Temperature's effect on Chemiluminescence

Temperature's effect on Chemiluminescence

Sitting by a fire on a fall night one would not think of a campfire as cold light. Could there be such a thing? “Cold light” is what the word luminescence means (Fluorescent Mineral Society, 1 of 2). Cold light can be seen at many different temperatures. Not only does cold light exist, but there are several types of luminescence including bioluminescence or “living light”, photoluminescence or fluorescence, “day-glow”, and phosphorescence which is delayed luminescence or “afterglow” (Fluorescent Mineral Society, 1 of 2). Chemiluminescence is when two or more chemicals mix and react to create light energy.

An example of bioluminescence is a firefly. The production of light in bioluminescent animals is caused by converting chemical energy to light energy (Bioluminescence, 1 of 1). In a firefly, oxygen, luciferin, luciferase (an enzyme), and ATP combine in the light organ in a chemical reaction that creates cold light (Johnson, 42). This bright, blinking light helps the male firefly attract female fireflies as a possible mate. Other examples of bioluminescent organisms are fungi, earthworms, jellyfish, fish, and other sea creatures (Berthold Technologies, 1 of 2).

Light sticks work in a similar way. When you “snap” a light stick, the chemical in the glass capsule mixes with a chemical in the plastic tube and creates light energy. Instead of the chemicals used by a firefly, other chemicals are used to create a glow. The light stick that you can buy at a store usually contains hydrogen peroxide, phenyl oxalate ester, and fluorescent dye (New York Times Company, 1 of 3). The light stick will glow the same color as the fluorescent dye placed in it. In luminescence, the chemical reaction “kicks an electron of an atom out of its ‘ground’ (lowest-energy) state into an ‘excited’ (higher-energy) state, then the electron give back the energy in the form of light so it can fall back to it’s ‘ground’ state (Fluorescent Mineral Society, 1 of 2).

Controlling chemiluminescent light was how Omniglow Incorporated became the first company to produce light sticks. In 1986, when the first light stick was invented, scientists thought they could make a lot of money selling light sticks. However, since they had to make light sticks by hand, it was harder for them to produce very many of them. Until machines were invented to make light sticks, it cost too much money to make them by hand.