Why are the lights called Bengal lights? How to light sparklers

Why are sparklers called sparklers? Where do they come from?

the history of the emergence of the sparkler goes back to ancient India. it was in Bengal in the 5-6th century. n. e. during religious ceremonies in temples, fires of unusual brightness flared up and quickly burned on the altars. at the same time, depending on the wishes of the clergy and the type of ceremony, "it smelled evil" (probably the composition contained a powder of sulfur, which forms sulphurous gas when burning), or a "blissful breath" was poured over the temple (probably in this case, instead of sulfur, rosin was used in the Bengal fire ).
the high efficiency of the action due to the deification of the peoples of fire and light stimulated the rapid development of the use of fiery compositions, the improvement of their recipes by the clergy. by the beginning of the 8th century, the compositions of colored fire were already known - blue, green, yellow. there were ways to lengthen the burning time. for this, hollow dry stems of plants, tubes twisted from dried, wide leaves were filled with the composition of Bengal fire. these first Bengal candles no longer only gave a bright flame, their burning was also accompanied by a characteristic crackle.
in the folk life of the Eastern Slavs, about the same years, "fiery fun" took place, which were arranged with the use of a lyloon. lycopodium, an evergreen herbaceous plant that looks like moss, creeping along the ground. its mature, dry spores, when ignited, give an instant lightning flash without smoke. the flame of the plow is amazing, it is very fun to watch it, especially when thrown at night or in the dark. to make a loud noise, mix the dried and powdered birch leaves.
the property of the potion powder is such that it ignites only when it is dispersed in the air above the flame; in other cases, it does not burn, even if you put a lighted wick in it or pour it over burning coals.
unlike a lyre, the fresh composition of a sparkler flares up instantly from any source of flame. for this reason its use is much easier. therefore, practically from the moment of the opening of trade routes between Europe and India, sparklers came to Europe. in Europe, the sparkler immediately became a subject of entertainment. with its help, using compositions of colored fire, fiery pictures were drawn, scenes and decorations were decorated and illuminated.
it is in Europe (according to the Spanish researcher Bertrano Luengo - in Valencia) that Bengal torches and compositions for premises first appear. The next step on the way to today's familiar Bengal candles was the emergence of sparkling fire recipes in the 6-7 centuries. the effect was achieved by adding iron scale, crushed cast iron, and later magnesium powder to the flame compositions of a Bengal fire.
thus, the sparkler developed in two directions - as fiery and as sparkling. flame compositions are usually loaded into paper sleeves, sparkling ones are applied in several layers on wooden sticks or metal wire.
bengal torches are quite popular, especially in Europe. products are produced in different colors (red, green, blue, white, yellow), different sizes (from 20 cm to 100 cm long), for different purposes (outdoor and low-smoke indoor). Bengal torches in the 18-19 centuries were an indispensable attribute of all fireworks performances. they were used to set fire to products and in all situations where it was necessary to suddenly illuminate a large area of \u200b\u200ba stage or set with colored light.
russian pyrotechnic professor Petrov recommended for the manufacture of flaming Bengal candles “shells made of writing paper in 3 turns, 20 mm in cross-section and 35 cm in length. 5 cm of clay is placed in the sleeve and then filled with a fiery composition of Bengal fire, slightly tamping it ... "Such a candle burns out together with the sleeve, so it is not possible to hold it in your hands. however, these candles, fixed along the contour of the drawing, give a wonderful "fiery picture" due to an even, bright flame.

As far back as I can remember, as a child, my parents bought sparklers for the New Year. I am doing the same to my children now. I wonder why they have such a name?
Bengal lights! This is probably the safest entertainment on New Year's holidays for all generations. But where did those fires come from?

Bengal lights got their name thanks to the ancient Indian masters who lived in Bengal. They invented a mixture of substances that, when burned, is accompanied by the scattering of sparkling sparks, which can be either white or colored. Bengal lights have spread widely throughout the world and have become an integral part of any holiday.

In ancient India, fires of unusual brightness flashed and quickly extinguished in temples during religious ceremonies, and various smells could spread throughout the temple. It all depended on the type of ceremony:

Pleasant aromas - "blissful breath" (most likely rosin was present in the sparkler)

Disgusting odors - "the smell of evil" (sulfur was present in the mixture).

Fiery compositions were often used by clergymen in various ceremonies, and this contributed to the improvement of their composition and prolongation of the burning time. Soon the compositions of colored fire became known: yellow, blue, green. And then the first sparklers appeared, which were bamboo tubes filled with the composition of sparkler. When burned, they formed sheaves of sparks and emitted a crackle. Such lights were often used to transmit signals over long distances.

In the future, after the opening of trade routes between India and Europe, sparklers immediately became entertainment for many.

