If a pan of milk boils over on a gas stove, the flame turns brick red. Why?

Question

Hey guys this is for my chem, so if anyone knows! Thanks! And please no stupid or smart-alike remarks!

Answer 1

Years ago, I recall doing a flame test on various metal ions to see what colors would form.

Here's a brief list of metals and their corresponding flame color:

Metal Ion------------------Flame Color
Lithium Li+---------------Red
Sodium Na+-------------Yellow/Orange
Potassium K+-----------Lilac
Calcium Ca2+ ----------Brick Red
Barium Ba2+ ------------Light Green
Copper Cu2+-------------Blue/Green

In other words, if you were put these metals into a flame (usually in their salt form), the flame would turn that color.

Note that in my list, calcium turns brick red. Milk has calcium! So when milk burns, it's the calcium that's burning causing the color change in the flame.

Hope that helps!