Hobbies And Interests

Three Minerals That Glow

Minerals that glow are known as fluorescent minerals. Minerals naturally occur in organic solids with crystal structures and chemical compositions. Fluorescent minerals glow because they are exposed to ultraviolet light, which they then absorb. More than 500 specimens of minerals glow, many due to impurities known as "activators," which react with ultraviolet light in various ways.
  1. Calcite

    • Due to different activators, calcite glows in all fluorescent colors. According to The Fluorescent Mineral Society, when calcite glows red and pink it is a result of a combined activation of lead and manganese. Uranyl ion traces cause calcite to glow green. Calcite from the mercury mines of Terlingua, Texas and Muzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico, glow bright blue under shortwave UV.

    Fluorite

    • Fluorite is named for its fluorescent properties. Traces of europium cause fluorite to glow blue-violet under long-wave UV. Fluorite is commonly found alongside lead and zinc minerals and appears sometimes as a component of granite, marble and other metamorphic rocks. You can find fluorite on every continent except for Antarctica.

    Scapolite

    • Scapolite, sometimes referred to as wernerite, is found in New Jersey, New York, Russia, Norway, Mount Vesuvius, Italy, Mexico, Madagascar, Tremorgio and Switzerland. It glows an orange-yellow color when exposed to long-wave UV. Shortwave UV causes the mineral to glow for a long time, and its glow brightens when the mineral is placed under running hot water. Scapolite is metamorphic in origin.


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