Journal Post 07/03/2014

It is the day before Independence Day, and even though it is Thursday, courtesy the 4th landing on a Friday this year I will have a three day weekend. My son is so incredibly excited; we get to watch fireworks in Battlefield tomorrow. However I believe he is more excited about seeing his Aunt, Uncle and cousins at my brother and sister-in-law’s house. I am hoping it will be a small affair, but knowing my social butterfly sister-in-law she will have everyone and their brother’s mother attending. Many an adult drink will be passed and as usual I will pass. I have often wondered if they think I am “lame” since I don’t drink. My only particular vice comes from nicotine, and no one else in the family smokes…cigarettes anyway. Which is something else I am sure they think is bizarre, but my husband and I are the black sheep of both families, but they love us anyway. Anyway I learned something neat today in regards to how fireworks are made that I wanted to share with everyone: An aerial firework is normally formed as a shell that consists of four parts: • Container - Usually pasted paper and string formed into a cylinder • Stars - Spheres, cubes or cylinders of a sparkler-like composition • Bursting charge - Firecracker-like charge at the center of the shell • Fuse - Provides a time delay so the shell explodes at the right altitude How the colors occur: Metals used in fireworks today include aluminum, titanium, beryllium, barium, copper, potassium and more. Here's a look at the metals used to produce a specific color: • Red --Strontium and lithium • Orange --Calcium • Yellow -- Sodium • Green -- Barium • Blue -- Copper • Violet -- Potassium and rubidium • Gold -- Charcoal, iron or lampblack • White -- Titanium, aluminum, beryllium or magnesium powders