPLODING FIREWORKS;
John Donner; ISBN 0-87364-929-X; Boulder;
1997; 133 pages; excellent general safety
material, ~$18; Paladin Press.
3) PYROTECHNICS; George W. Weingart;
Boulder; 244 pages, ~$20; Paladin Press
(online).
4) More, esp. superb -- but fairly expensive
-- texts that are of great use are those by
the highly respected Kentish,
Lancaster (~$80), Shimizu (~$90), Kosanke,
Shidlovskiy,
Haarman, Ofca, et al. They are available
through Skylighter, AFN, and Barnes & Noble*
(*with several weeks backorder for Lancaster,
Shimizu...); et al. Note: Shimizu &
Shidlovskiy are highly technical; Lancaster
is a little book.
4) Vital information shared by the
"rec.pyrotechnics" usenet group: Available
also at:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/u
senet/pyrotechnics-faq/faq.html:
This FAQ dates from 1995, and is in our links
section; it reflects, I think, the perceived
governmental usurpation of personal liberty,
and reaction thereto, of the period -- the
knowledge in Section 8, on Chemicals &
reactivity contains vital safety information
that all experimenters should know:
paradoxical surprises of the chemical world,
such as the vulnerability of Aluminum [Al]
compositions to moisture/base susceptibility
to spontaneous combustion, and the
susceptibility of chlorate compositions to
moisture Sulfur acidification which may cause
the same thing: therefore, one buffers flash
compositions, of the more sensitive [esp.
older] chlorate/sulfur[& sulfate] mixtures
with <1% metallic carbonate, e.g., Magneseum
carbonate [MgNO3] -- but to suppress the
reaction of Aluminum [Al] to water [H2O] in
NON-CHLORATE, e.g., Potassium nitrate [KNO3],
one might add Boric acid [H3BO3]! Obviously
a mistake because of ignorance can be costly;
and it need not be made. (Did your Driving
Instructor show you pictures of gruesome
results due to failure to follow the 'Rules
of the Road'; or your Chemistry professor
those of not following the Science
safeguards? Same thing, yes?)
THE MERCK INDEX (available in hardcover from
any Scientific Supplier, ~$50 US; CD, more)
is a master source that DOES treat of
the explosive & toxic chemicals and the
REQUIRED precautions in using them: e.g.,
inhallation (Aluminum [Al] dust, Antimony
sulfide [Sb2S3]), and both inhallatation &
skin absorbtion (Barium nitrate [BaNO3],
Arsenic disulfide [As2S2]); as well as the
explosive combinations but partially alluded
-- there are many more! The so-called
"exotic" formulae, such as those using the
As2S2 ('Realgar'), potassium permanganate,
and Hydrogen peroxide [H2O2] are but a few --
remember that the Peroxide in the U.S.A.
medicine cabinet is but a mere 3% solution,
altough up to 30% elsewhere, e.g, in
Deutschland, where a knowledge of chemistry
and individual responsibility is more highly
expected!
You will note that one often hears two
observations by some class of pyrotechnists,
perhaps especially the intermediate grade;
and that these observations have merit. One,
is that one should learn black powder (meal)
technique first, before going on to the
metallic (Aluminum...) and Potassium
perchlorate [KClO4] or, esp., chlorate
[KClO3] compositions -- note that the
perchlorate [ClO4] liberates more Oxygen than
the chlorate [ClO3]; yet the latter is
actually very significantly more sensitive,
and hence requires more positive prophylactic
(prevention of dangerous result) measures,
e.g. protecting against electro-static
discharge, friction, or Sulfur-acidification
"flash fires" -- which can violently
'conflagrate' (simply burning fast, exploding
without 'brisance' [shock-wave concussion])
with extreme heat, or actually 'detonate'
(explode with brisance) EVEN WITOUT
CONFINEMENT! The 'critical mass' for
ordinary 70% / 30% (Al/KClO4] Flash Powder
is considered to be around a mere 50g (about
an ounce & a half) to detonate WITHOUT
CONFINEMENT!!! The second common observation
is that is that the power and brisance of an
explosion varies inversely to the cube of the
distance from its source; thus the force of
an explosion 900 cm [~3'] away from a source
will have 1/27 the power of one 100cm [~1']
away. Imagine the relative magnitude of an
explosion at the source point itself!!!
