Colored smoke is a kind of

smoke Smoke is 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 unwanted by-produc ...

created by an aerosol of small particles of a suitable

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

or dye.

Colored smoke can be used for smoke signals, often in a military context. It can be produced by smoke grenades, or by various other pyrotechnical devices. The mixture used for producing colored smoke is usually a cooler-burning formula based on potassium chlorate oxidizer, lactose or

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 from ...

as a fuel, and one or more dyes, with about 40-50% content of the dye. About 2% sodium bicarbonate 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 The chemical compound trichloroethylene is a halocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent. It is a clear, colourless non-flammable liquid with a chloroform-like sweet smell. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, w ...

tetrachloroethylene Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene, and many other names (and abbreviations such as "perc" or "PERC", and "PCE"), is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2 . It is a colorless li ...

, and 25%

diesel oil Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

, 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 Disperse Red 9, or 1-(methylamino)anthraquinone, is a red dye derived from anthraquinone. Disperse Red 9 is used in some older red and violet-red colored smoke formulations. It is used in the M18 colored smoke grenade and also often in dye packs ...

(older, used e.g. in the M18 grenade) * Solvent Red 1 with

Disperse Red 11 Disperse Red 11, or 1,4-diamino-2-methoxyanthraquinone, is a red disperse dye derived from anthraquinone. It is water insoluble. Disperse Red 11 can be used in plastics and textiles industry to dye polyvinylchloride, polyester, polyamide, and ...

Solvent Red 27 Oil Red O (Solvent Red 27, Sudan Red 5B, C.I. 26125, C26H24N4O) is a lysochrome (fat-soluble dye) diazo dye used for staining of neutral triglycerides and lipids on frozen sections and some lipoproteins on paraffin sections. It has the appearance ...

(C.I. 26125) *

Solvent Red 24 Sudan IV (C24H20N4O) is a lysochrome (fat-soluble dye) diazo dye used for the staining of lipids, triglycerides and lipoproteins on frozen paraffin sections. It has the appearance of reddish brown crystals with melting point 199 °C and maxi ...

;Orange * Solvent Yellow 14 (C.I. 12055) ;Yellow *

Vat Yellow 4 A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...

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 anthroq ...

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

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 *

with 1,4-diamino-2,3-dihydroanthraquinone * Solvent Violet 13 ;Raspberry *

Rhodamine B Rhodamine B is a chemical compound and a dye. It is often used as a tracer dye within water to determine the rate and direction of flow and transport. Rhodamine dyes fluoresce and can thus be detected easily and inexpensively with fluorometers. ...

Article about colored smoke mix
made with potassium chlorate. {{div col end

References

External links

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