Colored Fire is a common pyrotechnic effect used in stage productions, fireworks and by fire performers the world over. Generally, the color of a flame A flame is the visible (light-emitting) gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic reaction (for example, combustion, a self-sustaining oxidation reaction) taking place in a thin zone. If a fire is hot enough to ionize the gaseous components, it can become a plasma may be red, orange, yellow, or white, and is dominated by blackbody radiation Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted from the surface of an object which is due to the object's temperature. An example of thermal radiation is the infrared radiation emitted by a common household radiator or electric heater. A person near a raging bonfire will feel the radiated heat of the fire, even if the surrounding air is from soot Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres, charred wood, petroleum coke, etc. that may become and steam Steam is either mist , or the gas phase of water (water vapor). When additional chemicals are added to the fuel burning, their atomic emission The two states must be bound states in which the electron is bound to the atom, so the transition is sometimes referred to as a "bound–bound" transition, as opposed to a transition in which the electron is ejected out of the atom completely into a continuum state, leaving an ionized atom, and generating continuum radiation spectra can affect the frequencies of visible light radiation emitted - in other words, the flame will appear a different color dependent upon the chemical additives. Flame coloring is also a good way to demonstrate how chemicals change when subjected to heat and how they also change the matter around them.

Pyrotechnicians will generally use metal salts to color their flames. Specific combinations of fuels and co-solvents are required in order to dissolve the necessary chemicals. Color enhancers (usually chlorine donors) are frequently added too, the most common of which is polyvinyl chloride Polyvinyl chloride, (IUPAC Poly) commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups (ethenyls) having one of their hydrogens replaced with a chloride group.

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Flame Colorants

Main article: Pyrotechnic colorant A pyrotechnic colorant is a chemical compound which causes a flame to burn with a particular color. These are used to create the colors in pyrotechnic compositions like fireworks and colored fires. Some common examples are:
Color Chemical Image
Carmine (Dark Red) Lithium chloride Lithium chloride is a chemical compound with the formula Li
Red Strontium chloride Strontium chloride is a salt of strontium and chloride. It is a typical salt, forming neutral aqueous solutions. Like all compounds of Sr, this salt emits a bright red colour in a flame and in fact is used as a source of redness in fireworks. Its chemical properties are intermediate between those for barium chloride, which is more toxic, and
Orange Calcium chloride Calcium chloride, CaCl2, is a salt and the compound of calcium and chlorine. It behaves as a typical ionic halide, and is solid at room temperature. It has several common applications such as brine for refrigeration plants, ice and dust control on roads, and in concrete. The anhydrous salt is also widely used as a desiccant, where it will adsorb
Yellow Sodium chloride Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt, or halite, is an ionic compound with the formula Na (table salt) or Sodium carbonate Sodium Carbonate , Na2CO3, is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. It most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate; and is domestically well known for its everyday use as a water softener. It has a cooling alkaline taste, and can be extracted from the ashes of many plants. It is
Yellowish Green Borax Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water (Sodium Borate)
Green Copper(II) sulfate Copper sulfate is the chemical compound with the formula Cu
Blue Copper(I) chloride Copper chloride, commonly called cuprous chloride, is the lower chloride of copper, with the formula CuCl. This colorless solid is a versatile precursor to other copper compounds, including some of commercial significance. It occurs naturally as the rare mineral nantokite. Unlike other first-row transition metal halides, it forms stable complexes, Butane Butane is a hydrocarbon with the formula C4H10, that is, an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane"
Violet 3 parts Potassium sulfate Potassium sulfate (in British English potassium sulphate, also called sulphate of potash, arcanite, or archaically known as potash of sulfur) is a non-flammable white crystalline salt which is soluble in water. The chemical is commonly used in fertilizers, providing both potassium and sulfur, 1 part Potassium nitrate Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula K (saltpeter)
Purple Potassium chloride The chemical compound potassium chloride is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. In its pure state it is odorless. It has a white or colorless vitreous crystal, with a crystal structure that cleaves easily in three directions. Potassium chloride crystals are face-centered cubic. Potassium chloride is occasionally known as "
White Magnesium sulfate Magnesium sulfate is a chemical compound containing magnesium, sulfur and oxygen, with the formula MgSO4. In its hydrated form, the pH is 6.0 (5.5 to 6.5). It is often encountered as the heptahydrate, MgSO4·7H2O, commonly called Epsom salt. Anhydrous magnesium sulfate is used as a drying agent. Since the anhydrous form is hygroscopic (readily (Epson salts)

Emitted colors depend on the electronic configuration of the elements involved. Heat energy from the flame excites electrons to a higher quantum level, and the atoms emit characteristic colors (photons with energies corresponding to the visible spectrum) as they return to lower energy levels.

Campfire Colorants

Main article: Pyrotechnic composition A pyrotechnic composition is a substance or mixture of substances designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas or smoke or a combination of these, as a result of non-detonative self-sustaining exothermic chemical reactions. Pyrotechnic substances do not rely on oxygen from external sources to sustain the reaction

Flame colorants are becoming popular while camping. Scouts and other outdoor enthusiasts have placed sections of copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable, and a freshly exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color. It is used as a thermal conductor, an electrical conductor, a building material, and a pipe with holes drilled throughout and stuffed with garden hose onto campfires to create a variety of flame colors. An easier and more accepted method of coloring campfires has been fueled by commercial products. These packages of flame colorants are tossed onto a campfire A campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, giving light, warmth and allowing cooking. In established campgrounds they are usually in a fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of camping, particularly among organized campers such as Scouts or Guides. In some regions it is called a bonfire, especially when it is of a very large size or into a fireplace to produce effects.

Although these chemicals are very effective at imparting their color into an already existing flame, these substances are not flammable alone. To produce a powder or solid that, when lit, produces a colored flame, the necessary steps are more complex. To get a powder to burn satisfactorily, both a fuel and oxidizer will probably be needed. Common oxidizers include:

Really there are a few simple rules for deciding which oxidizer to use when:

1. Metal color:

Metals Colors
Potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (Latin: kalium, from Arabic: القَلْيَه‎ al-qalyah "plant ashes" cf. Alkali from the same root, more commonly known in Modern Standard Arabic as بوتاسيوم ‹bwtasywm›), atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash. Elemental Pink/Purple

See also

Notes

External links

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'Colored Fire' News
Kitsap deputies search for suspect who hit toddler in the head with a brick - Port Orchard Independent
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Kitsap deputies search for suspect who hit toddler in the head with a brick - Port Orchard Independent
Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:12:44 GMT+00:00
Port Orchard Independent ... wearing a gray- colored hooded sweatshirt with jeans and was witnessed leaving the scene in a maroon- colored vehicle. South Kitsap Fire and Rescue (SKFR) ...
Google News Search: Colored fire,
Mon Sep 6 21:24:36 2010
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