Fireworks for the Fourth

On the same night each year, millions of Americans gather to gaze at a spectacle of lights. Yet historically, this most American of events--Fourth of July fireworks--is oh so Chinese. And to science, it's simply the power of powder.

Legend has it that a thousand years ago, a Chinese cook accidentally mixed saltpeter (used as a food preservative) with sulfur and charcoal (fuel to cook a meal) to come up with "black powder." The gastronomic applications were pretty limited, but the Chinese quickly learned that stuffing black powder into hollow bamboo and sealing both ends could produce an explosion.

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