After the invention of gunpowder, initially it was used to scare animals.
The festival of Diwali is considered incomplete without firecrackers. The whole of India is ready to celebrate this festival with pomp and show. All over the world, fireworks are done to welcome the New Year. Along with this, a question arises in the mind that how is the gunpowder that adds life to firecrackers made? What happens in it that causes explosion? Let us try to know where in India it is made and did it reach India through the Mughals?
Firecrackers cannot be imagined without gunpowder, but what is it? How was it discovered? While searching for answers to these questions, the first thing that comes to mind is the story of China.
This is how gunpowder was invented
It is said that in the ninth century, at a place in China, some soldiers brought yellow soil from the mountain in a basket and put it at a place in the royal garden. Coal particles were already lying at the same place. The next day there was a massive explosion at the same place and the trees and plants present there were burnt. This yellow soil was gunpowder. However, the Chinese people did not pay attention to the power of gunpowder until the thirteenth century. This caught the attention of the people of Europe and chemist Roger Bacon got the credit for the discovery of gunpowder.
This is how gunpowder is made
As far as the gunpowder used in firecrackers is concerned, it is mainly made from a mixture of potassium nitrate i.e. saltpetre, sulfur i.e. sulfur and charcoal i.e. coal. When these three elements burn, they generate heat and gas very rapidly, which causes lighting with an explosion. In gunpowder, potassium nitrate acts as an oxidizer, while sulfur and coal are used as fuel. These were ground finely and mixed in a specific ratio. When the gunpowder prepared from this catches fire, rapid oxidation occurs due to potassium nitrate. Due to this, gases and heat are released, which causes an explosion.
The Mughals brought with them gunpowder to be used on the battlefield.
These are also used in firecrackers
Now some other elements are also used in firecrackers, which include potassium perchlorate, pearlite powder, barium nitrate, magnesium-aluminum mixture, titanium powder, brim stone, sodium nitrate, calcium chloride, barium chloride, copper chloride etc. The green flame in firecrackers is caused by barium, while copper is responsible for the blue flame and calcium is responsible for the orange flame.
In India, gunpowder is made at all those places where factories have been set up to make firecrackers. Apart from this, there are separate big ammunition factories for gunpowder used in war. As far as firecrackers are concerned, they are made at many places in the country. Many states are included in these. However, most of the firecrackers in the country are manufactured in Tamil Nadu. The city of Sivakasi in Virudunigar district is called the firecracker capital or city of firecrackers in India. There are more than eight thousand small and big factories in which firecrackers are manufactured.
Of the total firecrackers manufactured in the entire country, 70 to 90 percent are manufactured in this city. However, people make firecrackers illegally in many places in the traditional way. Most people still use locally made firecrackers for ceremonies like weddings and mundan.
Mughal emperors Babar and Humayun.
Mughals brought destructive form of gunpowder
After the invention of gunpowder, initially it was used to scare animals. Then it started being used in fireworks. However, recognizing its power, with time it started being used in wars also, which is its most destructive form. By the end of the 14th century, gunpowder started being used in wars. Talking about the Mughals, they can be given the credit for bringing the destructive form of gunpowder to India. The Mughals brought with them gunpowder to be used on the battlefield. Earlier, gunpowder was used only for fireworks in the country. There were many wars in which lost battles were won because of gunpowder.
The people of India were familiar with this since ancient times.
The people of India were familiar with the gunpowder used in firecrackers since ancient times. Even in Chanakya’s (Kautilya’s) book Arthashastra, there is mention of such powder, which burned fast and gave rise to strong flames. By adding sulfur and charcoal to it, the combustibility increases further. It is believed that a Bengali Buddhist religious guru named Atish Dipankar brought firecrackers to India.
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