What goes into the brilliant flashes and displays of fireworks? Ingredients from many places, according to American Geosciences.
Among them:
Gunpowder for the liftoff: Potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal. Potassium from Canada, New Mexico or Utah. Sulfur from Louisiana and Texas.
Aluminum for big flashes and bangs: Canada and Jamaica, among others.
Iron filings for sparks: Michigan and Minnesota.
Strontium for reds: From the mineral celestite, mostly from Mexico.
Copper for blues: Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, Michigan, Missouri.
Barium for greens: From the mineral barite, mostly from China.
Sodium nitrate for yellow: Chile and Peru, mainly.
Image by Jill Wellington
