Lift powder

Lift powder is simply granulated black powder (also known as gunpowder). It consists of potassium nitrate, sulfur, carbon, and dextrin. Dextrin acts as a water-soluble "glue" to hold the black powder together, so when it dries it will be rock hard. Lift powder gets its name because it is used for such things as launching shells out of mortars in pyrotechnics. Pyrotechnicians use this because it has a fast burn rate but not so fast as to cause the mortar to explode or cause other damage. Lift powder is good for this application because normal black powder cannot burn fast enough to push a shell out of a mortar fast enough; the shell would only go a few feet in the air. Lift powder does not burn so fast though, like flash powder, as to explode a mortar. A lift charge is an explosive charge.