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Which colour is the hottest flame? The question came up in Google’s ad campaign for Googlies. By gamifying trivia queries, the search engine made people look up similar curiosities. Each Googly riddled users with a question that seemed easy at first, only to reveal a surprising explanation.
Is the Hottest Flame Red, Blue or Yellow in Colour?
Is the Hottest Flame Red, Blue or Yellow in Colour?
Which colour is the hottest flame?
The question came up in Google’s ad campaign for Googlies. By gamifying trivia queries, the search engine made people look up similar curiosities. Each Googly riddled users with a question that seemed easy at first, only to reveal a surprising explanation.
It's blue
As for the hottest flame, it burns blue. The colour is indicative of complete combustion, which occurs when there’s enough oxygen to allow clean burning and the release of the most energy.
What Google said
‘In a Bunsen burner, the blue zone is the hottest part of the flame,' read the Googly's answer. ‘In a candle, the inner core is the hottest part and is light blue in colour.’
Other colours
The colour of a flame is directly related to its temperature, among other things. The next hottest flames after blue are yellow, orange and red, in that order.
Factors that decide colour
The type of fuel used, the amount of oxygen available, and the completeness of the combustion process, all determine the colour of a flame.