The birth history of fireworks

Fireworks are a type of public performance usually held during New Year holidays or special celebrations in Vietnam and many parts of the world.

Fireworks performance is an art that creates spectacular and colorful landscapes with rich and diverse shapes. So when did fireworks be discovered by humans?

What created the enchanting art masterpiece between the night sky? In the atmosphere of the world that is about to step into 2014, we are waiting for the beautiful fireworks to be performed in many parts of the world. In harmony with the atmosphere, please introduce to readers the unexpected discovery of firecrackers as well as the development of fireworks throughout history to this day.

The first "cannon"

The history of fireworks began thousands of years ago in China in the Han dynasty (around 200 BC). Some even argue that firecrackers appeared before gunpowder was invented. The first "cannon" in history was created when someone accidentally threw bamboo tubes into a burning fire. The hollow bamboo tubes contain internal air, when the temperature rises, the amount of air expands and the pressure inside the bamboo tube increases. At a time when the pressure is large enough, the bamboo shell will burst and . "bup". The young tube exploded with the explosion is the first "cannon" in history.

Bamboo burning is the first "cannon"

In ancient times, sounds that people have never heard will make people and animals fear. Ancient Chinese people believe that if strange sounds can make living creatures fear, it also acts to ward off evil spirits. Especially the species of Demons specialized in destroying crops and eating human flesh on Tet holiday. Therefore, the Chinese formed the practice of throwing fresh bamboo sticks into the fire during the Lunar New Year's Day to scare the Demons and other souls, hoping happiness and prosperity will come to everyone in the year. new. Gradually, the ancient Chinese used "bamboo firecrackers" on special occasions such as weddings, coronation ceremonies or birthdays, etc. The "bamboo cannon" continues to be used by Chinese in exorcism and ceremonies. Special occasions for more than 1,000 years.

Inventing gunpowder

Although it is impossible to determine the exact time, many historians believe that the first artillery mixture (the predecessor of gunpowder) was discovered in China during the Sui and Tang dynasties (about 600 to 900 years later). Publicity). It is possible that during the process of preparing immortal elixir, ancient Taoists unknowingly mixed mixtures of sulfur, potassium nitrate, honey and arsenic nitrite. The writings also note that, when accidentally burned on the fire, the mixture suddenly burned violently, radiating strong light and creating a loud explosion that burned both the hands and face of a Taoist.

Gunpowder of ancient Chinese

Although quite dangerous, the Magi are attracted to the mixture and they continue to experiment to find a way to create a stronger explosion. Although the primitive mixture did not have the same powerful destructive power as modern gunpowder, it could still burn and glow. People named the first mixture "Yuyao" (Huo Yao) or "fire medicine" or "chemical fire". Later, it was discovered that if "burning medicine" was inserted into the bamboo tube and thrown into the fire would create a much stronger explosion than just using a fresh bamboo tube to burn. Since then, gunpowder artillery was born.

Over time, it was discovered that the key to creating gunpowder was the major destructive use of oxygen-rich nitrate. They quickly sought to increase the amount of nitrate in the gunpowder mixture, which caused it to burn faster, creating powerful firecrackers with larger sounds. Later, it was found that the disadvantage of bamboo tubes was that when burned, it would not produce coal, which would limit the power of the cannon. Instead, they use honey and some other recipes to make shells for firecrackers.

Experience has shown that the explosion effect will vary depending on the shape and structure of the shell. Many types of shells with different materials and shapes are applied such as bamboo pipes, logs or iron pipes. When exploding, the cannon creates a huge air pressure and causes the shell to explode and fly in many directions. When placed in an open tube, gunpowder will ignite and spit out a large flame with thick smoke.

Image of "Flame of Fire"

The Chinese gradually became aware of the strong damage of gunpowder in explosive devices. By the 10th century, they began using gunpowder for military purposes. They used gunpowder to make explosive weapons like raw bombs and "fire arrows " (gunpipe bamboo pipes attached to an arrow, then burned and fired at enemy troops). However, the original weapons were only aimed at creating loud explosions that caused psychological fear for the enemy without high damage.

