Colored fire

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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 red, orange, 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 will appear a different colour dependent upon the chemical additives.

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. Colour enhancers are frequently added too, the most common of which is polyvinyl chloride.


Flame Colorants

  • Color - Chemical
  • Carmine - Lithium Chloride
  • Red - Strontium Chloride
  • Orange - Calcium Chloride (a bleaching powder)
  • Yellow - Sodium Chloride (table salt) or Sodium Carbonate
  • Yellowish Green - Borax
  • Green - Copper Sulfate
  • Blue - Copper Chloride
  • Violet - 3 parts Potassium Sulfate, 1 part Potassium Nitrate (saltpeter)
  • Purple - Potassium Chloride
  • White - Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom salts)


Campfire Colorants

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 and more accepted method of coloring campfires has been fueled by products such as Campfire FX, Sexy Fire, and Rainbow Flame Crystals. These packages of flame colorants are tossed onto a campfire or into a fireplace for mesmerizing effects.

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