Slightly-Mad Science Colorful and Fiery Chemistry

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Using a number of metallic salts and other chemical substances, one can create fire of various colors. In this demonstration I use Boric Acid, Copper Chloride, Potassium Iodide, and Strontium Chloride. All video shot at 300 frames per second.
By giving the electrons in the elements heat energy using fire, the electrons go to a higher energy level. In order to return to their original orbital state, they release this excess energy as photons. The wavelength of these photons determine the colors you see in the flames in the video.

This video is not intended as educational, but not for reproduction. Many safety measures are taken that are not detailed here, nor were the many small scale tests run to ensure safety. Please do not try this at home.

If you have a chemistry instructor handy, they may be willing to demonstrate this concept in the lab or at least provide more detail than provided here - so don't be afraid to ask!

Music used is "Movement Proposition" created by Kevin MacLeod of incompetech.com. Licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0".

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• burning
• metal
• salt
• flame
• fireball
• chemistry
• fire
• science
• demonstration
• boron
• copper
• strontium
• potassium
• iodide
• chloride
• high
• speed
• color
• colored
• demo
• dangerous
• change
• slow motion

[snemeis90]

Now make an RGB Fire display.

Btw: Do you have the question in german too? Because I can't actually understand it.

[TaoOfPooh26]

@snemeis90 Sorry, I don't speak German. Here is the full text in English, which might help (or Google Translate may assist)

1. This is scaled up version of what sort of "test" that you might perform in a school chemistry lab?

2. And secondly, determining the elemental properties of something based off the colors they emit when burning or otherwise getting off electromagnetic energy is what kind of "analysis"?

[snemeis90]

@TaoOfPooh26 Thank you very much. The text helped me to understand it.

1. It's a scaled up version of taking a small amount of the chemicals you want to use on a wooden stick or something similar and holding it into a flame of a bunsenburner. You can see differently colored flames then.

2. The type of analysis is called "Spectroscopy" (says Wikipedia).

And what I also want to say: Very nice video.

[TaoOfPooh26]

@snemeis90 And for future use, I added english subtitles to the video, so people should be able to use Google Translate while the video is still playing (I think).

Yes, those are both correct. #1 is usually called a "Flame Test" (in the USA), and #2 is Spectral Analysis, but Spectroscopy is close enough.

[thewii552]

Yay for a new video! have been subscribed, but this is the first video of yours that I have seen. Thanks!

[TaoOfPooh26]

@thewii552 Thanks for the sub - feel free to watch some more! :)

[iPhoneSk8er8000]

Thumbs up great video.

[iamantony1]

This is relevant to my interests.

[SnowWalkerPrime]

That was cool!

[VBEducation1]

awesome!

[Alexiandro0]

Stront.... Hahaaaa

[tfkisawesome]

Cool. :)

[cheerdiver]

Very cool!!

[MikePSPiPod]

Awesome!

[snemeis90]

@TaoOfPooh26 Thanks *wiiii*