Emission Spectroscopy of Sparklers. Lab experiments using a solid-state computerized spectrometer that introduce students to analytical emission spectroscopy are described in the article "Emission Spectroscopy in the Undergraduate Laboratory" by Scott R. Goode and Lori A. Metz. In one of the experiments, molecular band emission is studied by obtaining the spectra of red, green, blue, and gold sparklers, which show both atomic lines and molecular bands. Bands arising from salts of barium, copper, strontium, and sodium are responsible for the green, blue, red, and yellow colors seen in commercially available sparklers. The flames shown in the background were generated from solutions of BaCl2, CuCl2, SrCl2, and NaCl.
Sparkler image is courtesy of the Scott R. Goode and Lori A. Metz.
Flame images are courtesy of Jim Maynard and Jerry Jacobsen of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
The cover was designed by Betsy True.
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