MIAMI – It is estimated that 16,000 fireworks shows will be held across the country on Monday night. But how do pyrotechnicians create all the beautiful shapes and colors in the sky?
A symphony of sight and sounds. But the magic behind fireworks is actually just science.
“You see chemistry in action,” Paul Smith said.
Smith is president of the Pyrotechnics Guild International.
“The basic composition of a fireworks material is that it must have an oxidizing agent and a fuel,” he said.
Basically, different colors require different chemicals.
“Strontium is a predominant one used for red, barium is often the key component in green color situations, copper is too blue,” Smith explained.
Each fireworks shell must be packed precisely and timed to the other to synchronize with the music.
And even the biggest fireworks show, like Macy’s Spectacular, uses many of the same techniques as local public exhibitions – just bigger. This production involves 48,000 shells, creating 17 unique patterns in the sky.
“This particular one will be thrown out in the form of a happy face,” said Macy’s fireworks designer Gary Souza.
Souza showed us how the small frame in his hand can create massive shapes in the sky.
“Making shapes with fireworks has become more and more of an art, in the sense that one has to strategically place the shells, the stars in the shell,” he explained.
An awe-inspiring American tradition driven by science.
And a tip from the professionals. They say the best place to watch the fireworks is usually not close. They say give yourself some distance so you can take in the whole screen.
The CBS Miami team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on CBSMiami.com.
