wrote:
Whenever the launch is shown there is a shot of the exhaust coming
out of the rockets. And there is always in the shot a device that
shoots out sparks horizontally. What is the spark shower for?
Eric
Others have said "why", but from my standpoint, the "what" is just as
fascinating. Those are zirconium gerbs (fountains by any other name).
Zirconium is so damned expensive because of its military/aerospace
igniter uses, that we cannot use it in civilian fireworks. But it makes
some beautiful, white, and very hot sparks.
LLoyd