A break charge, also known as a burst charge, is a small explosive charge inside an aerial shell that ignites explosively at the proper height, almost instantly producing a large volume of fiery gasses which ignites and spreads the contents of the shell.
Typical break charges (in approximate order from most to least powerful) are made from:
- Flash powder
- H3 on a medium such as rice hulls
- KP on a medium such as rice hulls
- Granulated black powder, or Corned black powder
- meal coated on a medium such as rice hulls
A stronger break can be achieved by adding a small amount of booster, of which following are typical:
- Perchlorate Flash powder
- Whistle mix
- Nitrate Flash powder