
Why do Christmas crackers go bang?
Subscribe to BBC Science Focus Magazine and get 6 issues for just £9.99
Crackers: the only time you can have family fun with gunpowder in the home.
Inside a cracker there are two strips of card, attached end-to-end with a slight overlap. This overlap is treated with gunpowder – a mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulphur.
Advertisement
When the cracker is pulled, the friction generated between the two strips causes enough heat to set the gunpowder off. The tube amplifies the sound of the tiny explosion.
Read more:
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Subscription offer
Subscribe and save 50% on the shop price. Pay just £16.50 every 6 issues by Direct Debit. Receive every issue delivered direct to your door with FREE UK delivery.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Advertisement