Spectrum observed on heated vessel

AI Thread Summary
The observed band of colors on the burnt bowl of soup is due to a phenomenon called iridescence, resulting from thin film interference. This occurs when light reflects off a thin layer of material, such as a corrosion layer, leading to constructive and destructive interference of different wavelengths. The presence of colors like blue, violet, yellow, and orange indicates varying thicknesses of the film. The reason this effect didn't occur with a low-intensity flame is that higher temperatures increase the oxidation rate, leading to a more pronounced thin film effect. Understanding this process highlights the interplay between temperature, material properties, and light behavior.
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Today i was heating a bowl of soup..the intensity of the flame of the gas stove was quite high..
i observed that the bowl got burnt and when it cooled down a bit, i observed a band of colours..blue was the most prominent..i noticed the presence of violet, yellow and orange too..
I wish to know the reason behind this..and the scientific view of what happened..
Thankyou :)

P.S - I don't know anything about the material of the bowl..And i have attached a picture of it too..
 

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This is a thin film effect, called iridescence. The material is some thin layer of corrosion, maybe chromium oxide. It doesn't really matter what the material is, as long as the material is thin and refractive. Light which penetrates the material and reflects off the metal will interfere with light which reflects off the material, either constructively or destructively, depending on the thickness of the film and the color of the light.
 
thankyou :)
also, why didn't this happen when i heated a similar bowl on a low intensity flame?
is it related to the oxidation?
 
Yeah. The reaction rate increases approximately exponentially with increasing temperature.
 

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