The science of fireworks and the colors they appear

AccuWeather

Fireworks come in many different colors. AccuWeather's Melissa Constanzer explains the chemical composition that makes up the different colors of fireworks.

Transcript

00:00sparking awe whether you are young or old fireworks captivate many people from loud

00:10bangs to dazzling colors the fourth of July offers a warm night to view them but what makes

00:16all the unique colors it's actually a combination of salts and metals so here you can see red and

00:21orange orange actually usually has calcium in it to help intensify it green has barium use

00:27yellow for sodium and blue comes from copper those vibrant colors there chlorine can also make color

00:34shine brighter while other elements help the fireworks burn and explode now of course if we're

00:40talking about warm humid nights like the fourth of July sound travels faster but not as far as say

00:46if you were watching New Year's fireworks you also may want to bring ear protection for young children

00:51that's essential especially and then considering where that wind will carry the smoke when you're

00:56viewing them from afar not from right underneath that can be a critical role as to whether you

01:01see the second half of the show or not as far as those fireworks shows temperatures looking good

01:07here in New York City for the Macy's fireworks show that's going to be with just a light wind

01:12northwest at five miles per hour similar setup here for Philadelphia with just a few more cloud

01:17temperatures holding on to the mid-70s maybe you're trying to view some of the action in Houston

01:2284 degrees here for the fourth of July fireworks starting at 9 35 a central time there and as you

01:29work your way then towards the western coast we're looking okay in Seattle just a few clouds out there

01:3560 degrees by the way this is a late start time because of how late the sun goes down in the Pacific

01:39Northwest 10 20 for that start time there of course there are several other fireworks shows around the

01:45nation but you might be tempted to view a drone show this one is Saturday in Salt Lake City it's going to be a

01:51pretty quiet temperatures falling from the 80s through the 70s with AccuWeather refill temperatures in the 70s

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