ipl-logo

Science Behind Gunpowder

537 Words3 Pages

Love them or loath them but fireworks can be full of noise. You have big bangs, whizzing whistles and thunderous thud sounds to fill up the night sky. For some these different noises are the best part of fireworks, while others aren’t as excited. We’ve previously looked at how fireworks get their colours and decided to venture into the wonderful world of sound next. The science behind the different sound effects is not as simple as it seems! Just about the Gunpowder? It’s easy to assume that the explosion of the gunpowder is behind the sound and that’s it. But it isn’t quite as simple as that since different sound affect require a bit more chemistry. Furthermore, the explosion of the firework isn’t the only occasion for the sound. For example, when you shoot certain rockets you’ll here the whistling sound as the firework goes up and then a bang as it explodes. …show more content…

By controlling the way the chemicals heat up and the way they are released, they were able to create a number of unique sound effects. Creating Different Sound Effects By controlling the shape of the firework cartridge and the chemicals inside these tubes, you’ll get to enjoy the different unique sounds. This is because different chemicals have different reaction times. The vibrations created when the chemicals are burning can either be fast or slow. Slow reacting chemicals are behind the vibrating sound effects. So, whistles and warbling sounds are due to the chemicals reacting slower to the heat. On the other hand, fast reacting chemicals instantly go from a solid to a gas, creating an explosive effect. This in turn, creates a shock wave of sound and causes the bangs, and the thuds. Here’s a more detailed look of the most commonly used sound

Open Document