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Color Compound Wavelength (NM) White-Hot Metal E.G. MG or Al Barium Oxide

The document discusses compounds used to produce different colored fireworks and how they generate color. Metals salts such as calcium chloride, sodium nitrate, lithium carbonate, and strontium carbonate are used to produce colors like red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple when heated. The atoms in these compounds absorb energy and release it as light of specific wavelengths and colors as electrons move between energy states. Higher energy transitions produce shorter wavelength blue/violet light, while lower energies produce longer wavelength orange/red light.

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Conant Teo
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41 views

Color Compound Wavelength (NM) White-Hot Metal E.G. MG or Al Barium Oxide

The document discusses compounds used to produce different colored fireworks and how they generate color. Metals salts such as calcium chloride, sodium nitrate, lithium carbonate, and strontium carbonate are used to produce colors like red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple when heated. The atoms in these compounds absorb energy and release it as light of specific wavelengths and colors as electrons move between energy states. Higher energy transitions produce shorter wavelength blue/violet light, while lower energies produce longer wavelength orange/red light.

Uploaded by

Conant Teo
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Color

Compound

Wavelength (nm)

White-hot Electric metal E.g. Mg white or Al Barium oxide red strontium salts, lithium salts lithium carbonate, Li2CO3 = red strontium carbonate, SrCO3 = bright red calcium salts calcium chloride, CaCl2
calcium

652

orange

628

sulfate, CaSO4xH2O, where x = 0,2,3,5

Gold

Incandescence of iron (with carbon), charcoal or lampblack sodium salts sodium chloride, NaCl cryolite, Na3AlF6 barium compounds + chlorine producer barium chloride, BaCl2 copper compounds + chlorine producer
copper acetoarsenite (Paris Green), Cu3As2O3Cu(C2H3O2)2

yellow

610621

green

589

blue

505535

copper(I) chloride, CuCl purple mixture of strontium (red) and copper (blue) compounds 420460

silver

burning aluminum, titanium, or magnesium powder

Fireworks
Fireworks generate three very noticeable forms of energy: a tremendous release of sound, bright light, and heat. The colours are produced by heating metal salts, such as calcium chloride or sodium nitrate, which emit characteristic colours. The atoms of each element absorb energy and release it as light of specific colours. The energy absorbed by an atom rearranges its electrons from their lowestenergy state, called the ground state, up to a higher-energy state, called an excited state. The excess energy of the excited state is emitted as light, as the electrons descend to lower-energy states, and ultimately, the ground state. The amount of energy emitted is characteristic of the element, and the amount of energy determines the colour of the light emitted.

What do you think are some of compounds used to produce the different coloured fireworks?
The amount of energy released, which varies from element to element, is characterized by a particular wavelength of light. Higher energies correspond to shorter wavelength light, whose characteristic colors are located in the violet/blue region of the visible spectrum. Lower energies correspond to longer wavelength light, at the orange/red end of the spectrum.

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