Lighting hits firework - GIF

[Altair]

Lightning hits firework.




Previously:

Lightning hits sailboat - GIF
Colliding lightning bolts - GIF
Static discharge from jet wingtip after lightning strike - GIF

[jdurand]

We always tried to NOT shoot during lightning! I'd personally rather be some place safe rather than shooting fireworks when Zeus is shooting back!

[Frank S]

Step back non believers somebody keep tha fire a burning somebody beat the drum, cause I'm a going to make it rain

[VinnieL]

For centuries it was commonly believed that lightning comes down from the sky because that is what we see as our eyes are not quick enough to see otherwise. All of the current scientific data now says it is static electricity on the ground that goes UP to discharge. Static electricity expecially of that magnitude along with numerous pounds of "Flash powder" used in the fireworks is a recipe for disaster. That powder is unstable very sensitive and susceptible to detonation by static electricity, shock etc. That is why factories making fireworks in foreign countries blow-up and kill the employees frequently. I certainly see why any good pyro person would not want to do a commercial show during a thunderstorm.

[baja]

When I worked in a naval bomb plant in the 60`s, when thunderstorms came along, the safety men would shut all the powder buildings down for the duration of the storm...EXCEPT that I worked in the building that was doing an active pour of molten tritonol (TNT/aluminum dust explosive for 250/500 lbs bombs) and you couldn`t leave the molten powder in the kettle so usually the storm had passed by the time the kettle was emptied.

[Paul Alciatore]

Rats, I thought you meant it was going to hit a whole pile of fireworks.

But, OK, it is still cool.

[jdurand]

For centuries it was commonly believed that lightning comes down from the sky because that is what we see as our eyes are not quick enough to see otherwise. All of the current scientific data now says it is static electricity on the ground that goes UP to discharge. Static electricity expecially of that magnitude along with numerous pounds of "Flash powder" used in the fireworks is a recipe for disaster. That powder is unstable very sensitive and susceptible to detonation by static electricity, shock etc. That is why factories making fireworks in foreign countries blow-up and kill the employees frequently. I certainly see why any good pyro person would not want to do a commercial show during a thunderstorm.

Actually, the flash powder inside the shells is pretty safe. The big danger is from the "safer" e-matches, some people erroneously call them squibs. When doing a hand fired show there's no electrical bits so other than not wanting to stand in an open field during lightning, there's not really a danger of anything going off. More likely to get the quick match wet and then things don't launch...or worse they're slow to launch. As in you walk up to a gun later and THEN it goes off.

The only people really in danger in a hand-fired show are the guy lighting them (like me) and the guy/gal literally watching my back to put out flames or drag me away in case of accident.

With an electrical show you have static, friction, and impact sensitive e-matches (think strike anywhere match with wires) that are either installed in the shells at the distribution center and then trucked to the site or they are put in just before the show. THAT is dangerous. Then, lighting nearby could induce enough current to fire any number of shells.

While electrical shells allow precise timing and make some people feel it's safer, I'll take hand firing.

[Fluffle-Valve]

Wow, that's cool. Something you don't see everyday.

[suther51]

At the vocational school I went to part time in high school the electronics teacher was related to a local family in the fireworks business. Of the two fireworks shows that I went to that he oversaw, one was hand fired by him with his most experienced helper reloading fired morter tubes. Wasn't the best situation. At one point a morter was lit, the fuse had burned out of sight, and went off just as the helper was loading an adjacent morter tube. He was not physically struck but his arm was still numb or tingley hours later. With so little experience I can not say just how it should have been done differently but obviously things were not as safe as they should have been. Memorably the show went off despite gale force winds and sideways rain. The finally was on a floating dock that had been towed out into the lake. With the rain some of the fuses smoldered and a handful of fireworks went off well after the show was well over. The fire department received calls reporting explosions. It was a wild time.
The other show was much bigger and there was no reloading during the show. Each firework had it's own tube and it was fired electronically timed to music, or so they said. Perhaps "additive substances" made the differance as later I talked to some other people who were there for the live music earlier in the day and they were wowed by the sincronization of the music and fireworks. I did not see much connection between the fireworks and the music. My loss I suppose.
There were several batteries of heavy mortars that were buried in the ground. After the show it was found that a "heavy 8 inch" had detonated in the tube. It looked like the entire hole had been emptied and dumped back in, totally jumbled up. To make matters more memorable the worker who decided to clean it up went at it with a claw hammer as a digging tool. (This might have been more of those "additive substances " at work) My teach advised staying well back as no one knew if there were any live shells in the hole whose wires were cut by the shell that detonated. Intense business all around.
Eric

[jdurand]

Detonations are bad, controlled conflagrations good.

The tubes we always used are HDPE, if you have a detonation the tube is torn to long taffy-like shreds. Helps dissipate some of the explosion and there's no sharp, hard things to bury themselves into you. A note: PVC is hard, shatters into sharp pieces, and doesn't show up well on x-rays.

I've done a couple of reload shows. Those were steel guns buried in large boxes of sand. Takes several people to keep the show going, someone pulling shells out of the magazine under a heavy canvas tarp, and a couple of people carrying them to place in guns just ahead of the shooter. Someone has to watch that every shell fired, or quickly drop a stick in the gun to mark not to use it again.

I wear jeans with heavy duck chaps, both soaked in borax. On top is a certified fire retardant welding jacket over a sweatshirt. Of course a helmet with a face shield. Over my head is a Kevlar police balaclava to prevent burning stars from penetrating or anything setting my hair on fire. On my hands are Kevlar military pilot's gloves with soft leather palms.

During a long show we took turns shooting and I was waiting my turn when there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see a lady wearing a fur bikini and a viking hat trying to ask me something. STOP SHOOTING! We ushered the drunk lady away from all the burning debris before she caught fire.

Never found out what she was trying to ask.