Finally, the use of explosive weapons to scare enemies is transferred to destroy the ramparts and destroy the life force of the enemy. In addition to using "fire arrows" and rough bombs, people also created "fire spear" . One open bamboo tube is stuffed with gunpowder inside and attached at the top of the lance. When burned, the bamboo tube will release a strong and long flame like a primitive flamethrower. After that, people added fragments of stone, metal, broken pieces of ceramic even arrows into the "flame spear" and shot towards the enemy to inflict higher damage. At about 11th century, the ratio of nitrate was raised to 75% in the mixture of gunpowder, the remaining was 15% carbon black and 10% sulfur (similar to the gunpowder component used to this day).

Chinese artillery shells

Along with the strong development of gunpowder, the cannon was increasingly improved. Instead of using bamboo tubes to make shells, it is replaced by hardwood paper for stuffing gunpowder inside. They also inserted a strip of silk inside and led it out as a detonator to control the time of the explosion. Another variation of the "ground rat" cannon was discovered in 1200 AD. It was an open paper cannon with gunpowder and a mouse fixed to the wood. Similar to the "fire spear ", when it is burned, the cannon will explode and shoot the inner mice into the air. "Ground rat " is also quickly used in the military to threaten enemies and cause confusion for horses.

This is the first missile model.Civil art developers have applied the method to fire artillery to create a bright fire in the air. These are the first fireworks.

Used for war

From the original fire lance, people developed the cannon. Gun powder mixed with small stones or lashes and then rounded to a sphere.The "bullet" fired from the barrel due to the pressure of the explosion will carry small weapons inside and cause great damage to the enemy. The first magical guns made of bamboo pipes were then replaced with metal tubes to create the barrel that could withstand the extreme pressure of the explosion. At this time, the use of gunpowder in the military has spread throughout Asia and the Middle East. In the 1200s, the cannon and rocket were used during the conquest of Asia by the Mongols.

Roger Bacon (1214-1294), the first man to study gunpowder in Europe

Around the middle of the 13th century, gunpowder began to spread to Europe through diplomats, adventurers and missionaries. The people who imported gunpowder into Europe were Dominican and Franciscan monks. The monks returning from China brought gunpowder back to Roger Bacon, a Franciscan monk and professor at Oxford University. Bacon became the first European to study and document gunpowder materials. He knew that nitrate was the cause of the terrible sound when gunpowder exploded. He began to improve the quality of natural nitrates to become more refined to create a larger explosion. In one of his notes, Monk Bacon remarked that this was a weapon that caused great damage and revolutionized military warfare.

Cannonballs are used in Europe

Based on a study by Monk Bacon, European scientists have been working hard to create a much more powerful gunpowder. People have created larger, stronger, more powerful powerful cannons that can push large iron balls to a distance as far as possible. Newly launched weapons ending medieval-style wars. Metal armor can be pierced by bullets, fortress walls can be destroyed by cannonballs. Shortly thereafter, the inner hollowed-out cannonballs contained gunpowder and detonators to further cause an explosion when approaching the target.

Gunpowder became popular in European arms competitions. The "powderworks" gun factories built in each country are responsible for supplying large quantities of gunpowder to the military. In factories, people use trick and hydraulic power to use large boulders to compress and mix to create a homogeneous gunpowder product. When celebrating the victory after the battles, the army often pointed the cannon and rocket upwards to create an aerial explosion that neutralized the cheers of the soldiers aiming for prestige.

During the years 1400 to 1600, advances in metallurgy made stronger cannon guns, while also creating smaller guns called "muskets" . Although guns still do not have high accuracy and reliability compared to modern guns, this is a tremendous advance in military science compared to previous rudimentary weapons such as TB, swords and bows. In the end, Europe's weapons technology went far beyond China.

Fireworks flourish

Marco Polo (1254-1324) - a man who brought fireworks from the East to Italy

While European nations raced to apply gunpowder to the military, the Italians were fascinated by fireworks brought by the explorer Marco Polo from the East in 1292. During the European Renaissance ( in 1400 to 1500), Italians began to develop fireworks into a true art. This is the period of art creation and performance, so there were many types of fireworks that were first built during this time. Military missiles were modified by adding metal powder and soot to create an explosion containing rays of gold and silver in the sky. The Italians created the fireworks (many different shapes of fireworks contained inside) and fired at the maximum altitude in the air (Chinese people also made shells but only limited to the figure bridge).

