Fireworks Technology

There is a new technology in fireworks and this article at Disney talks about it: bq. These people are setting up Disneyland's "Disney's Imagine ... A Fantasy in the Sky" fireworks extravaganza, and they go through the same drill more than 200 nights a year. Imagineer Mark Hollingsworth kindly allowed the Insider to view the prep for a fireworks launch, and took time out on the hot tarmac to answer our questions. That afternoon pre-launch drill has taken a change this summer, and the results are cleaner, safer � and utterly spectacular. bq. What's different now? The fireworks shells for Disneyland's pyrotechnics spectaculars are no longer launched by the traditional black-powder ignition, but by compressed air. Although it's a revolution in pyrotechnic technology, the air launch system is deceptively simple. The shells are loaded into long metal tubes � a whopping 330 of them � then launched by powerful blasts of air precisely timed by computer. Neat stuff - makes a lot of sense. Higher cost in the infrastructure but the overall cost of operation is less and you get better displays. I can see mobile companies doing trucks and barges with these launcher/control systems in a few years -- anyone want to start a business?