Fireworks and Sun example

[Samin Kabir]

So in the beginning of the professor's lecture he talk about some examples of how excited electrons can emit light using the fireworks and the sun example. When he was talking about how they display a specific color (like green, red, orange, etc), I got a bit confused. How do they get the color they have, is it because of the position of the electron?

[Victor Li 2A]

In essence, the specific colors of a firework depend on the type of element (usually metals) used. Different elements emit different colors of light. When a firework explodes, the heat excites the electrons of the metal atoms in the firework and the electrons move up energy levels as they absorb the energy. Eventually, the electrons will lose energy and move to low-energy levels. As they move down, they emit the light you see in a firework explosion.

[Jaden Haskins 2E]

This also can be demonstrated by an experiment that's been done in some high school chem classes. When certain metals (sodium, strontium, copper) are put into fire, the flame will turn a different color depending on the metal due to the electron jumping to a higher energy level then falling back down. The color of the light correlates to the location of electrons in the atom of the element and affinity of valence (outer) electrons to the nucleus!

[Samin Kabir]

Thanks this means a lot!