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Explorations in the History and Heritage of Machines and Mechanisms pp 160–171Cite as

Light Drawings: Representation and Design

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Part of the book series: History of Mechanism and Machine Science ((HMMS,volume 37))

Abstract

This contribution examines several machines and instruments that use fireworks to create light drawings in the sky. Since time immemorial, and even today, numerous publications focus on this issue, including different kinds of Italian handbooks written by chemical artillery experts who focus on these pyrotechnical problems. In the late eighteenth century several important handbooks used extremely accurate and precise graphic representations to explain the composition of these unique mechanisms, the techniques used to create, and the ensuing results. This contribution reviews the most important images and drawings in one of these handbooks written in 1785 by John Maskall and entitled “Artificial fireworks”. It also focuses on the design of pyrotechnical devices.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    E. Chiavoni

Authors
  1. E. Chiavoni
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Correspondence to E. Chiavoni .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Baichun Zhang

  2. LARM: Laboratory of Robotics and Mechatronics, University of Cassino and South Latium, Cassino, Italy

    Marco Ceccarelli

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Chiavoni, E. (2019). Light Drawings: Representation and Design. In: Zhang, B., Ceccarelli, M. (eds) Explorations in the History and Heritage of Machines and Mechanisms. History of Mechanism and Machine Science, vol 37. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03538-9_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03538-9_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03537-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03538-9

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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