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What purpose does mercury dichloride have in fireworks?

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What purpose does mercury dichloride have in fireworks?

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4

$begingroup$

My local newspaper ran an article covering the local rules about fireworks. One of those rules specifically calls out "snakes and fountains containing mercury dichloride" as forbidden.

Neither Wikipedia's article on mercury(II) chloride nor its article on mercury lists any fireworks-related use. What purpose does the mercury dichloride serve? Is it just a way to color the sparks, or does it have some more fundamental purpose?

pyrotechnics mercury

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edited 48 mins ago

Karsten Theis

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4

$begingroup$

My local newspaper ran an article covering the local rules about fireworks. One of those rules specifically calls out "snakes and fountains containing mercury dichloride" as forbidden.

Neither Wikipedia's article on mercury(II) chloride nor its article on mercury lists any fireworks-related use. What purpose does the mercury dichloride serve? Is it just a way to color the sparks, or does it have some more fundamental purpose?

pyrotechnics mercury

share|improve this question

edited 48 mins ago

Karsten Theis

7,3921010 silver badges5151 bronze badges

asked 8 hours ago

MarkMark

1,78411 gold badge77 silver badges99 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

My local newspaper ran an article covering the local rules about fireworks. One of those rules specifically calls out "snakes and fountains containing mercury dichloride" as forbidden.

Neither Wikipedia's article on mercury(II) chloride nor its article on mercury lists any fireworks-related use. What purpose does the mercury dichloride serve? Is it just a way to color the sparks, or does it have some more fundamental purpose?

pyrotechnics mercury

share|improve this question

edited 48 mins ago

Karsten Theis

7,3921010 silver badges5151 bronze badges

asked 8 hours ago

MarkMark

1,78411 gold badge77 silver badges99 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this question

edited 48 mins ago

Karsten Theis

7,3921010 silver badges5151 bronze badges

asked 8 hours ago

MarkMark

1,78411 gold badge77 silver badges99 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited 48 mins ago

Karsten Theis

7,3921010 silver badges5151 bronze badges

asked 8 hours ago

MarkMark

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edited 48 mins ago

Karsten Theis

7,3921010 silver badges5151 bronze badges

edited 48 mins ago

Karsten Theis

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asked 8 hours ago

MarkMark

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asked 8 hours ago

MarkMark

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2 Answers
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Most likely, mercury was used as a colorant, specifically red. This list shows mercury providing a red color in flame tests, and the same would presumably be seen in fireworks.

Several other, less dangerous elements also give red or reddish colors. This site identifies lithium as providing the color in red fireworks, and also mentions lithium carbonate specifically.

Be safe this 4th, handle fireworks with care if you do so at all!

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

Waylander

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answered 7 hours ago

Oscar LanziOscar Lanzi

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add a comment | 

2

$begingroup$

In "Fireworks, the Art, Science, and Technique", Takeo Shimizu gives a very good explanation of color production. For blue, the color-producing firework chemical is thought to be copper monochloride. If there is no free chlorine in the flame, there can be no blue color.The discovery of colors produced by chlorine along with other elements belongs to Chertier, who described the phenomena in 1836.In years past, mercurous chloride, also known as calomel, was used. Calomel decomposes at ordinary flame temperatures into chlorine and mercury metal vapor. Along with potassium chlorate ,mercurous chloride(calomel) was used as the oxidizer in older blue firework star compositions, calomel was often included to insure that plenty of chlorine was available.

Today we know that mercury is a very bad actor in the environment, witnessed by the birth defects in Japan resulting from mercury poisoning, not to mention the deaths!

Making Pharaoh's Snakes

Tomasz Szymborski, Creative Commons License

Ignite a small pile of mercury(II) thiocyanate, $ce{Hg(SCN)2}$.Mercury thiocyanate is an insoluble white solid which can be purchased as a reagent or can be obtained as a precipitate by reacting mercury(II) chloride or mercury(II) nitrate with potassium thiocyanate (All mercury compounds are toxic and probably banned for this reason).

Pharaoh's Snakes Chemical Reaction

• Igniting mercury(II) thiocyanate causes it to decompose into an insoluble brown mass that is primarily carbon nitride, C3N4. Mercury(II) sulfide and carbon disulfide are also produced.

$$ce{2Hg(SCN)2 → 2HgS + CS2 + C3N4}$$

• Flammable carbon disulfide combusts to carbon(IV) oxide and sulfur(IV) oxide:

$$ce{CS2 + 3O2 → CO2 + 2SO2}$$

• The heated $ce{C3N4}$ partially breaks down to form nitrogen gas and cyanogen:
  $$ce{C3N4 → 3(CN)2 + N2}$$
  


• Mercury(II) sulfide reacts with oxygen to form mercury vapor and sulfur dioxide. If the reaction is performed inside a container, you will be able to observe a gray mercury film coating its interior surface.

$$ce{HgS + O2 → Hg + SO2}$$

share|improve this answer

edited 46 mins ago

Nilay Ghosh

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answered 3 hours ago

Chakravarthy KalyanChakravarthy Kalyan

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4

$begingroup$

Most likely, mercury was used as a colorant, specifically red. This list shows mercury providing a red color in flame tests, and the same would presumably be seen in fireworks.

