Coloured Flames - Periodic Table of Videos

[purplezart]

i can't help but think of Pete as the Jamie Oliver of chemistry...

[khajiit92]

what difference does using a chlorate compared to using a nitrate make?

for example, if you used potassium nitrate instead of potassium chlorate in the example (since the other metals were nitrates)

[zimtower]

@khajiit92 Potassium Chlorate has nearly twice the oxidizing power of Potassium Nitrate. Unfortunately the chlorate is more toxic than the nitrate, but that's what a lab is for.

[thspamed]

The second one you did, si that how they make flares? it looks really similar.

[killzoomer]

Dang the copper chloride flame burned insanely faster than the others

[Khaied345]

where were the days when people used to mix metal salts with methanol for a flame test.

[elflordbob1]

@Khaied345

gone...like your dreams

[Pikashockz]

weitong ah

[nuttersification]

How will they clean that up later :)

[Lemenks]

I think we all have a pyromaniac inside us.

[ambetanterix]

@Lemenks : As an former fireman, and chemist, I'm a pyromaniac too !!! HAHAHA;

[Schizmo]

I love the transcribed audio on this. "It allows me to put lots of oxygen intimately close to all of the exciting bonds I want to break inside the sugar" became "It allows me to put lots of oxygen intimately close So all of the exciting bones that I want to break inside the children" I love this video though, colored flames are amazing. It reminds me of throwing pennies into a fire to make colored flames.

[FOETRAIN]

Hehe , top Periodic videos material :)

[spotlightman1234]

@YoshiDaBomb360 hehe me too...

[spotlightman1234]

thumbs up if you have potassium chlorate.

[eveplayer12]

do want!

[marz054]

all very pretty

[extrasonic]

Copper compounds catalyze the chlorate decomposition, this is why the blue mix is faster than the others.

If barium isn't combined with a halogen as chlorine, bromine or iodine, it will not give a green, but white flame, because BaO is generated, which emits a white flame. BaCl is the green flame emitter

Strontium without a halogen can still give a red, weaker though, from the Sr(OH)2 molecule.

Copper will give more of of a green from the Cu(OH)2, if no halogen donor is present.

[yo0yo0yo0]

I like them cheap and dirty ;) 0:26

[TakeBackTheWorld]

The person who recorded this video was the lead cameraman in Cloverfield.

[wolgreth]

no chlorine gas emitted?

[barhamd]

What was the chemical added with the strontium nitrate?

[thejumperkin]

this video is really jumpy here.. all others are fine but this one is like its abour 3-5 fps half the time..nevertheless, lovely content! i love this channel so much.

[JamuZ1234]

well ... greeny blue ^_^

[BritishPrashant]

It's crazy how much the brain can retain. I studied A Level chemistry 5 whole years ago (now doing medicine so no chemistry at all) and I could still recall the colour of a potassium flame before he said lilac.

[Evertonian94]

One of your best videos :D

[RequiemAeterman]

Why is copper sulphate used often in chemistry experiments for children in primary and early secondary schools?

[LazyJones1]

@RequiemAeterman

Weird, as it's poisonous...

But it's a nice compound. Beautiful blue crystal powder, that can be used to create large crystals.

Also, it's actually a white powder, but can absorb water molecules while staying dry and turns blue as a consequence. Heat it up, and the water evaporates, leaving the powder all white again.

[RequiemAeterman]

@LazyJones1 Most of time it was supplied as small blue crystals in an airtight glass container.

Doesn't seem to be versatile, cause I can't remember what we did with it except make crystal trees.

[LazyJones1]

@RequiemAeterman

Well, it's (fairly) cheap while offering reasonably good results for making large crystals.

Most cheap salts can make crystals, but they're usually either clear or very hard to create large crystals with.

I would guess that is the simple explanation: Cheap, while good for making colorful (blue) crystals.

It seems you've encountered it only in a form that is purposefully created for creating large crystals - small seeding crystals. - I've mostly encountered it as a powder.

[PennyDorkis]

Wow, sugar, what a brilliant idea! I've always had problems making flame tests look impressive enough to grab people's attention. This would definitely work. Now if only I could find some of those flame resistant tiles...

