Ongoing discussion for students in Chemistry III

Please abide by the following when posting to this blog:
1) no profanity & no attacking another's perspectives
2) for each claim or idea that you put forth, justify your idea with at least two SOLID pieces of evidence & coherent reasoning (more evidence presents a stronger argument)
3) feel free to disagree and/or agree with each other, however know that you need to justify why you feel or think the way you do
4) any questionable content will not be posted
5) feel free to add topic-specific or claim-specific links, URLs, and images in your posts

Monday, September 12, 2011

The Chemistry of Fireworks


It is the bright and vibrant colors in the sky that draw crowds of people to watch firework spectacles. As people stare up at the sky in awe, they may wonder how exactly the fireworks are made. Thanks to incandescence and luminescence, people will be able to enjoy fireworks and their bright colors for many years to come.
Incandescence is light produced from heat. Causing the substance to become hotter, heat emits red, then orange, yellow, and eventually white light as the firework becomes increasingly hotter.
By controlling the temperature of a firework, the glowing components can be manipulated to emit different colors. Metals likes aluminum, magnesium, and titanium are used to increase the temperature of a firework, and thus, emit a bright color.
Luminescence is light that is produced using energy sources other than heat. Luminescence is produced when energy is absorbed by an electron of an atom or molecule; when the electron returns to a lower energy level, it releases the energy in the form of light. The energy of the light particle determines its wavelength and color. The more energy a photon, or light particle, has, the shorter the wavelength and darker the light is on the light spectrum.
Certain molecules emit light that is visible; these molecules are used to produce the colors that we see in fireworks. Some molecules emit light that cannot be seen so they must be combined with another element to stabilize. Barium is an example of an element that must be combined with chlorinated rubber, because it is unstable at room temperature.

1 comment:

M-Tat said...

Similar to Schuyler, you cover the basica of pyrotechnics, yet leave us--the audience--wondering 'what's the connection to thermochemistry?' By _defining_ thermochemistry, a relationship may be established, and through that an understanding.