Purple Fire - Easy Instructions for Colored Flames

You can make purple fire yourself using common ingredients. Keep in mind purple is a tricky fire color to produce because there is no wavelength of light that is responsible for a color between red and violet, yet fire colors mostly are produced by the emission spectra of chemicals. In order to get purple, you need to produce violet flame and red flame. Purple Fire Ingredients You can burn the salts that produce the colors in any fire, but youll get the best results if you use a blue flame, like the type produced by lighter fluid or alcohol. Lighter fluid, alcohol or alcohol-based hand sanitizerLite salt (potassium chloride)Red emergency flare (contains strontium nitrate) Get Strontium From the Flare The emergency flare is a long cardboard tube with a striker at one end. Leave the striker end alone and use your fingers to peel away the bottom of the cardboard to reveal the powdery substance inside the flare. Collect this material in a bowl or plastic baggie. You only need a little, so store the rest for later. You can throw away the cardboard and striker (or save them for another project). Making the Purple Fire All you need to do is sprinkle some of the contents of the flare and some lite salt onto a fireproof surface, add the fuel and ignite the mixture. The proportions of the chemicals are a matter of personal preference. Add more lite salt if you want a more violet flame. If you want a reddish or pink flame, use a larger amount of flare content. Tips and Cautions Its fire, so treat it with respect. Further, be advised the flare contents will burn very brightly if you light them on their own. The best fuel for this project is diluted alcohol where water can moderate the rate of combustion. The flame in the picture uses an ethanol-based hand sanitizer. The project also works well with Ronsonol lighter fluid or with rubbing alcohol. However, lighting the mixture without the liquid fuel will give you just a bright red flame from the flare.