Why statue of liberty green

Chemical Reaction Chemical reactions always involve two or more substances — reacting together to produce new substances. The new substances can be solids, liquids or gases.

The wax reacts with oxygen in the air to produce water and carbon dioxide. When a substance melts, it changes physical state, but no new substances are produced. Over many years the copper has reacted with water and gases in the air, water air copper carbonate producing a new green substance called copper carbonate.

Chemical reactions produce new substances. Actually it was a gift. It was a gift because ,we won the civil war. I think so you can be right. Seems like a pretty expensive joke, Aubrie! Do you remember where you found this out? We are curious! Thanks, Maddbear4! While we can't take credit for making the videos, we have tried to gather some great ones in one, convenient location for you. Hello, Benjamin! Thanks for stopping by Wonderopolis! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this Wonder, preston!

Luckily, there are more than 1, other Wonders to explore here at Wonderopolis! We hope you check some of those out! Hi, mcgamer! You're in luck because we have that exact Wonder! I think it's green because of the air around it and it slowly turned green but others say the fog changed its color. Hi, Josie! We hope this Wonder was helpful! You can also keep researching at your library and online! Hi, AJ! We hope you had fun on your trip to the Statue of Liberty.

We encourage you to keep researching about its history at the library and online! That's right, ethan! Oxidation has caused the Statue of Liberty to be green.

We didn't know that until after reading this Wonder. Thanks for reading so closely! We are so glad that you enjoyed this Wonder! Hi Tiersa! The Statue of Liberty was actually a gift representing freedom to the United States! I'm pretty sure your kids will love this website.

I'm in 7th grade, and my peers and I love it!!! Hey Madi! We hope you can visit the Big Apple one day, and maybe you'll see the Statue of Liberty, too! We bet you can find the answer to your question in this Wonder! Such fun!

The Statue of Liberty's torch is a symbol of enlightenment. It represents that "Liberty Enlightens the World" -- it's a symbol of our freedom! Hi TJ, thanks for sharing your comment. We hope you're having a great time in Michigan with your friends and family this weekend.

What kinds of fun games are you playing to keep you busy during these thunderstorms? We will see you soon, Wonder Friend! Hi Berkleigh, we're so glad to hear that you learned something new with us today! What fun! The Statue of Liberty will be green for years and years to come, the statue is protected by the patina formed.

We Wonder if you have seen the Statue of Liberty, Berkleigh? We hope you can visit New York in the future to see it up close! That's great, Nicole G! Thanks for reading all about Lady Liberty-- and we hope to see you soon! Nice work, Wonder Friend Pancake! We think you're on the right track-- the oxygen atoms and the water reacted with the copper, creating a process called oxidation, which turned the statue the green color we now recognize!

Thanks for telling us you think Wonderopolis is the best, Alexia! Keep up the good work, Wonder Friend! Hi, Serena! There are so many interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty, aren't there? We haven't heard about the junkyard fact, but we will definitely check out the video your teacher showed you so we can learn some new things, too!

Hi, Susan! Thanks so much for your great comment! We love to meet new Wonder Friends and look forward to hearing how you engage your students with Wonder! We bet there are other Wonder Friends who are wondering about the same things you are, Lauren! Thank you so much for this comment! Sure, Lauren, ask away! We'll do our best to answer your question Hi, mm!

Weather also causes wear and tear on the Statue of Liberty! Thanks for joining the discussion! Hi, Rachel! There may be salt water in the air because the Statue of Liberty is surrounded by the New York Harbor, which is salt water. However, the green color is caused by a natural weathering process — called oxidation — which takes place when air and water react with the copper plates.

We appreciate your comment! Hi, Atalia! Did you know that Lady Liberty wasn't always green? She is made of copper that used to be a dull brown color. Over time, a natural weathering process called "oxidation" occurred, turning the brown copper green.

We think she's a beautiful sight standing there in all her glorious green wonder! Thanks so much for commenting today! Welcome, Debra! We're so glad you commented today!

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You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:. Then I stopped to view her from the front, the way the immigrants saw her as their ships passed by. From that angle she appears to be standing immobile. I did not leave until late in the afternoon, when the sun had moved lower in the sky. Now, as I watched from the ferry, light streamed around her.

She was a giant silhouette with all of America behind her. John Robbins, the historical architect who was a leader of the crew that restored the Statue between and , and who now is in charge of construction, personnel, and security at the National Gallery, told me by phone that different degrees of patination cause the dark patches that people have noticed on her, especially on her face.

Weather hammers her, too. Not to mention the snow and hail and hurricanes. Robbins said that the French artisans who made the torch were rumored to have saved buckets of their urine to patinate it, Gallic pee being thought the best for that task. If they did, it appeared to have had no effect, he added.

And what about the color? By her feet, the broken shackles, which are concealed from viewers on the ground, could be stand-alone works of art.

The patina is an organic part of its handmade quality. The copper, which is quite pure, is almost all still the original, after all this time.

The patina has been growing for a hundred and thirty years. On September 29, , Wilbur Wright took off from Governors Island in his canvas biplane, flew to the Statue of Liberty, and circled it while hundreds of thousands of spectators in boats and along the shore looked on.

He then returned to Governors Island, after less than five minutes in the air. No American had ever flown in a plane over water before. New York City itself lacked a colorful flag at the time.

In , the Art Commission associates of the City of New York created a new flag, also using orange, blue, and white. Like the designers of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration flag, the associates chose the colors because they were the flag of the Netherlands when the city was founded, in For a change, the associates arranged the stripes vertically rather than horizontally, with the blue closest to the flagpole, the white in the middle, and the orange next.

The flag the associates designed has now been flying over New York for a hundred and one years. Sometimes the Empire State Building is lit up with these colors in honor of sporting events or anniversaries in local history. Orange, white, and blue are the colors of the New York baseball Mets and basketball Knicks, and of the hockey Islanders, in from the suburbs.

The blue, which is almost indigo, makes the orange jump out at you, and vice versa, while the white assists them both. As colors go, these could not be louder, and in combination they shout. The colors of the city flag imply history, politics, religion, and civic weal. The Statue of Liberty, by contrast, has a kinship with the color of money. Its outward and visible part almost is money, to the extent that pennies still have value today. Get an education on the chemistry of how this monumental statue transitioned from penny red to chocolate brown to glorious liberty green.

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