Science Lab

Welcome to the

Each year, $1 billion is spent on Fireworks in the United States.

Hottest recorded temperature in U.S. history:

134 °F – Death Valley, California

July 10, 1913

Cayenne

30,000 – 50,000

Chipotle

5,000 – 10,000

Bell

0

Bhut Jolokia

“ghost pepper”

1,000,000+

Jalapeno

2500 – 8000

A Different Kind of Heat

Scotch Bonnet

100,000 – 250,000

Habanero

250,000 – 350,000

The “Scoville Scale” measures the hotness of peppers.

The surface of the sun

is roughly 10,000°F.

At the core, temperatures

can reach over

25,000,000°F.

Comparing Scales

Kelvin

Celsius

Fahrenheit

Absolute Zero 0

- 273 - 459

     

Freezing (water) 273 0 32

     

Body Temperatur

e 310 37 98

     

Boiling (water) 373 100 212

Hottest recorded temperature on Earth:

136 °F – El Azizia, Libya

September 13, 1922

Created by friction, the ignition temperature for a match is around 360°F.

Once burning, the initial burst of heat can reach 1100°F.

Color Chemical Compound

Red strontium, lithium

Orange calcium chloride and sulfate

Gold incandescence of iron, charcoal

White magnesium, aluminum

Green barium and chlorine

Blue copper and chlorine

Purple strontium and copper

Silver aluminum, titanium, magnesium

How do they make different colored fireworks?

By using different powdered elements in the shell. Here are just a few of the elements and the colors they produce.

Welcome to the

Science Lab

Next month in the Science Lab…

…MUSIC

Peppers have a chemical called capsaicin - this is what makes them hot.

Because of the effect it has, capsaicin can be used to treat arthritis, headaches, and neuropathy.

Peppers can also be used as a deterrent against insects, squirrels, and elephants.

Of course, there is always pepper spray to fend of an attacker or a bear.

Every 4th of July, there are an average of 14,000 public fireworks displays.

The Inner Core of the earth, made up mostly of iron-nickel alloy and more than 2,000 miles under our feet, is estimated to be just as hot as the surface of the sun – 10,000°F.

Lava, or molten rock, flows from beneath the Earth’s surface and reaches temperatures between 1300 and 2200°F