Flame Test Simulator

Flame Test

Preliminary Test for Basic Radicals (Cations) via Atomic Emission Spectra.

1. Setup Experiment

Select Unknown Salt

Sodium Chloride (Na⁺) Potassium Chloride (K⁺) Calcium Chloride (Ca²⁺) Strontium Chloride (Sr²⁺) Barium Chloride (Ba²⁺) Copper(II) Chloride (Cu²⁺)

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2. Observation

Flame Color Non-Luminous Blue

Status: Standby.
A clean Platinum or Nichrome wire loop will be dipped into concentrated HCl and the solid salt to create a volatile metal chloride.

3. Chemical Principles

Volatilization: Conc. HCl converts the salt into metallic chlorides, which are highly volatile and easily vaporize in the flame.

Atomic Emission: Heat energy from the flame excites the valence electrons of the metal cation to higher energy levels.

When these unstable electrons fall back to their ground state, they emit excess energy as photons of visible light at characteristic wavelengths ($E = hc/\lambda$).

Visual Key

Solid Salt on Watch Glass

Platinum/Nichrome Wire Loop

Base Non-Luminous Flame

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