Aside from the stabilizing tail of a bottle rocket, they physically don’t appear to differ much from a firecracker. They’re about the same size and appear to be constructed similarly, a short line of gunpowder wrapped in a cylindrical roll of paper. Yet they behave quite differently; one immediately explodes in place and the other shoots off into space due to a progressive ignition.
So what exactly is it that causes these two disparate reactions? Is it a different type of gunpowder? Is one vessel completely confined while the other is provided an escape point for the gasses? Is it the tightness of the wrap? I’ve wondered since I was a kid and no better place to ask…
Thanks in advance.