The Science of Fireworks!

A brief history of the modern firework. Professor Chris Bishop, presenter of the 2008 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, gives a family lecture on the history of the modern firework. Through demonstrations of pyrotechnic chemistry hear how Chinese incendiaries made from honey led to the development of gunpowder; discover how the loud bangs of fireworks are routed in the origins of photography; and find out how an accident in a nineteenth-century kitchen sparked a new chemistry for firework making.

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Chemical Curiosities: Surprising Science and Dramatic Demonstrations

Chemical Curiosities: Surprising Science and Dramatic Demonstrations

How can a fire extinguisher be used to start a fire? Could a chemical reaction go backwards? Professor Chris Bishop, presenter of the 2008 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, leads us through a spectacular tour through the curious, and sometimes surprising, world of chemistry.