Is Blue Fire Hotter than Red Fire

It has been asked some time or the other is blue fire hotter than red fire.

I know when we think of fire we think of those red flames dancing around.

Seldom do we really think of blue flames.

So let’s investigate what is fact and fiction.

Is Blue Fire Hotter than Red Fire, we Investigate

Ok…

I think we have a real mystery here…

Well, it is to us anyway…

So let’s find out the truth and who it was all discovered.

How Hot is Red Fire

It is fascinating to find out that red fires burn below 800 degrees Celsius usually.

Now you would think that red fire is the hottest, as this is the way we have been bought up to believe right?

This is why you may be shocked to find out that the red fire is known as the coolest of all fires in the colour spectrum.

I know…

Weird isn’t it?

Despite being one of the cooler fires, as they say, those red-light fires can still easily burn through zinc, glass, and many materials.

So Why is Blue Flame Hotter

That’s a good question as we consider blue as a cooling colour…

Apparently, as you move from left to right in the colour spectrum, there is a rise in the wavelengths and a decrease in the frequencies for a given flame’s region.

Now we are getting a bit complicated well…

At least we are finding out why blue fire is hotter than red fire right?

In the VIBGYOR colour spectrum, violet, indigo, and blue colours come first, which is apparently why its frequency is very high and wavelength is quite low.

And with the rise in the frequency…

There is higher energy found in the photons of blue flames.

This is mainly why those blue flames appear hotter.

Getting on the technical side again: blue fires contain higher oxygen content, so they tend to be on the hotter side of the spectrum.

We know that water is boiled when it is hot.

It is actually the rubbing together and frequency of this that makes the water come to a boiling point.

So I hope that this extra explanation helps you to understand why blue fire is hotter than red fire.

It has a lot to do with frequency…

Gases burn hotter than organic materials as we know, blue flame tends to be on the higher temperature side as well.

In the colour spectrum itself, the closer a coloured section is to white, the hotter that section of the flame is.

So…

Blue flames are closer to white, which is why blue flame tends to be hotter than red flame as the red flame is not as close to white.

How Hot is Blue Flame

Now that’s a good question…

Apparently, blue fires are hotter than almost all other fires in the colour spectrum apart from:

• violet
• indigo
• white

The hotter blue fire has got quite a very high temperature indeed. You would be looking at 1400-1650 degrees Celsius, which is a lot higher than the red fire colour.

Another interesting thing is that a red fire’s temperature cannot exceed 800 degrees Celsius.

Now that is interesting.

So, as you can see…

That the red fire it is relatively cooler in temperature than the blue fires.

We all know the term: flames and fire are often referred to the term as a red hot fire.

We have all used this comparison to fire.

If you have ever cooked on one of those gas stoves or ever built a campfire before, you might have just noticed that not all fire is actually red.

If you have never thought of this before…

As we know now that fire turns blue when it becomes hotter.

A fire comes into existence when a burnable fuel source and fire combine with oxygen and is exposed to enough heat it ignites.

Apparently, those blue flames contain the most oxygen, and also gases, such as oxygen, which burn at hotter temperatures than other fuels, such as wood itself. 

I bet when you asked this question: is blue fire hotter than red fire, I bet you never thought it would be so interesting.

Complex but interesting.