Coloured flames help

what about other colors than green?

Do a search or look in the FAQ.

It's all been said before...

(Moderators will be recieving an itemized bill on Jan 1 with summation of charges for my 2001 "moderators owe me a nickel" charges. Please make check out to "NYC: Jamaca vacation fund." Prompt payment is appreciated.)

I owe you a chicken.

Standard pyrotechnics don't work for what we do. However, you can adjust things to get colored flames with white gas. Try making a 3:1 mix of white gas and freshly squeezed orange juice. You'll get a blue/red flame.

I'm still working on other products. Remember, this is alchemy, not chemistry.

While your at it could a please have a small philosifers stone

what's wrong with orange flames?

Can I have a chicken Cantus?
Or indeed a normal Cantus....

What would you want a Cantus for?

I can't imagine anyone wanting one

you know how when you fold an orange peeel so it's the orange side out stuff spays out of it that makes your eyes sting? try holding a lighter up to the spray. especially when it's dark!

Boric Acid in Methylated Spirits works fine. You have to keep the spin speed down a little as it is weaker than Sol T etc.. try using shorter staffs or poi for it.
http://www.geocities.com/firepoi/index_css.html advises Pottasium Chlorate is a possibility for purple flames. Dont waste your money, i have and it dsoesn't work. Have tried it with Meth and Sol T, No luck. Any advice on other fuel bases to try it with now that i have 25kg of it?
Would be much interested in the results of the Pottasium Permagate.

Potassium Permangenate works for purple but even better is Potassium Nitrate (which is a bit harder to get a hold of). It produces a much brighter purple.

where do you get potasum nitrate?

My friends work at the chemisty labs for one of the universities here. Not sure if they sell it retail in stores or not. Sorry. NYC would probably know the answer to that one though.

Sorry dude, I've said it a few times before. My suppliers only sell to schools, they get tax breaks and stuff. Search the internet to find a chemical supplier that will sell to you. That'd be my best advise...

Retryed the Oran juice idea and it didn't work. We're working on decellerants now...

Right, well after reading this all..
Potassium Nitrate is an oxidizer. You can get it at you local store in the pharmacy, it's often sold under the name saltpetre. I often used to make smoke bombs out of the stuff... This stuff is a POWERFUL oxidizer (also has some undesirable side effects men, so don't eat it.. if you know what i mean ;P )

But, when mixed with a fuel (I would use sugar for the smoke bombs in a 3:1 ratio) it burns with a bright purple blue flame that's kinda smattered with orange bits (looks neat) that's very hard to put out. You can also make a super saturated solution and soak cotton string in it to make slow burning wicks.

The only drawback i can forsee in using it for firespinning is this, it burns VERY hot.. like i said strong oxidizer.

Although not as powerful an oxidizer as Potassium Perchlorate (never used that outside a lab myself...), it is also much safer, being much less sensitive to static charge and friction. Can spontaneously ignite if a mixture containing it and Aluminum powder becomes wet (known as the "Aluminum/Nitrate Reaction").

Be careful playing with the stuff.

-orin

PS: do NOT under ANY circumstances use a potassium nitrate mixture in any way that it could come under pressure... simply put.. oxidizer + fire + pressure = BIG boom.

PPS: in case you don't know what an oxidizer is... Oxidizers are chemicals that release oxygen when they are heated, or during the burning process. Generally, they are not flammable themselves, but when mixed with a fuel (such as Sulfur or Aluminum, for example), they promote rapid & vigorous burning when ignited

Play with fire, but play safe.

[This message has been edited by Orin (edited 15 December 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Orin (edited 15 December 2001).]

what would be a good fuel base for that? petrols, or meths?

cause i got the saltpeter... i just dont want to waste it.

[This message has been edited by phuzzz (edited 15 December 2001).]

Phuzz: Potassium Nitrate is virtually insoluble in methanol.
As for petrol (gasoline I'm assuming) I'm not positive.. never tried...

Don't mix with diesel... again.. boom.. :\

I know that it's extremely soluble in water however, so lacing ones wicks (I'd do a test with towel wicks first) may work.

Also.. you said you didn't want to waste your supply... well I wouldn't worry about that, it's relatively easy to obtain..

You can usually get three kinds.. Chemical Grade, Fertilizer and Stump Remover.. most people can't get the Chemical grade.. which is essentially the same as medical saltpetre.

Fertilizer grade, typically consisting of 98-99% potassium nitrate. Sold as inexpensive 14-0-45 fertilizer. Used to increase nitrate levels in soils...

Stump-remover.
Sometimes you can find KN03 in products used to accelerate the decomposition of tree stumps. The amount of potassium nitrate present in this product will vary from brand to brand... but i really suggest against using this... due to additives the companies may add.. pesticides/herbicides.. poisions and other icky stuff :\

-Orin

I tried pure potassium sulfate with towel wicks and denatured alcohol. It changed the color of my flame to an orangish-pinkish tone. Most people said it looked a lot like a toasted marsh mellow! No purple though very disappointing! I am about to try table salt NaCl.....does anyone know if this will work (other than theoretically) for bright yellow?

Love ,
Laura (aka hairsmythe)

BTW My towel wicks which I made with home depot terry towels and the instructions found on this site worked fabulously....I have to say the flame was bigger and brighter (however toasted marsh mellow) than all of my friends kevlar wicks. Held together really well and I think the life was prolonged because I snuffed them out with a wet towel!

I tried pure potassium sulfate with towel wicks and denatured alcohol. It changed the color of my flame to an orangish-pinkish tone. Most people said it looked a lot like a toasted marsh mellow! No purple though very disappointing! I am about to try table salt NaCl.....does anyone know if this will work (other than theoretically) for bright yellow?

Love ,
Laura (aka hairsmythe)

BTW My towel wicks which I made with home depot terry towels and the instructions found on this site worked fabulously....I have to say the flame was bigger and brighter (however toasted marsh mellow) than all of my friends kevlar wicks. Held together really well and I think the life was prolonged because I snuffed them out with a wet towel!

Morning all,
Lithium Chloride does a nice burgandy colour but it's a little hard to get hold of - it's an anti-depressant. Cupric chloride does a nice strong green. I usually make saturated solutions in methylated spirits with both of these to soak my wicks in. The bonus is that after they're dry, I can use kero and still get the colour. The colour lasts about 15 hours (no idea how many burns).
Potassium nitrate is soluble in water. I'd suggest making up the solution, soaking your wicks and letting them dry. The wick should absorb the salt making it possible to use your fuel of choice when you light up.