the.com/fluorescence
the universe's way of catching light and tossing it back wearing a brighter outfit
means The emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other radiation, glowing while the energy source is present and stopping almost immediately once it's removed.
from Coined in the mid-19th century by physicist George Gabriel Stokes, who built the word from 'fluorspar' (the mineral fluorite, which famously glows under certain light) plus the '-escence' suffix meaning a state or process, on the model of 'opalescence.' Fluorite's own name traces back to Latin 'fluere,' to flow — it was used as a flux to help ores melt — so the glow that lights up your highlighter pen carries, buried in its roots, the idea of flowing.
- glow timing
- Stops instantly when the light source vanishes
- scorpion trick
- Scorpions glow eerie blue under ultraviolet light
- named after
- Coined from fluorite, a mineral that glows
- hidden ink
- Money and passports use it to foil counterfeiters
- jellyfish gift
- Its glowing protein won a Nobel Prize
bioluminescent dinoflagellates — organisms in bioluminescent bays like vieques, puerto rico that glow when disturbed in water
uranium glass — vintage tableware and decorative glass from 1830s-1950s that glows bright green under uv light
scorpions under uv light — arachnids that fluoresce blue-green under 350-380nm wavelength, mechanism still not fully understood
green fluorescent protein — protein from jellyfish aequorea victoria, won 2008 nobel prize in chemistry for its discovery and application