Several other, less dangerous elements also give red or reddish colors. This site identifies lithium as providing the color in red fireworks, and also mentions lithium carbonate specifically.

Be safe this 4th, handle fireworks with care if you do so at all!

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

Waylander

8,21111 gold badge1818 silver badges2929 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Oscar LanziOscar Lanzi

17.6k22 gold badges3030 silver badges5656 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

4

$begingroup$

Most likely, mercury was used as a colorant, specifically red. This list shows mercury providing a red color in flame tests, and the same would presumably be seen in fireworks.

Several other, less dangerous elements also give red or reddish colors. This site identifies lithium as providing the color in red fireworks, and also mentions lithium carbonate specifically.

Be safe this 4th, handle fireworks with care if you do so at all!

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

Waylander

8,21111 gold badge1818 silver badges2929 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Oscar LanziOscar Lanzi

17.6k22 gold badges3030 silver badges5656 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

Most likely, mercury was used as a colorant, specifically red. This list shows mercury providing a red color in flame tests, and the same would presumably be seen in fireworks.

Several other, less dangerous elements also give red or reddish colors. This site identifies lithium as providing the color in red fireworks, and also mentions lithium carbonate specifically.

Be safe this 4th, handle fireworks with care if you do so at all!

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

Waylander

8,21111 gold badge1818 silver badges2929 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Oscar LanziOscar Lanzi

17.6k22 gold badges3030 silver badges5656 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

edited 6 hours ago

Waylander

8,21111 gold badge1818 silver badges2929 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Oscar LanziOscar Lanzi

17.6k22 gold badges3030 silver badges5656 bronze badges

edited 6 hours ago

Waylander

8,21111 gold badge1818 silver badges2929 bronze badges

edited 6 hours ago

Waylander

8,21111 gold badge1818 silver badges2929 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Oscar LanziOscar Lanzi

17.6k22 gold badges3030 silver badges5656 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Oscar LanziOscar Lanzi

17.6k22 gold badges3030 silver badges5656 bronze badges

2

$begingroup$

In "Fireworks, the Art, Science, and Technique", Takeo Shimizu gives a very good explanation of color production. For blue, the color-producing firework chemical is thought to be copper monochloride. If there is no free chlorine in the flame, there can be no blue color.The discovery of colors produced by chlorine along with other elements belongs to Chertier, who described the phenomena in 1836.In years past, mercurous chloride, also known as calomel, was used. Calomel decomposes at ordinary flame temperatures into chlorine and mercury metal vapor. Along with potassium chlorate ,mercurous chloride(calomel) was used as the oxidizer in older blue firework star compositions, calomel was often included to insure that plenty of chlorine was available.

Today we know that mercury is a very bad actor in the environment, witnessed by the birth defects in Japan resulting from mercury poisoning, not to mention the deaths!

Making Pharaoh's Snakes

Tomasz Szymborski, Creative Commons License

Ignite a small pile of mercury(II) thiocyanate, $ce{Hg(SCN)2}$.Mercury thiocyanate is an insoluble white solid which can be purchased as a reagent or can be obtained as a precipitate by reacting mercury(II) chloride or mercury(II) nitrate with potassium thiocyanate (All mercury compounds are toxic and probably banned for this reason).

Pharaoh's Snakes Chemical Reaction

• Igniting mercury(II) thiocyanate causes it to decompose into an insoluble brown mass that is primarily carbon nitride, C3N4. Mercury(II) sulfide and carbon disulfide are also produced.

$$ce{2Hg(SCN)2 → 2HgS + CS2 + C3N4}$$

• Flammable carbon disulfide combusts to carbon(IV) oxide and sulfur(IV) oxide:

$$ce{CS2 + 3O2 → CO2 + 2SO2}$$

• The heated $ce{C3N4}$ partially breaks down to form nitrogen gas and cyanogen:
  $$ce{C3N4 → 3(CN)2 + N2}$$
  


• Mercury(II) sulfide reacts with oxygen to form mercury vapor and sulfur dioxide. If the reaction is performed inside a container, you will be able to observe a gray mercury film coating its interior surface.

$$ce{HgS + O2 → Hg + SO2}$$

share|improve this answer

edited 46 mins ago

Nilay Ghosh

9,9241010 gold badges4646 silver badges111111 bronze badges

answered 3 hours ago

Chakravarthy KalyanChakravarthy Kalyan

2,44655 silver badges2222 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

2

$begingroup$

In "Fireworks, the Art, Science, and Technique", Takeo Shimizu gives a very good explanation of color production. For blue, the color-producing firework chemical is thought to be copper monochloride. If there is no free chlorine in the flame, there can be no blue color.The discovery of colors produced by chlorine along with other elements belongs to Chertier, who described the phenomena in 1836.In years past, mercurous chloride, also known as calomel, was used. Calomel decomposes at ordinary flame temperatures into chlorine and mercury metal vapor. Along with potassium chlorate ,mercurous chloride(calomel) was used as the oxidizer in older blue firework star compositions, calomel was often included to insure that plenty of chlorine was available.

