Bioluminescence: v7

THE 4 “SENCES”: Fluorescence is having a high energy light beam (a photon), strike something and having lower energy light emitted. A fluorescent light in the kitchen is an example of this!

THE 4 “SENCES”: In a fluorescent light tube, the mercury vapor inside it is energized by electricity and it emits high energy UV light. This light hits phosphorus atoms painted on the inside of the glass which change the invisible UV to light we can see.

THE 4 “SENCES”: Luminescence means “to give off light”. A lightbulb is luminescent and so is the sun and the moon.Bioluminescence is a form of luminescence where living things give off light like a railroad worm or a firefly does.

THE 4 “SENCES”: Fluorescent materials give off light instantly when atoms absorb energy. When the energy source stops, the molecules that are fluorescing light stop emitting light. 

THE 4 “SENCES”: When you shine an infrared light on certain rocks, they fluoresce (shine) a different color. They abruptly stop when the light source is taken away. 

THE 4 “SENCES”: Scientists have recently found many fish that fluoresce different colors when a red light is shined on them.

THE 4 “SENCES”: Phosphorescence is when a light is shined on a material and it not only gives off light when you are shining a light on it, but the light continues after the light is taken away. Glow-in-the-dark slimes and the faces of watches that glow for hours after you go to bed are examples of this.

THE 4 “SENCES”: NASA has developed a phosphorescent metal oxide called strontium aluminate that glows for 24 hours after it is exposed to light. They use it to light emergency exits in the White House and escape routes in the Pentagon.

LUMINESCENCE: Some uses of fluorescence are surprising. Many washing detergents contain ingredients known as optical brighteners. As a result, when you look at freshly washed white clothes, you see brighter, slightly bluer reflected light produced by the optical brighteners.

LUMINESCENCE: Optical brighteners make your clothes look cleaner and brighter. This is why TV commercials used to talk about “bluey whiteness” and have featured smiling people holding their clothes up to a window where there’s more UV-rich sunlight.