Cobalt

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope that you all are enjoying the day today and that the weather is as bright and sunny as it is in Ann Arbor! The 4th of July is great for barbeques and enjoying the outdoors, but it is best known for fireworks. And fireworks are CHEMISTRY (with a little bit of Physics)! Here are some elements that are found in fireworks:

Antimony: glitter effects
Barium: green fireworks
Calcium: orange fireworks
Carbon: propellent
Copper: blue sparks
Lithium: red sparks
Magnesium: white  sparks
Oxygen: needed for the firework to burn
Sodium: yellow or gold sparks
Sulfur: propellent/fuel
Strontium: red sparks, stabilize fireworks
Titanium: silver sparks
Zinc: smoke effects
 

Fun Fact: Cobalt was named after the German word kobold meaning "goblin ore."