Ions are atoms which have given electrons to, or gained
electrons from, atoms of other elements. The ions thus formed have a more stable
electron configuration. When a compound is heated, the ions absorb energy. This changes
their electron configuration and it reaches an excited state. In an effort to return to
the original electron state, which is also called ground state, the ions release the
energy that they have absorbed.
The release of energy is
accompanied by the emission of a photon. Now the color of light is determined by the
wavelength of the photon and the relation between the energy of a photon and its
wavelength is E = c*h/ L where E is the energy, c is the speed of light, h is the
Planck's constant and L is the wavelength.
The energy
absorbed by ions is dependent on the energy level of the ground electron configuration
and the energy levels of the excited states. As this varies for different metallic ions,
so does the color that is emitted by them when they are heated.
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