23 replies to this topic

[YT2095]

just an idea I`ve been toying with in a few thought experiments.
as we all know traditional fireworks employ Additive Color synthesis, we have the black night time shy and then we add Color in the form of Light. how about the Other way around, we already Have the light during the day, and we can choose what colors to take away or reflect!

it would`nt be any more expensive to do either, as it doesn`t necessarily have to be all colored smoke devices being deployed, how about tiny bits of colored Foil or flame proofed Day Glow fluorescent paper/card.
all cut up into small pieces and either rocket or mortar deployed as a cylinder with a time fuse and a small BP charge to blow the colored paper/foil effects out of the tube when it gets to the correct height.
and Unlike traditional fireworks these won`t go out (burn out) and should be quite a bit lighter in weight too.
even plain old tinfoil should give a great Glitter effect and last for ages before touchdown, colored foils should give a nice effect too.
I thought about using one of the paper hole-punches, the sort that keeps the little cut out dots in the base and using that, but how about a Paper shredder! feed it through once and then take it out and feed it through sideways to get smalled squares.
it may even be possible to do Streamers like Party Poppers?

I`m still thinking about an idea using Water and flash charge or maybe sugar crystals and a simple BP charge to see if an artificial Rainbow could be made...

so, if anyone here has rocket engines to test, rather than put a dummy payload on it, try one of these ideas for me please, it`s just as inert as a bag of sand or water or whatever you use, and it will give some interesting data to boot

Edited by YT2095, 01 October 2007 - 08:38 AM.

[crystal palace fireworks]

just an idea I`ve been toying with in a few thought experiments.
as we all know traditional fireworks employ Additive Color synthesis, we have the black night time shy and then we add Color in the form of Light. how about the Other way around, we already Have the light during the day, and we can choose what colors to take away or reflect!

it would`nt be any more expensive to do either, as it doesn`t necessarily have to be all colored smoke devices being deployed, how about tiny bits of colored Foil or flame proofed Day Glow fluorescent paper/card.
all cut up into small pieces and either rocket or mortar deployed as a cylinder with a time fuse and a small BP charge to blow the colored paper/foil effects out of the tube when it gets to the correct height.
and Unlike traditional fireworks these won`t go out (burn out) and should be quite a bit lighter in weight too.
even plain old tinfoil should give a great Glitter effect and last for ages before touchdown, colored foils should give a nice effect too.
I thought about using one of the paper hole-punches, the sort that keeps the little cut out dots in the base and using that, but how about a Paper shredder! feed it through once and then take it out and feed it through sideways to get smalled squares.
it may even be possible to do Streamers like Party Poppers?

I`m still thinking about an idea using Water and flash charge or maybe sugar crystals and a simple BP charge to see if an artificial Rainbow could be made...

so, if anyone here has rocket engines to test, rather than put a dummy payload on it, try one of these ideas for me please, it`s just as inert as a bag of sand or water or whatever you use, and it will give some interesting data to boot

I like your thinking, But for it to be acceptable to authorities in a commercial sense, the paper/confetti must be the sort that bio-degrades quickley.
Mirrored/chrome paper would look good as it catches the light!
Also Im wondering if black tissue paper would also look against the daylight,
A paper shredder is good, but you would be better off placing the strips in a papercutter to finish off getting the different size pieces you want for experimentation.
How about coloured bubble mix added to the water before adding a small charge, i know there is a company that sell the UV version in bubble machines for DJs etc.

[Mortartube]

I think that you will find such things bitterly disappointing. Tiny firework stars look great as they emit light, almost everything you mention works with reflected light. Scale is also important. Take some of the items you intend to use and get someone to hold them up in a clear plastic bag about 500 feet away. You will see the problem.

Look at the size of the shaped daylight firework parachutes. 12 feet high roosters etc in tissue paper, yet they look quite small in the sky. Contrast is another problem , if you look at a brightish sky, your eye will close down like a camera iris and items will appear as silhouettes against the background. Even getting a burst of black, like ack ack fire in war films, is not as easy as it looks. It takes lots of lampblack or similar substance to do it well.

[YT2095]

I`ve actually done the bubble thing myself for my Daughter (the simple soap and glycerine and water mix) then I added some Fluorescien and tried some Rhodamine B too, you DO need to do these outdoors though.
I tested it in the Lab under a UV light, and they look great, but when they Pop all surfaces get stained! (So don`t leave your Money laying about LOL).

outdoors they look great too, but you need a strong mixture (up to half a gram per 100ml).


I`m not sure How you would make Bubbles with it in the air though, again that`s not an area of mine, as for the Confetti well that`s quite doable as it only needs a small charge to shove it out of a tube, the air drag whilst falling will do the rest for you.

the only concern that I DID have is that you MAY need to get FAA permission(s) or keep them below a certain level when using foils, as they MAY screw about with Radar ???
also I realise that you would need the "Perfect" weather for such a display too, no cloud or wind, although I`m sure there may even be a way to exploit these too!

if the wind if doing your X axis for you, the Y axis carefully placed and aimed could lead to some Very dramatic effects I expect.
I guess in a way it`s similar to Skywriting without using a stunt plane

[marble]

the only concern that I DID have is that you MAY need to get FAA permission(s) or keep them below a certain level when using foils, as they MAY screw about with Radar ???

