Working Knowledge; July 1999; Scientific American Magazine; by Zambelli, Sr.; 1 Page(s)

Surely no other area of applied chemistry has given people so much wonder and enjoyment as fireworks have. Modern displays use computer-controlled electronic ignition and precisely timed fuses to synchronize the bursts to the pulse of music. But the spectacular explosions themselves result from the arrangement of powders, resins, gums, paper and string in clever (and often secret) ways that have changed remarkably little despite five centuries of pyrotechnical experimentation.