pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating fireworks, but also includes safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts (and other fasteners), parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, q ...

a salute is a device primarily designed to make a loud report (bang), rather than have a visual effect, although most salutes also have a bright flash. They most commonly consist of a 70:30 mixture of

potassium perchlorate Potassium perchlorate is the inorganic salt with the chemical formula K Cl O4. Like other perchlorates, this salt is a strong oxidizer when the solid is heated at high temperature, although it usually reacts very slowly in solution with reducin ...

and dark

aluminium powder Aluminium powder is powdered aluminium. This was originally produced by mechanical means using a stamp mill to create flakes. Subsequently, a process of spraying molten aluminium to create a powder of droplets was developed by E. J. Hall in the ...

and may have titanium added for a cloud of sparks (titanium salute). The salute may be fired on the ground (ground salute) or launched from a mortar as a shell (aerial salute). Due to the nature of the effect, large salutes are some of the more hazardous

firework Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

s. Most of the "salutes" are made with

flash powder Flash powder is a pyrotechnic composition, a mixture of an oxidizer and a metallic fuel, which burns quickly (deflagrates) and produces a loud noise, regardless of confinement in some formulations. It is widely used in theatrical and display pyro ...

. Flash powder has a fast burn rate, unlike

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

. All ground salutes over 50mg and air salutes over 130mg are restricted by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Child Protection Act of 1966.T. Davis, The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives, Angriff Press, 1972.

Examples of salutes

* Cherry bomb * M-80 * M-100 *

Quarter stick A quarter stick, colloquially known as the , is a large firecracker that falls within a range of dimensions roughly between and . These salutes typically carry 25grams of flash powder but in rare occasions have been measured and can contain upw ...

References

{{Pyrotechnics-stub Fireworks