Last thing you need is for your foil confetti to look like a Russian MiG

[crystal palace fireworks]

I`ve actually done the bubble thing myself for my Daughter (the simple soap and glycerine and water mix) then I added some Fluorescien and tried some Rhodamine B too, you DO need to do these outdoors though.
I tested it in the Lab under a UV light, and they look great, but when they Pop all surfaces get stained! (So don`t leave your Money laying about LOL).

outdoors they look great too, but you need a strong mixture (up to half a gram per 100ml).


I`m not sure How you would make Bubbles with it in the air though, again that`s not an area of mine, as for the Confetti well that`s quite doable as it only needs a small charge to shove it out of a tube, the air drag whilst falling will do the rest for you.

the only concern that I DID have is that you MAY need to get FAA permission(s) or keep them below a certain level when using foils, as they MAY screw about with Radar ???
also I realise that you would need the "Perfect" weather for such a display too, no cloud or wind, although I`m sure there may even be a way to exploit these too!

if the wind if doing your X axis for you, the Y axis carefully placed and aimed could lead to some Very dramatic effects I expect.
I guess in a way it`s similar to Skywriting without using a stunt plane

Yes your right, the uv bubbles experiments need to be done outside as they stain, and preferably with a powerful uv wide angle light shining upwards to enhance the night-time effect, it also may worth filling the shell with plastic rings or tubes and thicker soap mixture to see if the trailing wind would create more bubbles on the way down?
Sound effects from the rocket launch pad could be done with piping & whistles and a make shift speaker configured around elastic bands to make a loud hailer.

Probably ok to fire foil confetti below 2000 feet and not near a RAF base, mind you, it would be fun if we started getting the Eurofighter chasing a Mig across the country all because of pyro experiments becoming a little too ambitous.

The black confetti on non-shiney matt black paper would probably work better to cut down on reflection, plus it would be interesting to see different shapes to create better flutter providing its fired and burst to no more than around 100ft

[Steelrat]

I like your thinking, But for it to be acceptable to authorities in a commercial sense, the paper/confetti must be the sort that bio-degrades quickley.
Mirrored/chrome paper would look good as it catches the light!
Also Im wondering if black tissue paper would also look against the daylight,
A paper shredder is good, but you would be better off placing the strips in a papercutter to finish off getting the different size pieces you want for experimentation.
How about coloured bubble mix added to the water before adding a small charge, i know there is a company that sell the UV version in bubble machines for DJs etc.

hello , the problem with any outdoor effect is the brightness of the sun that�s the strongest light around, so all other effects will be dull in comparison to the background light , unless its reflective or translucent like liquids i.e. the Sony advert with the exploding paint effects.
as for UV bubbles i was the first to invent the stuff and use it, but it requires strong Black light (UV) and low background light levels to see the effects, yellow and blue bubbles/ liquids..

Organic flakes made from potato starch can be coloured and will dissolve in water so can be used as confetti that is environmentally friendly, it�s already used as artificial snow..

Hope this is of use
Phil

[YT2095]

as for UV bubbles i was the first to invent the stuff and use it

I hardly think That is the truth do You?

since I`m 40 years old and saw this in Junior School! and I`m sure that Teacher got Her idea from somewhere else also!

so please, support your Claim.

remember: Exraordinary Claims require exraordinary Evidence!

Last thing you need is for your foil confetti to look like a Russian MiG smile.gif

I hardly think MIGs are a problem to us here in the UK, I`m glad Camels can`t fly though! [/ Satire]

Edited by YT2095, 01 October 2007 - 04:06 PM.

[ProfHawking]

Talking of bubbles, there is something cool i heard about a while back - some clever people have developed dyes that turn completely transparent a little after the bubble is popped apparently.
Have a look:
http://www.zubbles.com/index.asp

[crystal palace fireworks]

Talking of bubbles, there is something cool i heard about a while back - some clever people have developed dyes that turn completely transparent a little after the bubble is popped apparently.
Have a look:
http://www.zubbles.com/index.asp

Not seen those before, interesting!, I wonder if they could develope a non-staining "dayglow" flourescent colours?
thanks ProfHawking!

Edited by crystal palace fireworks, 02 October 2007 - 11:56 AM.

[Arthur Brown]

Have to say that I saw some daylight fireworks once and they were singularly uninspiring, Nothing to bother about. in fact why did they bother.

A bang (lift charge) followed by a puff of "smoke" and coloured "smoke"

Any competition with the big firework in the sky is bound to fail.

[karlfoxman]

While in Malta I fired a few 6" beraq shells in daylight. They looked awesome, you could see the shellget shorter as the breaks were breaking. The rings of beraq smoke looked good too. I know a few clubs have black spider web shells, and also beraq half and half shells using black and white smoke.

[pyrotrev]

There's a few Japanese/Taiwanese smoke shells that look good too - a bit like a mini Red Arrows display

[treefingers]

Heres a video of a 36'' smoke shell if anyone wants to see...
Shame the filming was so poor

[paul]

The first (and only) smokeshell I�ve ever tried was a 3" shell, filled with granulated
KNO3/sugar mix. Gave a nice, long hanging little cloud in the sky.

The video...