What Are the Colors of a Fire & How Hot Are They?

Red Fire

• Red fire is the coolest fire. Fire burns red when it is anywhere between 525 degrees Celsius and 1,000 degrees Celsius. The color can range from a dull and dark red to a bright cherry red. The hotter the fire gets, the brighter the color red will become, until it moves on to the next stage -- the color orange. Examples of the red fire are the smoldering end of a cigarette, fireworks and the early stage of getting a campfire to work.

Orange Fire

• Fire starts to become orange at a temperature of 1,100 degrees Celsius and stops being orange when the temperature reaches more than 1,200 degrees Celsius. Examples for orange fire can be found in many places: the flame of a candle and an average campfire both have mainly orange flames. Once the fire gets hotter, you will get a very bright and almost white flame.

White Fire

• The hottest fire appears as a white flame. You get temperatures ranging from 1,300 degrees Celsius to 1,500 degrees Celsius. An example of this will be familiar to you from school; the Bunsen burner often used in chemistry lessons burns at a temperature of anywhere between 1,300 degrees Celsius and 1,600 degrees Celsius.

Artificial Colors

• You can also alter the color of fire by adding different materials to it. Examples of this are the many colors you see in fireworks. You can create a blue fire with copper chloride. Another example is a purple fire that you can create with potassium chloride. If you cannot get a fire to the necessary temperature to turn it white, you could change its color by adding magnesium sulfate.