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DW (English)
  • 1/4/2024
The color of smoke depends on what’s burning, and how it’s being burned. Smoke can be black, white, or grey – and chemicals can even make it colorful. This week’s viewer question comes from Harfiz Abu B. from Ghana.

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Transcript
00:00 What color is smoke?
00:05 Smoke is made up of water vapor, various gases, and tiny soot particles.
00:10 It's usually formed when solids or gases are burned.
00:15 Throughout human history, smoke has been put to a variety of uses.
00:19 We use it to preserve foods, to help calm bees, and during rituals and religious events.
00:28 The color of smoke depends on a number of different factors.
00:35 Most importantly, the substance that was burned and how it was burned.
00:40 Wood, for example, can produce smoke in various colors.
00:44 When it's wet, the smoke is thick and white.
00:48 Dry wood smoke is almost transparent.
00:51 In areas low in oxygen, the smoke can be dark gray or almost black.
00:57 Burning substances that contain a lot of carbon usually releases dark or even black clouds of smoke,
01:04 like when coal, crude oil, or plastics are burned.
01:10 The dark color indicates that the substance didn't fully combust,
01:14 and the smoke contains a lot of soot particles.
01:24 Various chemicals can be added to substances to make colored smoke.
01:29 Red smoke, for example, is used in signals, which can help raise an alarm over large distances.
01:38 So smoke isn't just smoke, and firefighters can often tell what kind of fire they're headed towards, even from a distance.
01:47 Orange-brown smoke can indicate hydrochloric acid or nitrogen, while yellow smoke can indicate sulfur.
01:54 (dramatic music)

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