However, the fireworks displays depend on the layout of the underground launchers that can create the most spectacular effects. Open-top fireworks launchers are placed on a wooden rig with wheels that can be rotated. When performing, the rotating wooden rig created sparks spraying like a fountain of light. The designers also arranged fireworks into various shapes on the ground to create a beautiful scene. Fireworks displays create excitement and appeal to the crowd during the festival. Fireworks performance quickly became a demand for entertainment throughout Europe in religious ceremonies or special occasions.

Firework displays are increasingly organized with larger scale and more complex techniques with the participation of carpenters, welders, masons and painters to create beautiful arrangements . Fireworks experts noticed that when placing cannons on floats floating on the water, the sparkling light of the explosion would reflect with the water surface creating shimmering effects for viewers. From the 1530s, fireworks liters were called "green man" (green man) because they covered the face with potions and dressed in leaves to prevent sparks from coming from the stinger. explosive.

In the 1500s to 1700s, the most popular fireworks form shaped like a dragon. When lighting fire, explosions emitted from the mouth create an image of a real fire-breathing dragon. The performances often depict the scene of two fire-breathing dragons fighting each other.

Performing fireworks on the Thames, London

From the 1730s, fireworks officially became a public performance for all people in the UK but not only for members of the royal family. People from all over Europe flock to an amusement park in England to enjoy spectacular fireworks displays. Later, people put the detonators together into a chain that created a sequential fireworks explosion called "quick match" from which to build many different demonstration situations. Performances often depict the image of a famous character printed on banknotes.

Modern fireworks today

In the 1600s, immigrants from Europe to America also brought fireworks to continue to use for special anniversaries as well as to scare and drive away native people. On July 3, 1776, the day when the US Congress announced the declaration of independence, all people witnessed a spectacular fireworks performance performed by the government as a way of celebrating the great holiday. In the following years, fireworks were performed in the US during the presidential coronation holidays or on New Year's Eve.

Today, the method of fabrication as well as the performance of fireworks are increasingly improved according to the development of science and technology. Fireworks are improved in a more modern way to form more beautiful and colorful shapes, colors and sounds. In addition, fireworks are controlled by an electronic device system to activate the cannon more accurately and safely. People use different types of metal powder mixed into gunpowder to create the desired colors. Besides, they developed burning particles (star) to regulate the image of an explosion in the sky. The fire particles have the size of a coin, sphere, cube or cylinder, . contains a burning mixture inside. This is the part that regulates the shape and color of the fireworks when exploding in the air. Today, a common firework consists of four main components, the shell, the fire particles, the core and the fuse.

The images created by fireworks depend on the arrangement of fire particles inside the cannon. If the particles of fire are evenly spaced forming a circle in gunpowder, when detonated, it will form an explosion with sparks spaced equally into a circle. In order to form certain forms in the sky, one must first outline the number of burning particles as well as their position in the gunpowder and the distance from the core cannon so that when the cannon explodes , burning particles will explode at precise times and locations in space to create the desired image.

The usual structure of a modern firework

There is also a type of hoamultibreak cannon with complex construction with many shells, when the fireworks will explode in 2 even 3 stages. Multibreak fireworks are dynamically detonated to create separate consecutive effects, which can be light or strong light, less spark or multiple sparks, different colors, etc. Some fireworks are available the ability to produce separate sounds when the particles burn.

The firework display is arranged and supported by a computerized electronic launcher and system that can accurately represent predetermined images according to different topics. Sound and background music are also used to increase the excitement for viewers with a spectacular fireworks display full of images and sounds.

Conclusion

Over thousands of years of history, from bamboo pipes accidentally thrown into fire by fire, to the cannon only to serve the war, traveling through many continents with many valuable final improvements to be used. to create a colorful lively party for people, even becoming a performing arts with many manufacturing and performance techniques. Besides, we also realize that an item attached to war like gunpowder can still turn into an artistic masterpiece if people know how to use it properly. Today, fireworks have become an attractive and lively performance that contributes to the festive atmosphere of special celebrations.