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pyrotechnics

Coordinating fireworks to music

Watching this year's Fourth of July fireworks display in Seattle, I wondered (not for the first time) how they coordinate the fireworks with the musical soundtrack--the hearts exploding right at the climax of "Unchained Melody," or the long fizzy streamers during the theremin part of "Good Vibrations," for instance. Not surprisingly, software's the answer.

The Seattle display was operated by a company called Pyro Spectaculars based out of Rialto, Calif., which reportedly uses a highly customized or home-built system to coordinate the music to the displays. But other pyrotechnicians might use combined hardware-software systems … Read more

Chemists brew 'greener' fireworks

Researchers are working to reduce the pollution left by the shooting stars and bursting bombs that spangle skies in fireworks displays.

Efforts by Walt Disney and the military are driving the changes, according to a report by Bethany Halford in Chemical and Engineering News.

Fireworks have become more colorful within the last two centuries, but the basic technology hasn't changed much in 800 or more years since early forms of gunpowder were likely used in rituals and battles in China.

Staple ingredients are a fuel to create heat and an oxidizer to accelerate burning. Additional chemicals slow the burn, … Read more