JANUARY. 1955
THE LECTURE DEMONSTRATION OF ATOMIC SPECTRA WESLEY W. WENDLANDT Texas Technological College, Lubbock, Texas
THEREare numerous methods for demonstrating the spectra of many of the elements. Alyea' suggests that the salts of the elements be placed in salt shakers and shaken into an open flame. A more cumbersome method is that given by Frey,= which consists of an atomizer arrangement. A novel and dramatic method for the illustration of this effect was found by the use of so-called "safety I ALYEA,H. N., "Student Workbook for Lecture Demonstrations in General Chemistry," privately published, Princeton, N. J , 1950, chap. 20. FRBY,P. R.,"College Chemistry," Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York, 1954, p. 53.
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fusee^,"^ such as are used by the railroads and highway departments. These fusees can be obtained with red (strontium), green (barium), or yellow (sodium) colored flames and burn with an intense illumination. It was found convenient for lecture demonstration purposes to cut off a. one- to two-inch section, place it in a small sand bath, and ignite it with a Bunsen burner. A section of this length will burn from one to two minutes. The use of this readily available material avoids the necessity and mess of making synthetic mixtures that attempt to sho~vthe same effect. Made by the Central Safety Signal Company, Peru, Ind.
