Ask A Scientist© Chemistry Archive

name         Brandon
status       student
age          16
Question -   In the experiment of the flame test of cations, I was
wondering if there is a temperature change when different metals are
expose to the flame.  In other words, do the different colors of flames
have different temperatures?
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No, the colors emitted in flame testing are atomic emissions.  These are
very specific frequencies corresponding to the differences between electron
energies in the atoms.  The light emitted by "black-body" sources at
different temperatures comes in broad frequency distributionswhose maximum
intensity depends on the temperature.

Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D.
Assistant Director
PG Research Foundation, Darien, Illinois
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