[altosax1st]

This is awesome! For this experiment, would any metal ion containing salt do?

[PennyDorkis]

@altosax1st Well, as Pete was saying in the video, he was using perchlorate and nitrate salts because of all the oxygen the anions carry around. It makes for a more impressive reaction. Salts with an -ate ending will work.

[ericfam01]

The reason there are allways more likes that views is because youtube constantly updates view count until it reaches about 300, then it updates ever hour or day.

[Amatem01]

Words alone cannot describe this video. For now, I'll just stick to "Simply Beautiful"!

[4everlespaul]

JUST AWESOME.

[kruelkiller]

Welcome to firecracker engineering..:)

[pcdsgh]

at some point I was thinking "use barium, use barium!".

and what do you know? you did (:

[AntiProtonBoy]

Too bad the camera can't capture the colours that well. Should have used a dark lens filter to keep the saturation down.

[vlptr]

It's cool that mixture x is giving blue flames and mixture y and z red or green, but what's creating a color?

[zing0a0ding]

Darn it. I wanted to see a rainbow thing at the end. Great vid (:

[Zeldakitteh]

I would argue that the copper is more greeny turquoise than greeny blue.

[AxtheDragon]

just two words: LOVE IT!!!!

[mightyfinejonboy]

witchcraft

[TheGCoast]

@mightyfinejonboy Chemistry >:3

[aureusyarara]

@TheGCoast same thing!

[audveltadmuna]

purple fire...

[TeoSims]

omg how can that be green that was cyan or light blue

[atourdeforce]

for all of you people who DO understand, now you know, you can put copper cloride into you kclo3 + sugar mixture, do give you an even more powerful chlorate explosive. :) :) :) great vid, sorry for letting the cat out of the bag but i couldn't help myself!!

[lampofhell]

Barium Nitrate was a cyan blue color. He called it green, is it a problem with the camera, him or me?

[Cream147player]

@lampofhell He was wrong to call it green. Apple green is indeed the characteristic colour of barium, however I suspect that that flame was a mixture of the green of barium and the lilac of the potassium. I may of course, be completely wrong. If you look at other barium flame tests on youtube you'll see however that an apple green colour does indeed come out.

[Andruth34]

@lampofhell I was going to mention that too.

[imafirinmalaser]

What was the copper doing?

[Kurtlane]

Now, why does potassium produce lilac color and strontium produce red? Why is the flame (methane I suppose) blue? And why whether it's potassium chloride or potassium nitrate makes no difference in terms of color?

[geeupson]

@Kurtlane This is more the physics side of things, its to do with the falling of electrons down energy levels within their shells after they are exicted to higher levels by the energy of the reaction, this results in the emitance of light of a wavelength proportional to the drop in energy of the electron.

[geeupson]

@Kurtlane This is more the physics side of things, its to do with the falling of electrons down energy levels within their shells after they are exicted to higher levels by the energy of the reaction, this results in the emitance of light of a wavelength proportional to the drop in energy of the electron.

[ulkord]

can you buy that as an adult or do you have to be a chemist?

[meatisdeliciouse]

Excuse me, I once heard that canadian scientists hade "descovered" a new primary colour, is this true? It was on the radio last year, months ago.

[sk8shred]

I have a question, are therre any elements which flame reaches outside of our visible light spectrum, like ultraviolet? or infrared?? if no, why isnt it possible, if yes which elementary compounds??

[geeupson]

@sk8shred Yes, however they also result in the emitance of visible light , for example every flame emits infra red (heat)

[sk8shred]

@geeupson ááh, stupid me.. i could have known that myself :p

[geeupson]

@sk8shred No such thing as a stupid question ^_^, i was puzzling about that for a minute

[sk8shred]

@geeupson One more question though, what determines the "colour" itself.. flames emit every colour, but they only show 1 of the spectrum, they absorb everything, but they only reflect one.. but "WHY" purple, or why red??

[geeupson]

@sk8shred It's to do with electrons falling to lower energy states in their shells after being excited to higher higher energy levels, as the electrons fall they will emit a frequency of light proportionate to the change in energy ( E=hv) this determines what parts of the spectra are emitted and hence the colour of the flame or indeed the element/compound. In all honesty it would be better for a phsyicist to explain it to you, (the 60 symbols channel may have a video on E=hv , i'm not sure)

[sk8shred]

I have a question, are there any chemicasl which fire is beyond or light spectrum??? like ultraviolet or infrared?? if not, why??? if yes, which chemicals??

