Do NOT burn yourselves !!!!!!

The BUNSEN BURNER .... was invented by

Robert Wilhelm BUNSEN in 1855

In the 1840’s an explosion

in his laboratory cost him
the use of an eye.
What should he have worn?

Safety glasses!!!
 The parts of the Bunsen burner

barrel (or chimney)

collar air hole

jet
base
gas inlet
The Bunsen burner diagram

barrel (or chimney)

collar
air hole
jet
gas inlet
base

It is unusual to show a Bunsen burner as a photograph

instead it can be shown as a diagram
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elIMctwybt4
Lighting the Bunsen
• put on safety goggles
• put Bunsen on a MAT and connect gas
• turn collar and close the hole fully
• strike match away from you
• turn on the gas
• light gas with match or lit wooden spill
• dispose of match or wooden spill safely

This is known as a LUMINOUS or

SAFETY flame
What the collar does
Turning the collar changes the size of the hole
A CLOSED HOLE produces a LUMINOUS flame
A FULLY OPEN HOLE produces a
ROARING flame
 The Luminous (or safety) flame
Investigate the luminous flame by placing a piece
of white pottery into it

The white pottery goes black

It becomes coated with SOOT

or CARBON
The roaring flame
Investigate the roaring flame by placing
the sooty piece of white pottery into it

The black pottery goes WHITE

The soot has been burned off

The roaring flame is CLEAN
More about the roaring flame

The roaring flame has

three areas
Area 3
Area 1
The BLUE CONE
Area 2
Area 2
The tip of the BLUE CONE
Area 3
Area 1 The TOP of the flame
Investigating the roaring flame

Take a piece of wire

If it gets very hot it glows
ORANGE
start from the top,
move it down the roaring flame
Look at the colour of the wire
Where does it glow?
In the flame
When does it stop glowing?
Outside the flame and in the
BLUE CONE
When does glowing the most?
At the tip of the blue cone
Why is the blue cone cooler?
More evidence for the ‘coolness’
Suspend an unburnt match on the
chimney, where the cone will appear
Light the flame and set on roaring
Does the match light? NO
Raise the match
Does the match light now? YES
Why is the blue cone cooler?
It contains UNBURNT gas
 Summary
Light the bunsen with the HOLE closed
This produces the luminous flame
The Bunsen should be left on this flame
between experiments
Do NOT use the luminous flame
for experiments - it is DIRTY
Use the ROARING flame
for experiments -
it is CLEANER and HOTTER