Colored smoke is a kind of

smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...

created by an

aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or Human impact on the environment, human causes. The term ''aerosol'' co ...

of small particles of a suitable

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

Colored smoke can be used for

smoke signal The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. It is a form of visual communication used over a long distance. In general smoke signals are used to transmit news, signal danger, or to gather people to a common area. ...

s, often in a military context. It can be produced by

smoke grenade A smoke grenade is a canister-type grenade used as a signaling device, target or landing zone marking device, or as a screening device for unit movements. Smoke grenades are generally more complex and emit a far larger amount of smoke than sm ...

s, or by various other pyrotechnical devices. The mixture used for producing colored smoke is usually a cooler-burning formula based on

potassium chlorate Potassium chlorate is the inorganic compound with the molecular formula KClO3. In its pure form, it is a white solid. After sodium chlorate, it is the second most common chlorate in industrial use. It is a strong oxidizing agent and its most impor ...

oxidizer,

lactose Lactose is a disaccharide composed of galactose and glucose and has the molecular formula C12H22O11. Lactose makes up around 2–8% of milk (by mass). The name comes from (Genitive case, gen. ), the Latin word for milk, plus the suffix ''-o ...

dextrin Dextrins are a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch and glycogen. Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by α-(1→4) or α-(1→6) glycosidic bonds. Dextrins can be produced fro ...

as a fuel, and one or more dyes, with about 40-50% content of the dye. About 2%

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (or simply “bicarb” especially in the UK) is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cat ...

may be added as a coolant, to lower the burning temperature. Coloured smoke was first used in 1967 during an American burnout competition by a small contestant, as a means to wow the crowd. Smoke released from aircraft was originally based on a mixture of 10-15% dye, 60-65%

trichloroethylene Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an organochloride with the formula C2HCl3, commonly used as an industrial metal-degreasing solvent. It is a clear, colourless, non-flammable, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like pleasant mild smell and sweet taste.

tetrachloroethylene Tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene or under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, and abbreviations such as perc (or PERC), and PCE, is a chlorocarbon with the formula . It is a non-flammable, stable, colorless and heavy liqu ...

, and 25% diesel oil, injected into the exhaust gases of the aircraft engines. Most commonly, teams now use specifically prepared liquid dyes and only gas oil, light mineral oil or a food grade white oil without harmful chlorinated solvents.

Mixtures

Some mixtures used for production of colored smokes contain these dyes: ;Red * Disperse Red 9 (older, used e.g. in the M18

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

) * Solvent Red 1 with Disperse Red 11 * Solvent Red 27 (C.I. 26125) * Solvent Red 24 ;Orange * Solvent Yellow 14 (C.I. 12055) ;Yellow * Vat Yellow 4 with

benzanthrone Benzanthrone (BZA) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a yellow solid. Its derivatives are used as a dyestuff intermediate for anthraquinone-based dyes. Dehydrogenative coupling gives violanthrone. It is prepared by reduction of anthroqu ...

(older) * Solvent Yellow 33 * Solvent Yellow 16 (C.I. 12700) * Solvent Yellow 56 * Oil Yellow R ;Green * Vat Yellow 4 with

and Solvent Green 3 (older) * Solvent Yellow 33 and Solvent Green 3 * Solvent Green 3 * Oil Green BG * Oil Green G ;Blue * Solvent Blue 35 (C.I. 26125) * Solvent Blue 36 * Solvent Blue 5 ;Violet * Disperse Red 9 with 1,4-diamino-2,3-dihydroanthraquinone * Solvent Violet 13 ;Raspberry * Rhodamine BArticle about colored smoke mix
made with potassium chlorate.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Smoke and masking agents
from the Department of Veterans' Affairs, page 59 Pyrotechnics Smoke