Colored fire - Wikipedia Colored fire 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 may be red, orange, blue, yellow, or white, and is dominated by blackbody radiation from soot and steam. When additional chemicals are added to the fuel burning, their atomic emission spectra can affect the frequencies of visible light radiation emitted - in other words, the flame appears in a different color dependent upon the chemical additives. Flame coloring is also a good way to demonstrate how fire changes when subjected to heat and how they also change the matter around them. To color their flames, Pyrotechnicians will generally use metal salts. 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. A practical use of colored fire is the flame test, where metal cations are tested by placing the sample in a flame and analyzing the color produced. Flame colorants Main article : Pyrotechnic colorant Color Chemical Image Carmine ( dark red ) Lithium chloride Red Strontium chloride or strontium nitrate Orange Calcium chloride Yellow Barium chloride Light Orange Sodium chloride ( table salt ) or ( street lights ) Apple green Borax ( sodium borate ) Green Copper ( II ) sulfate, boric acid Blue Copper ( I ) chloride, butane Violet 3 parts potassium sulfate, 1 part potassium nitrate ( saltpeter ) Peach ( light pink ) Potassium chloride 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 Flame colorants are becoming popular while camping. Scouts and other outdoor `` enthusiasts '' have placed sections of copper pipe with holes drilled throughout and stuffed with garden hose onto campfires to create a variety of flame colors. An easier method of coloring campfires has been fueled by commercial products. These packages of flame colorants are tossed onto a campfire 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 mostly be needed. Common oxidizers include. Ammonium perchlorate Ammonium nitrate Barium chlorate Guanine nitrate Potassium nitrate ( saltpeter ) Potassium chlorate Potassium perchlorate Strontium nitrate Sodium nitrate Many of these oxidizers also produce a colored flame by themselves. Some of them - as well as the main colorants - are severely toxic and therefore environmentally damaging. References Jump up ^ http://voyager.egglescliffe.org.uk/physics/astronomy/blackbody/bbody.html Jump up ^ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/absorption.html Jump up ^ `` flame tests ''. www.chemguide.co.uk. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 02. Jump up ^ `` Pyrotechnic Chemicals - Chlorine Donors ''. www.skylighter.com. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 02. Jump up ^ http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/flame.html. Jump up ^ `` Colored Fire Flames ''. www.campfiredude.com. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 02. This chemistry - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colored_fire&oldid=810311832 '' Categories : Pyrotechnics Chemistry stubs Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2017 All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 14 November 2017, at 14 : 06. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what color is potassium chloride in a flame test
Answer: Peach (light pink)