How to make sparklers

Sparklers look really cool and are very popular to play with on the 4th of July, or really whenever you feel like playing with fire. They're also not hard to make.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Thin metal rods or thick wires
• Iron filings
• Aluminum powder
• Barium or strontium nitrate
• Boric acid
• Dextrin

1. To make sparklers, you need some ingredients, which are conveniently listed. The chemicals can be purchased online, perhaps most readily on eBay. The iron and aluminum are used as fuel, the nitrate is an oxidizer, and the dextrin is a binder.

2. Mix together the ingredients, approximately according to the following percentages, by weight: 8% aluminum, 34% iron, 45% nitrate, 11% dextrin, 2% boric acid.

3. Add water to the mixture, to make a slurry. Dip a metal rod or piece of wire in the slurry. Make sure that the slurry is thick enough so that a thin layer sticks to the metal rod.

4. Let your sparklers dry. Obviously, it's hard to light a wet sparkler.

Tips & Warnings

• Needless to say, don't dip the entire stick in the mixture. You need some space to hold it.
• You can adjust the color of the sparkler flame by adjusting the nitrate that you use. Strontium makes reddish flames, while barium makes more greenish ones.
• Sparklers burn at high temperatures, so be careful when playing with them.
• Sparklers might be illegal in your area.