Re: What is Flashpaper made of?

Thanks for the question Alex.

The flash paper that you are talking about is made from nitrocellulose. Normal paper is made from wood fibers that are formed primarily of cellulose. Cellulose has many hydroxyl groups (OH) that can be converted to nitrate esters (ONO2) through a chemical reaction. Regular paper is made and then converted into flash paper with a chemical treatment. The nitrocellulose burns very fast because it has its own source of oxygen in the nitrate esters.

I should remind you that any type of material that burns this fast is very dangerous and should only be used under proper supervision and with fire quenching materials present.