ltd Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 apparently copper chloride is the one to use for the best blue. what i want to do is soak my wicks (Kevlar) in a liquid version it, let them dry so the copper chloride is then a solid, theoretically a powder, throughout the weave of the wick which can then be lit and burn blue. The wicks are for a fire staff, they are 63mm wide, 200mm long and 4mm thick. So not your average candle wick. Would this work? If so how do I make the copper chloride? or is there another substance that would be more appropriate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 apparently copper chloride is the one to use for the best blue. what i want to do is soak my wicks (Kevlar) in a liquid version it, let them dry so the copper chloride is then a solid, theoretically a powder, throughout the weave of the wick which can then be lit and burn blue. The wicks are for a fire staff, they are 63mm wide, 200mm long and 4mm thick. So not your average candle wick. Would this work? If so how do I make the copper chloride? or is there another substance that would be more appropriate? Other materials in your fire staff will give off a color as well. If that's wood, candle wax or something else that burns distinctly orange, then you will at best get a mixture of blue and orange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza2002 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 The coloured flame you get from using copper is closer to green in my opinion than blue. The normal colour quoted for GCSE students is that it gives a greeny/blue colour. As CaptainPanic has said, impurities in the staff itself will give there own colours off with; bright orange will be the most prominant due to the trace anounts of sodium in the material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 The coloured flame you get from using copper is closer to green in my opinion than blue. The normal colour quoted for GCSE students is that it gives a greeny/blue colour. As CaptainPanic has said, impurities in the staff itself will give there own colours off with; bright orange will be the most prominant due to the trace anounts of sodium in the material. Actually, it's carbon itself that makes red/orange/yellow colors in candles and fire. In many cases, such as the burning of organic matter, for example wood, or the incomplete combustion of gas, incandescent solid particles called soot produce the familiar red-orange glow of 'fire'. This light has a continuous spectrum. (Wikipedia is the source of this quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza2002 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Arr ok then, I always assumed it was due to sodium present that make it that colour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltd Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 The staff itself is made of steel, its the Kevlar wicks that get set on fire. So is there something that would burn a blue blue rather than a green blue? I don't know if its any use, but thanks to Wikipedia, I can tell you Kevlars molecular formula is [-CO-C6H4-CO-NH-C6H4-NH-]n Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 (edited) The staff itself is made of steel, its the Kevlar wicks that get set on fire. So is there something that would burn a blue blue rather than a green blue? I don't know if its any use, but thanks to Wikipedia, I can tell you Kevlars molecular formula is [-CO-C6H4-CO-NH-C6H4-NH-]n Maybe it would be wise to tell us what you want. The shape of the flame. How long it must burn. Why you insist on a kevlar wick. Why blue is the only possible color for you. A regular bunsen burner, when it's oxygen-rich burns blue. Blue fireworks are, as you already mentioned, done with copper components. Fireworks may burn or explode a little too fast for you though. I don't know how clean kevlar will burn (or why you would want to use it)... it may create soot, and therefore be orange/yellow. Edited January 7, 2011 by CaptainPanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltd Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 kevlar dose burn orange/yellow. i want to use it because thats what the wicks on my fire staff are made of. and i chose blue because my favorite color is blue. as for the shape of the flame and how long it must burn, neither of these are priorities at the moment. New train of thought to catch everyone:) Cut all the variables from the picture and tell me hypothetically speaking, how you would go about making regular fire burn blue please and thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Please Google for [candle burning blue flame]... In my search results, the 1st hit sells candles with flames in several colors. The 7th hit gives the explanation. Explanation here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltd Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks a heap!!! that site made it sound so simple. hopefully i can give it a try on my day off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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