The history of the origin of the sparkler goes back to ancient India. it was in Bengal in the 5-6th century. n. e. during religious ceremonies in temples, fires of unusual brightness flared up and quickly burned on the altars. at the same time, depending on the wishes of the clergy and the type of ceremony, "it smelled evil" (probably the composition contained a powder of sulfur, which forms sulphurous gas when burning), or a "blissful breath" was poured over the temple (probably in this case, instead of sulfur, rosin was used in the Bengal fire ). the high efficiency of the action due to the deification of the peoples of fire and light stimulated the rapid development of the use of fiery compositions, the improvement of their recipes by the clergy. by the beginning of the 8th century, the compositions of colored fire were already known - blue, green, yellow. there were ways to lengthen the burning time. for this, hollow dry stems of plants, tubes twisted from dried, wide leaves were filled with the composition of Bengal fire. these first Bengal candles no longer only gave a bright flame, their burning was also accompanied by a characteristic crackle. in the folk life of the Eastern Slavs, about the same years, "fiery fun" took place, which were arranged with the use of a lyloon. lycopodium, an evergreen herbaceous plant that looks like moss, creeping along the ground. its mature, dry spores, when ignited, give an instant lightning flash without smoke. the flame of the plow is amazing, it is very fun to watch it, especially when thrown at night or in the dark. to make a loud noise, mix the dried and powdered birch leaves. the property of the potion powder is such that it ignites only when it is dispersed in the air above the flame; in other cases, it does not burn, even if you put a lighted wick in it or pour it over burning coals. unlike a lyre, the fresh composition of a sparkler flares up instantly from any source of flame. for this reason its use is much easier. therefore, practically from the moment of the opening of trade routes between Europe and India, sparklers came to Europe. in Europe, the sparkler immediately became a subject of entertainment. with its help, using compositions of colored fire, fiery pictures were drawn, scenes and decorations were decorated and illuminated. it is in Europe (according to the Spanish researcher Bertrano Luengo - in Valencia) that Bengal torches and compositions for premises first appear. The next step on the way to today's familiar Bengal candles was the emergence of sparkling fire recipes in the 6-7 centuries. the effect was achieved by adding iron scale, crushed cast iron, and later magnesium powder to the flame compositions of a Bengal fire. thus, the sparkler developed in two directions - as fiery and as sparkling. flame compositions are usually loaded into paper sleeves, sparkling ones are applied in several layers on wooden sticks or metal wire. Bengal torches are quite popular, especially in Europe. products are produced in different colors (red, green, blue, white, yellow), different sizes (from 20 cm to 100 cm long), for different purposes (outdoor and low-smoke indoor). Bengal torches in the 18-19 centuries were an indispensable attribute of all fireworks performances. they were used to set fire to products and in all situations where it was necessary to suddenly illuminate a large area of \u200b\u200ba stage or set with colored light. Russian pyrotechnic professor Petrov recommended for the manufacture of flaming Bengal candles “shells made of writing paper in 3 turns, 20 mm in cross-section and 35 cm in length. 5 cm of clay is placed in the sleeve and then filled with a fiery composition of Bengal fire, slightly tamping it ... "Such a candle burns out together with the sleeve, so it is not possible to hold it in your hands. however, these candles, fixed along the contour of the drawing, give a wonderful "fiery picture" due to an even, bright flame.

Burning sparkler

Bengal lights are an irreplaceable attribute of the New Year. But why are sparklers so called? What are sparklers made of, what is their composition and how to make them at home? You will find answers to these and other questions in this article.

All sparklers are composed of fuel, oxidizer, metal powder (for sparks), combustible glue and a rod for the whole mass. Most often, the composition of sparklers is as follows:

powder of aluminum or magnesium is used as fuel,
barium nitrate (barium nitrate) is used as an oxidizing agent,
dextrin or starch is used as a binder,
oxidized iron and steel filings are used to generate sparks,
metal wire is used as the basis for the combustible mixture.

Why are sparklers called that?

I'm sure many of you have wondered why Bengal lights are called that. Why Bengali? The name comes from the province of Bengal, which is located in India.

This province was the first to use a similar composition as signaling. After that, the name Bengal fire, i.e. fire from Bengal.

How to make sparklers at home

In the book of G.A. Platov “Pyrotechnician. The art of making fireworks ”describes several compositions for self-making sparklers. As you can see below - the main components do not change, only the fuel changes:

50% - barium nitrate
30% - steel or cast iron blued sawdust
13% dextrin
7% - aluminum powder or magnesium powder or aluminum-magnesium powder (PAM) No. 4.

Barium nitrate can most often be purchased only in specialized chemical stores, therefore, below is an option for making sparklers on your own without using barium nitrate.

Attention! The composition for the self-production of sparklers, which is proposed below, contains sulfur, so their use in the premises is prohibited!