[MrDannyArcher]

what i learned from this video: you can make explosives from the chemicals normally found the the lab! thanks nottingham!!

[wdm2112]

I love how excited he is about the experiments. It makes it such a joy to watch.

[dominic14061995]

i noticed that at the end of each on, the flame seemed to have a little bit of pinkish colour. is that from the leftover potassium chlorate after all the metal salt (Cu2+, Ba2+, Sr2+) has burnt out?

[Jokker88]

@dominic14061995 Could also be a color balance problem with the video, especially when you get ligth that is overexposed on digital sensors the light can get an unnatural tint, For instance you have the RGB color channels which say for a red flame with proper exposure would be red dominant, say 200,20,20 which is a saturated red color, but once the red becomes completely saturated (255) the other green and blue channels can catch up and tint the overexposed regions. 255,50,70 is pinkish.

[Jokker88]

@Jokker88 that said, to get a more realistic view of the color of the flame one should look at the reflected light from the smoke and the surroundings rather than the flame itself, which is too bright to capture on video without stopping down the aperture and maybe add a neutral density filter on to the lens.

[stemtuber]

Chlorate mixtures are unpredictably sensitive to friction and to shock. Google "sugar chlorate friction sensitive" and you will think twice before mixing your reactants by vigorous shaking. Don't do it. I can guarantee that reaction proceeds quite a bit faster in a closed pressure vessel than it does in the open; you won't have time to drop it before burning your hand or worse.

[MicrosoftWindowsGuy]

This is fantastic! I'm so getting my teacher to do this tomorrow...

[soundofgeek]

Nifty demo. Bit hard to see the colours on video, though, with the flames mostly just whited out by overexposure.

[Surtak]

Wow that copper went up fast. I think I'll stick to Barium and Strontium for the chemistry demo tommorow we're holding for potential future students.

Thanks for the inspiration btw!

[cr0ss0ut]

Copper compositions are considered some of the more dangerous compositions due to its sensitivity to friction in flash powders that said the reaction rate is also super fast. 

[meteosurreal]

8 people are of the rare half-assed variety to can't handle science.

[YdeckW]

As an experienced chemist, I must applaud the idea of showing the flame colors using the sugar-KClO3 mixture, two characteristics demonstrated at their best effect! Any particular reason for not using copper(II) nitrate at the end? Is it too explosive?

[30LayersOfKevlar]

One thumb down is my chemistry teacher from high school, who never did any experiments with his students.

[aarontongy]

you burnt a double rainbow 0.o

[scottjacko87]

Is this a simillar method they use to get the colour in fireworks??

[CannaPlant]

@scottjacko87 Yes, it is!

[vk2zay]

Copper tends to catalyse the decomposition of chlorate and perchlorate (it is especially effective in whistle compositions). Should have done sodium too.

[Intervene]

Awesome stuff. Thanks!!!!

[aeroscope]

During the barium one, I see blue not green!

[CannaPlant]

@aeroscope That's right, too bad most cameras are not able to capture things like this appropriately.

[grumbel45]

@aeroscope Same here, looks cyan and nothing like "Apple green". That might however be an artifact of the digital camera, as digital cameras can have trouble reproducing some colors properly. For example IR will generally show up on them as white/blue while it really shouldn't show up at all.

[painxtreme]

@aeroscope its like cyan, a lil blue, a lil green, or Brady's camera, or our monitors are off.

[shoemakerleve9]

@aeroscope Camera might have changed it, idk.

[00shippou00]

@aeroscope It looks like blue green to me.

[Serostern]

@aeroscope The camera cant quite handle it.

[aeroscope]

"intimately close" lmao

[2szymi]

hey, are you going to make a video about coloured smokes?

[bowwowvveevva]

Can anyone tell me why it makes that ''passing jet '' sound when it burns?

I are stoopid ._.

