Zirconium Powder in Flame - part of our "Berzelius Day" uploading 24 videos in 24 hours. Full video containing this reaction at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNJE2MPktvg NOTE FROM THE PROFESSOR: The Zr reacts with oxygen in the air to make zirconium oxide in a very exothermic reaction (it gives out a lot of heat). The white light comes from very hot particles of the oxide. See our 24 reactions playlist as it unfolds at: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6E4F35510525FFF7 Berzelius Day explained: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDXUDq2KLM4 More chemistry at http://www.periodicvideos.com/ Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/periodicvideos And on Twitter at http://twitter.com/periodicvideos From the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/chemistry/index.aspx Periodic Videos films are by video journalist Brady Haran http://www.bradyharan.com/