[gastonius]

Hello!
I recently did an experiment in class where we burned different elements in a flame to see what color the flame turned into. These are my results:
Copper - green
Potassium - pink
Lithium - red
Strontium - red/orange
Barium - yellow
sodium - very bright orange

I know that the color of the flame has to do with the amount of energy the atom releases (after the energy has been absorbed), but I just can't find a pattern with the different atoms' properties related to the periodic table.
What is it that makes copper glow green, and lithium red etc?
I must admit I am quite a newbie when it comes to chemistry, so a thorough, pedagogical answer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[Borek]

There is no simple pattern here. The only simple patterns are these related to hydrogen and so called hydrogen-like ions - that means those containing just one electron.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rydberg_formula