Today we know that mercury is a very bad actor in the environment, witnessed by the birth defects in Japan resulting from mercury poisoning, not to mention the deaths!

Making Pharaoh's Snakes

Tomasz Szymborski, Creative Commons License

Ignite a small pile of mercury(II) thiocyanate, $ce{Hg(SCN)2}$.Mercury thiocyanate is an insoluble white solid which can be purchased as a reagent or can be obtained as a precipitate by reacting mercury(II) chloride or mercury(II) nitrate with potassium thiocyanate (All mercury compounds are toxic and probably banned for this reason).

Pharaoh's Snakes Chemical Reaction

• Igniting mercury(II) thiocyanate causes it to decompose into an insoluble brown mass that is primarily carbon nitride, C3N4. Mercury(II) sulfide and carbon disulfide are also produced.

$$ce{2Hg(SCN)2 → 2HgS + CS2 + C3N4}$$

• Flammable carbon disulfide combusts to carbon(IV) oxide and sulfur(IV) oxide:

$$ce{CS2 + 3O2 → CO2 + 2SO2}$$

• The heated $ce{C3N4}$ partially breaks down to form nitrogen gas and cyanogen:
  $$ce{C3N4 → 3(CN)2 + N2}$$
  


• Mercury(II) sulfide reacts with oxygen to form mercury vapor and sulfur dioxide. If the reaction is performed inside a container, you will be able to observe a gray mercury film coating its interior surface.

$$ce{HgS + O2 → Hg + SO2}$$

share|improve this answer

edited 46 mins ago

Nilay Ghosh

9,9241010 gold badges4646 silver badges111111 bronze badges

answered 3 hours ago

Chakravarthy KalyanChakravarthy Kalyan

2,44655 silver badges2222 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

In "Fireworks, the Art, Science, and Technique", Takeo Shimizu gives a very good explanation of color production. For blue, the color-producing firework chemical is thought to be copper monochloride. If there is no free chlorine in the flame, there can be no blue color.The discovery of colors produced by chlorine along with other elements belongs to Chertier, who described the phenomena in 1836.In years past, mercurous chloride, also known as calomel, was used. Calomel decomposes at ordinary flame temperatures into chlorine and mercury metal vapor. Along with potassium chlorate ,mercurous chloride(calomel) was used as the oxidizer in older blue firework star compositions, calomel was often included to insure that plenty of chlorine was available.

Today we know that mercury is a very bad actor in the environment, witnessed by the birth defects in Japan resulting from mercury poisoning, not to mention the deaths!

Making Pharaoh's Snakes

Tomasz Szymborski, Creative Commons License

Ignite a small pile of mercury(II) thiocyanate, $ce{Hg(SCN)2}$.Mercury thiocyanate is an insoluble white solid which can be purchased as a reagent or can be obtained as a precipitate by reacting mercury(II) chloride or mercury(II) nitrate with potassium thiocyanate (All mercury compounds are toxic and probably banned for this reason).

Pharaoh's Snakes Chemical Reaction

• Igniting mercury(II) thiocyanate causes it to decompose into an insoluble brown mass that is primarily carbon nitride, C3N4. Mercury(II) sulfide and carbon disulfide are also produced.

$$ce{2Hg(SCN)2 → 2HgS + CS2 + C3N4}$$

• Flammable carbon disulfide combusts to carbon(IV) oxide and sulfur(IV) oxide:

$$ce{CS2 + 3O2 → CO2 + 2SO2}$$

• The heated $ce{C3N4}$ partially breaks down to form nitrogen gas and cyanogen:
  $$ce{C3N4 → 3(CN)2 + N2}$$
  


• Mercury(II) sulfide reacts with oxygen to form mercury vapor and sulfur dioxide. If the reaction is performed inside a container, you will be able to observe a gray mercury film coating its interior surface.

$$ce{HgS + O2 → Hg + SO2}$$

share|improve this answer

edited 46 mins ago

Nilay Ghosh

9,9241010 gold badges4646 silver badges111111 bronze badges

answered 3 hours ago

Chakravarthy KalyanChakravarthy Kalyan

2,44655 silver badges2222 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

edited 46 mins ago

Nilay Ghosh

9,9241010 gold badges4646 silver badges111111 bronze badges

answered 3 hours ago

Chakravarthy KalyanChakravarthy Kalyan

2,44655 silver badges2222 bronze badges

edited 46 mins ago

Nilay Ghosh

9,9241010 gold badges4646 silver badges111111 bronze badges

edited 46 mins ago

Nilay Ghosh

9,9241010 gold badges4646 silver badges111111 bronze badges

answered 3 hours ago

Chakravarthy KalyanChakravarthy Kalyan

2,44655 silver badges2222 bronze badges

answered 3 hours ago

Chakravarthy KalyanChakravarthy Kalyan

2,44655 silver badges2222 bronze badges