To make 15 sparklers you will need:

10 g of cast iron or steel filings (the color of sparks depends on the metal)
10 grams of aluminum gunpowder (50% potassium nitrate, 35% aluminum powder and 15% sulfur must be mixed together and rubbed thoroughly)
4 grams of dextrin (dextrin is obtained from starch by baking it at 200 degrees for 90 minutes, for example in an oven)
Steel wire with a diameter of 1 mm.

Home production steps:

At the beginning of making homemade sparklers, you need to cut the steel wire into pieces of the desired length. On one side of the wire, you need to make a hook (you need it to hang the sparklers for drying).
The use of copper and aluminum wires is prohibited, because the combustion temperature exceeds 1000 degrees and the wire will melt.
We mix all the components by adding a little water or alcohol to bring the consistency of the mixture to a more or less thick state (like condensed milk).
In the resulting mixture we dip pieces of steel wire and dry for about 15-20 minutes, repeat the procedure 5-6 times.
A test tube works well for these purposes, but if you do not have one, you can apply the composition to the wire with a brush.

As you can see, making sparklers at home is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance, but it is important to remember about the safety rules when using fire indoors and outdoors.

How to light sparklers

Some manufacturers apply a special flammable head (almost like the head of a match) to the end of the sparkler candle to make it easier to ignite.

To quickly light a sparkler, it is better to use another, already lit, because the combustion temperature exceeds 1000 degrees.

You should not try to light sparklers from a cigarette in your mouth - this can lead to bad consequences.

The history of the origin of the sparkler goes back to ancient India. It was in Bengal, as historians testify, in the 5-6th century. n. e. during religious ceremonies in temples, fires of unusual brightness flared up and quickly burned on the altars. At the same time, depending on the wishes of the clergy and the type of ceremony, "it smelled evil" (probably the composition contained a powder of sulfur, which forms sulphurous gas when burning), or a "blissful breath" was poured over the temple (probably in this case, instead of sulfur, rosin was used in the Bengal fire ).

The high efficiency of the action due to the deification of the peoples of fire and light stimulated the rapid development of the use of fiery compositions, the improvement of their recipes by the clergy. By the beginning of the 8th century, the compositions of colored fire were already known - blue, green, yellow. Ways to lengthen the burning time have appeared. For this, hollow dry stems of plants, tubes twisted from dried, wide leaves were filled with the composition of Bengal fire. These first Bengal candles no longer only gave a bright flame, their burning was also accompanied by a characteristic crackle.

In the folk life of the Eastern Slavs, about the same years, "fiery fun" took place, which were arranged with the use of a lyre. A lycopodium, an evergreen herbaceous plant that looks like moss, spreading along the ground. Its mature dry spores, when ignited, give an instant, lightning flash without smoke. The flame of the plow is amazing, it is very fun to look at it, especially when it is thrown at night or in the dark. Dried and powdered birch foliage is mixed in to make a loud noise.

It is in Europe (according to the Spanish researcher Bertrano Luengo - in Valencia) that Bengal torches and compositions for premises first appear. The next step on the way to today's familiar Bengal candles was the emergence of sparkling fire recipes in the 6-7 centuries. The effect was achieved by adding iron scale, crushed cast iron, and later magnesium powder to the flame compositions of a Bengal fire.

In this way, the sparkler developed in two directions - as fiery and as sparkling. Flame compounds are usually loaded into paper sleeves, sparkling ones are applied in several layers on wooden sticks or metal wire.
The Russian pyrotechnician Professor Petrov recommended for the manufacture of flaming Bengal candles “sleeves made of writing paper in 3 turns, 20 mm in cross section and 35 cm in length. Clay 5 cm is placed in the sleeve and then filled with a fiery composition of Bengal fire, slightly tamping it ... "Such a candle burns out together with the sleeve, so it is not possible to hold it in your hands. However, these candles, fixed along the contour of the drawing, due to the even, bright flame, give a wonderful "fiery picture". If, during the manufacture of a sleeve, we wind it on a wooden stick 5-7 cm long, then we get a fiery Bengal candle, which is convenient to hold in our hands. These products have survived to this day almost unchanged. The main manufacturers of such candles are China, India, Japan.

The modern name of these products is triumphal candles.The products are practically smokeless and can be successfully used indoors. At the same time, both individual candles and combined table toys are produced. This is a tabletop figure, made up of three or more candles, set in a stand and tied in a tense state of the upper part. When the product is ignited, the candles are straightened and form a multi-beam burning composition.

Bengal torches are quite popular, especially in Europe. Products are produced in different colors (red, green, blue, white, yellow), different sizes (length from 20 cm to 100 cm), for different purposes (outdoor and low-smoke indoor). Bengal torches in the 18-19 centuries were an indispensable attribute of all fireworks performances. They were used to set fire to products and in all situations where it was necessary to suddenly illuminate a large area of \u200b\u200ba stage or set with colored light.