THEREFORE, one never holds a firework in the
hand to ignite it, but rather sets it stably
on the ground and uses a punk stick of at
least ~300cm [~1'] in length -- or, better, a
romote electrical device -- to ignite it.
('Punk' is available from fireworks suppliers
at picayune cost; or, for the enterprising,
it can be made by dipping thin sticks of wood
in a slurry of cow dung.)
& KNO3.) Potassium chlorate [KClO3] should
always be
avoided in favour of the less sensitive
perchlorate [ClO4]; and that the so-called
'exotic' formulae are always out-dated and
too dangerous to use. These observations, or
better, opinions, based upon genuine chemical
properties and historic record (both
professional & amateur), again, have some
merit and ought to be taken for the 'caveat'
[Beware!] that they indicate.
Never-the-less, certain formulae using these
'exotic' compositions often give desireable
results, to some purposes, that are otherwise
unobtainable. Thus, as through properly
designed Fireworks Laws, they ought to be
designed to be used responsibly with
precaution through education and
encouragement of individual responsibility,
rather than to be "prohibited" or discouraged
altogether. The Bill Ofca TECHNIQUE IN
FIRE series of ten vv. (the latest, v. 10,
being 'Working Safely with Chlorates)
series (Skylighter, and [ask for complete
series price] B&B Products, Inc., 66 Holt
Road, Hyde Park NY 12538 -- Tel. +1 914 452
9036 /Fax: 9047; and other sources and
general
information.
In addition, The Skylighter catalogue is a
little treasure
trove of chemical information besides; and
although some of their base weight
computations &
prices may be higher than elsewhere for some
items, they charge no
[expensive & complicated to compute] HAZMAT
fees.
"There are old pyros,
and there are bold pyros,
but there are not very many old, bold pyros."
-- author unknown"
1. 'The prudent pyrotechnist' always uses
tubes
& containers made of paper; he never uses any
of metal, glass, or other hard materials --
design to make confetti only, during planned
or [potential] accidental explosions.
2. 'The prudent pyrotechnist' always wears
adequate eye & respiratory, skin & clothing
protection when working with any pyrotechnic
compositions: eye goggle or even full-face
guards are best but safety glasses at the
least; matallic dusts & toxic chemicals
require respiratory masks and the full
variety costing about $150 will provide eye
protection as well -- SPECTRUM Scientific has
it all...as do all of the reputable
industrial safety supply houses
internationally...full & half (w/ & w/o face
& head
protection) respiratory particulate &
omni-chemical filter masks, eye goggles &
spectacles, rubber 'surgeon's gloves' (also
available in hardware/paint stores, aprons
(denims cost about $10), anti-static sprays
(in laundry section of grocery store, less
expensively), and grounded & other
anti-static containers. I would go for the
North full mask with particulate/chemicals
filtration (working with 2-100 micron
aluminum and chlorine, et al, and heavy metal
salts), kid gloves (throw-away surgeon's for
skin-absorbtion toxins, as mentioned above),
and a chemist's apron sprayed with
static-guard when working wih fine metal or
air-float charcoal compositions (people
living in rural areas know how powerful an
explosive any fuel-dust is when it forms a
mixture with simple air, and grain-silo
explosions occure from that familiar smelling
dust touched off by a mere spark hopping from
static electricity in the air to the metal
band of a paint brush!!!
3. One always works out-doors in higher
humidity -- or simulates these conditions!
Flash-fire shields, etc., are available from
SPECTRUM.