[uralmosti]

@bowwowvveevva I suppose the violent reaction cannot help but vibrate the air molecules around it - this translates to an audible signal when it reaches our ears, hence, a noise.  The reaction starts with great acceleration as there is an abundance of oxygen. Once O becomes consumed the rate of reaction slows and hence the about of physical vibration it is translating to the surrounding air. This in turn translates to a less violent audible signature, so the sound subsides.

[vk2zay]

@bowwowvveevva That is actually a deep and difficult question to answer. The overly simplistic answer is the hissing is basically the "fizz" of the liquid phase and random variations in reaction zone pressure as the reaction proceeds... The shape of the spectra of the noise is probably related to the pressure dynamics of the reaction rate, the physical form of the reactants and a whole bunch of variables. I suspect modeling it would be extremely interesting and nearly impossible!

[bowwowvveevva]

@vk2zay

We need the guys at sixtysymbols to answer this! thx btw

[zombieX111222333]

do something about glowsticks now.

[RevDevilin]

Burn baby burn ;-)

[stemtuber]

Never mix chlorates as you have demonstrated. They are friction and shock sensitive and unpredictable.

[WillyM79]

really pretty

[Warriorchamp1]

I LOVE YOU GUYS AND YOU VIDEOS!!! :) :D please keep them coming (*•*) happiness face

[xsni]

Awesome video. POST MORE! 

[protonball]

cool

[kurtilein3]

try gold oxide or gold chlorate, and it might blow up.

copper is quite a noble metal.

[SinclairMatthew]

great video but needed to filter the brightness of the light better so one could more easily see other then that great work brady im just a film major so being picky sorry

[kikilosabeyno]

2:19 - 3:00 should be a great rocket fuel

[yoshinosakura]

@kikilosabeyno

thats what i thought

[catsfromhell1]

I am from Los Angeles, California and i find these videos very informative and helpful for me especially, considering I am in the American "Science Bowl" high school competition and sometimes a video here or there will help me. I am very grateful. Keep the videos coming! (:

[Shunkitology]

Best Channel Ever! Would you mind putting up some awesome experiments we can try at home that people considered adults can do? :P

[kawana87]

@Shunkitology That would be a cool idea! 

[thewiseowl]

@Shunkitology You should check out a channel called 'NurdRage'. It's really good for that sort of thing.

[Rascal157]

Brady, getting a little heavy, eh? hahah, no, but I love the videos and have always watched them.

[AlchemyFC]

Great video, I really enjoy colored flamable compounds

[SUSHIxgrl]

Cool this will help for my chem ion identification lab dealing with flame tests! strontium and barium are 2 of the ions I have to identify!

[ikelace1]

Don't worry guys! You're nothing special!

Youtube has a glitch where the views usually freeze for a couple of hours around the 300 mark.

[Cube3Productions]

@ikelace1

it's not a youtube glitch, it is used to authenticate the amount of views a video receives because some people watch tell their friends to watch their videos repeatedly to increase the amount of views

[meteosurreal]

@ikelace1 Why, oh why should anything so advanced be so half-assed?

[louforiginator]

@ThePizzahero1

ME TOO!!!!! I am usually #303-306!

[dasgemuse]

could you explain why adding PVC enhances the color? i know it does from making my own fireworks, but never knew chemically why it worked

[Ralphgtx280]

I wouldn't shake the chlorate sugar mix quite so vigorously , chlorate mixes with a low melting point fuel are rather sensitive

[migkillertwo]

mix it with some sulfur, iron oxide, and aluminum powder next time for a big ass flame!

[TheBramptonMan]

For a while there I thought that as you went along from left to right on the periodic table the colour of the light shifted from red to violet but that seems to be wrong as the potassium was indigo. Was it supposed to follow the light spectrum or was this just a demonstration of different coloured flames?

[glenwoofit]

I think you should tell people not to copy that. If people start mixing any sulpher or sulphates or metalic fuels with chlorate their will in some cases be an explosion resulting with a trip to A&E..... Nice Demo though....

[endospores]

I'm sharing this with all highschool chem teachers i know :)

[endospores]

Fluka again? No love for Merck?

[magicicle]

Burning things is always fun =)

[MrQuantumtheory]

brilliant, as always this video is awesome.

[Ilovetheplatypus]

Crazy brits putting extra letters in their words....

