Weather Tidbits: Ingredients Behind Firework Colors

We’ll be discussing the ingredients behind the colors of fireworks in this edition of Weather Tidbits. The colors you see in fireworks are all driven by chemistry! Each color is created by different compounds and elements within the fireworks. Depending on what that element or compound is, it will give you that specific color. Red fireworks are created by the element strontium. Orange is created by calcium. Yellow is created by sodium. Green is created by barium, and blue is created by copper. Purple is created by and found involving the two elements, copper and strontium. Finally, gray fireworks are a mixture of magnesium and aluminum, while white fireworks are a mixture of the three elements magnesium, aluminum, and titanium.