4. 'The prudent pyrotechnist' always works
in
the appropriate place, with regard to
electrostatic discharge, potential 'flash
fires', and proximity to people & [esp.
combustible] property; with fire extinguisher
at hand; with the minimum of combustible
composition required; with fuels & oxidisers
secured in separate cabinets; with
compositions prepared fresh, not stored, when
possible -- hard components may be pre-made
and filled with fresh-made composition as
needed (always buffer
chlorate/sulfur{sulfate} compositions with a
carbonate to discourage acidification
reaction with moisture -- keep pH strips
handy to test chemicals & compositions for
relavant acidity, and preferably working with
low-acid sulfur availably from pyrochemical
suppliers); keeps acids at bottom of cabinet
and never store with chlorates; keeps the
working area CLEAN and always cleans
equipment thoroughly, esp. when switching
between oxidisers or phosphors, and fuels
(!); makes his motto, "Cleanliness is next to
Godliness", and always keeps all equipment
clean and spills cleansed immediately; and
always uses non-sparking tools & containers
when working with compositions -- wooden,
brass, or aluminum tools/mixing equipment:
NEEDFUL to say, he never ball-mills fuels &
oxidisers [or phosphors, with which very
special attention should be paid if used at
all] together, always cleaning his equipment
carefully before switching chemicals classes.
5. DO NOT SMOKE.
6. KNOW CHEMICAL PROPERTIES before mixing
even a gram of composition; experiment with
the smallest quantity of a composition to
ascertain its burning properties (still,
knowing that in larger quantities, especially
under confinement, a composition that
conflagrates mildly as a few grams in the
crucible may detonate in larger quantities)!
My personal first pyrotechnical investment is
an Ohaus 311g X 0.01g 4-beam, hanging scale,
available from the balances link above, for
$130. The Ohaus 610g X 0.10g 3- beam
balance, at about the same price, allows
weighing of larger amounts, necessary for
display fireworks, and is supplemented to
several kilograms more capacity with the
[$25] optional weights attachment kit.
Professional Pyrotechnicians working with
larger weights never-the-less know the wisdom
of working with no more than the minimal
amounts of compositions required. Those who
have "eased on through the stop sign when
they saw no traffic coming" will tell you
that eventually "unseen traffic does come"
and an accident -- sometimes a grave one --
does result sooner or later. Experienced
profesionals will verify that fact, and the
fact that all of their experience is
insufficient to anticipate the unforseen
quirks in practical experience of the laws of
physics & chemistry in nature! Human nature
tends to ignore
the possibility that a person has not learned
all of the laws of God & nature;
never-the-less, he has not. PLEASE MONITOR
THE LISTS FOR HAIR-RAISING TALES FROM THE
GRIZZLED PYROTECHNIST PROFESSIONALS AND LEARN
HOW TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS WHICH MAIM OR KILL!
6. Following all known safety precaution
rules, always, without exception, will
prevent losing some fingers, an eye, worse,
or one's life: that is the undisputed truth.
Follow the rules especially if one does not
know why -- remember that certain
pyrotechnical compositions can & do burn [&
explode] spontaneously. The solid Aluminum
[Al] that one washes in the sink with
impunity becomes spontaneously explosive as a
fine powder in contact with moisture (&
Magnesium [Mg] even more so) or dispersed as
a cloud in the air [as does any fuel dust,
e.g. Charcoal AF, with the slightest spark,
which are occurring unseen nearly constantly
somewhere in any building]. Thus is the
admonition to try to work outside, in high
humidity, and with grounding precautions in
which any computer technician or buff can
instruct.
7. Invariably Potassium nitrate
[KNO3]/charcoal[C]/Sulfer[S] -- Black Powder
("Meal" or "BP") compositions are much safer
with which to work, especially for starters
and those who have not yet learned the whys &
wherefores of basic practical pyrotchnical
chemistry & physics. One need not be a
theorist, but really grasp the practicalities
of handling pyrotechnic chemicals and their
compositions. A general college textbook on
basic chemistry, the Periodic Table of the
Elements, moles, and balancing chemical
reactions equations combine to give a
supporting (and revealing) language of
pyrotechnics: this language will be explored
on the Pyrotechnia Website.
8. Words are thoughts; thoughts are
understanding; understanding is fuller
consciousness; fuller consciousness is
greater quality of life; greater quality of
life includes safety: keep a Dictionary
nearby and always use it. Once habituated to
the Dictionary, and having got those pesky GK
& L -fixes roots under one's belt and out of
the way; he will enlarge vocabulary and
thereby better life quality in every way -- I
did and do.
Anyone coming to this site from elsewhere is
invited to join the OneList
[Mail List] Group counterpart!