[yyflower]

@Ilovetheplatypus I think you're just missing out letters! ;D

[homousios]

I like Welsh it is euphonius

[ThatOneSkinnyGuy]

Amazing! Would this be how fireworks get there color?

[Lleanlleawrg]

I assume this is the basic science behind flares, yes?

[supergsx]

Viewer 306

[witherspoon1995]

As an American I simply cannot stand how you guys spell the word "color." Great video though! haha

[SeveralMartinis]

Turned on closed captioning and it said "I want to put lots of oxygen intimately close to all the bones I want to break inside the children."

[NosirrahKaraneeum]

I am intrigued

[Kestko]

instant global warming?

[AceS4464]

Don't want to be rude, but it seems there is a huge lack of laboratory discipline/ proper conduct. Shaking a mixture of an oxidiser and fuel together in a container by hand seems a bit dangerous/ unprofessional. Great video though.

[dd08880bb]

Brilliant! ^^

[zythepsarian]

it wouldve been funny if it exploded while he was shaking it

[Snazzydog333]

Analytical Chemistry always made me sleepy.

[risbolla]

Pretty colours!

[Tilaron]

I think for political correctness this video should be renamed "African-American Flames".

I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself :x

[uut0]

I remembe when i tried to make a rocket powered by potassium chlorate and sugar, unfortunately it burnt down the rocket and made a lot of smoke >.<

[vusiliyK]

What a pyro

[QwertySkill]

hi pete :)

[wb5rue]

Where's the fun in chemistry if you can't make flames, smoke, pretty colors and, of course, the occasional explosion. BRAVO!

[hendrikwiersma]

Could you make a rocket with this? And where can I buy it? :P

[ErtyDaSwe]

@hendrikwiersma I don't think it would burn long enough or give enough thrust for a rocket, but if you take any of these salts and mix it with black powder, you will roughly get the same colour when it burns.

[shintsu01]

great metals to make firework XD

[bereal666]

A Bavarian Translation: Wennst Kaliumchlorid mit Zucker mischt und mitm Bunsenbrenner ozinst brennts Fliedern, und dabei gibts an haufen Dampf (und Kohlensäure). Wennst a bissl Strontiumnitrat ozint brennts rot. Bariumsalz mit Zucker brennt blau. Kupferchlorid brennt grünblau. Des is was i draus glernt hob

[PoopooSchleuder]

@bereal666 Nich Kohlensäure sondern Kohlenstoffdioxid :)

[leosedf]

Potassium Perchlorate is safer, Chlorates have many incompabilities and they are more dangerous.

Nice vid tho.

[dezziss]

Are these the same metals they use in fireworks?



[heyandy889]

Oh, HELL yes. Fuckin' love this guy. :o)

[10mintwo]

ummmm, is it really good to be combusting that much material OUTSIDE of a hood? The barium especially. Barium and its compounds are highly toxic.

[Kense3]

Pete Licence, licence to put things on fire.

[TheMendipman]

Great fun.  Pete's just like a big kid really isn't he?

[yellowmetalcyborg]

@TheMendipman As a friend of mine once said:

"Girls grow up to be women, guys grow up and become bigger guys."

[LaxSKOOTx21]

Who else had the AP Chemistry exam today???

[1RadicalOne]

Why, why, WHY is this video prefaced with a FIFTEEN-MINUTE ad about how "Liberals are the antiChrist and the book of Revelations proves it"?!?

[jeebersjumpincryst]

@1RadicalOne ha ha....really...?

[1RadicalOne]

Yes.

PS

Wow...I had no idea just how small the internet can effectively be!

[jeebersjumpincryst]

@1RadicalOne ha. yeah, it seems Im following you everywhere, on many vids. I just happened to be checking periodic for newies before going to work, and yr comment popped up. not stalking ya. really. Hey, if yr really sick of the yt ads, try firefox with its adblock add on. I was so frustrated with them i came close to trashing pc a few times, but now the only reminder i get about ads is comments like yrs. wish I'd got it sooner, tbh. I think they have a version for most platforms.

I use a javascript blocker; that has in my experience been much more successful than any ad-blocker (and has the additional security benefits), but since the ads before