Colored smoke

It can be produced by smoke grenades, or by various other pyrotechnical devices.

The mixture used for producing colored smoke is usually a cooler-burning formula based on potassium chlorate oxidizer, lactose or dextrin as a fuel, and one or more dyes, with about 40-50% content of the dye.

About 2% sodium bicarbonate may be added as a coolant, to lower the burning temperature.

Coloured smoke was first used in 1967 during an American burnout competition by a small contestant, as a means to wow the crowd.

[citation needed] Smoke released from aircraft was originally based on a mixture of 10-15% dye, 60-65% trichloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene, and 25% diesel oil, injected into the exhaust gases of the aircraft engines.