Simpy go to OneList.com; Register as a
Member; type in the desired Community,
'Pyrotechics'; apply for Membership; and
receive the Welcome Message a.s.a.p.
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/Pyrotechnics
Thereafter one can access the Member List,
receive postings (the 'digest' form selection
is suggested), and post messages & articles
ONLY from the location E-mail address from
which one joined OneList!
Three usenet groups are apropos to our
subject:
1) rec.pyrotechnics
2) alt.pyrotechnics -- an underutilised
group which we ought to bolster and make good
advantage.
3) alt.engr.explosives -- we do respect the
'keep on-topic' protocol, and encourage the
upgrading of quality in usenet group
interaction. Understanding the practical
characteristics of explosives enhances the
safety of everyone working with chemistry.
Further Pyrotechnics and other appropriate
links, especially those gratefully gleaned
from the rec.pyrotechnics URL-Posters, and
most especially Mssrs Moore & Woodard:
https://www.angelfire.com/al/pyrotech/
https://www.angelfire.com/fl/amatuerrockets/
http://www.rocketryonline.com
http://www.howstufffworks.com
http://tad1.cit.cornell.edu/Tom/Pyro/MyPyro.h
tml http://www.ctel.net/~dwilliams/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/4758/ind
ex.html
http://desertblast.antfarm.net/formula.html
http://www.redhouse.force9.co.uk/pyro/
http://www.98.net/afn/
http://members.xoom.com/Tigers_Claw/
http://www.myfamilybiz.com/
http://www.calisland.com/apcg/chemistry/index
.html http://come.to/pfp
American Fireworks News:
http://www.98.net/afn/
Canadian Pyrotechnics Arts Guild:
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/dsoucy/cpag
.htm Untitled:
http://www.centuryinter.net/chzweeth/
Dan William's Pyrotechnic Tools Page:
http://www.ctel.net/~dwilliams/index.html
Diamond Fireworks:
http://www.diamondfireworks.com/
Dutch Pyrotechnics Page:
http://www.dutch-net.com/~users/dennis/
[sic?]
Explosives Branch Information - NRCan
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/mms/explosif/
Iowa Pyro Supply:
http://www.netins.net/showcase/iowapyrosup/
Mike N's Page:
https://www.angelfire.com/co2/kno3/index.html
PFP Database: http://come.to/pfp
Pyrotechnics - Art Of Fire:
http://cc.oulu.fi/~kempmp/pyro.html
rec.pyrotechnics FAQ:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/u
senet/pyrotechnics-faq/faq.html Short Fuse
Pyrotechnics:
https://www.angelfire.com/al/pyrotech/
Skylighter Inc.:
http://www.skylighter.com/
Tom Dimock's Pyro Page:
http://tad1.cit.cornell.edu/Tom/Pyro/MyPyro.h
tml Tom Perigrin's Pyro Web Book:
http://ai.chem.ohiou.edu/~tip/pyro.html
Wouter Visser's Pyrotechnics Page:
http://huizen.dds.nl/~wfvisser/indexEN.html
*******
For Consumer Fireworks, the Honourable &
highly respected Schneitter Fireworks and
Importing Company Catalogue is obtainable by
request from sfirewks@fts.net -- by mail: PO
Box 547, Saint Joseph, Missouri 64502-0547 --
or -- by Telephone: (816) 232-3969 -- or by
Facsimile: (816) 232-1620. This seller is
reputable, excellent, inexpensive, and Law
Abiding. NOTE: The buyer is responsible:
know the laws for your jurisdiction before
ordering; States like Oregon require
reporting by freight haulers of all fireworks
entering the jurisdiction, &c. Pick-up
orders not wanting to pay Missouri sales tax
[~6%?] must produce their resale/license
papers and fill-out the Form, q.v. *******
///|\\\ *******
In Fondness toward the People of Free France,
who dedicated the Statue of 'Liberty
Enlighening the World', for the principles
and responsible practice of the unalienable
Rights of Man, to The United States to mark
her Centenary of 1876 (designed by Artist
Frédéric
Auguste Bartholdi & Architect Alexandre
Gustav Eiffel).
Revised 18 X 99.
