Fluorescent Minerals/Glowing Crystals

1
Have you ever wondered about GLOWING CRYSTALS?

• Well, wonder no longer.

2
What do you mean, glowing crystals?

• Well, glowing crystals are actually called
  fluorescent minerals. They are minerals, that
  unlike other minerals, can absorb a small amount
  of light and then release the small amount of
  light but in a different wavelength. The change
  in wavelength gives the illusion of a change in
  color. The reason they are named glowing
  crystals is because in the dark the color change
  is emphasized more. To the right there are some
  images of fluorescent minerals.

3
What do the different wavelengths mean?

• So, in a short wavelength the fluorescent
  mineral might be green. However, in a long
  wavelength, that same mineral might be red, blue,
  or even pink. The point is that different
  wavelengths mean the possibility of different
  colors. An example of this is the image to the
  right, the same mineral looks different in both
  wavelengths. The top one is blue, cream, and
  white, and the bottom one is green, red, and
  black. The reason for the change in color is the
  change in wavelengths.

4
So, what minerals fluoresce?

• The following minerals are known to fluoresce
• Andamite
• Andersonite
• Aragonite
• Artinite
• Benitoite
• Calcite
• Corundum
• Fluorapatite
• Fluorite
• Hemimorphite

• Hydromagnesite
• Novacekite
• Phlogopite
• Powellite
• Rhodonite
• Sanbornite
• Gillespite
• Scapolite
• Scheelite
• Sodalite
• Hackmanite
• Strontianite

• Magnesite
• Vlasovite
• Gittinsite
• Agrellite
• Sapphire
• Zircon
• Witherite
• Willemite
•  Manganocalcite

5
How do you know all of this?

• Well, to be honest, Im not the genius who
  discovered it. In fact, one of the very first
  people on record to see a fluorescent mineral
  fluoresce was George Gabriel Stokes. This
  happened in the year 1865, he commented on
  fluorites ability to give a blue glow while
  under a light beyond the violet end of the
  spectrum. He named this phenomenon fluorescence,
  after the mineral he observed, fluorite. So there
  you have it, give George Gabriel Stokes all the
  credit!

6
Where did you learn all of this?

• I got my information from www.google.com,
  www.JohnBetts-FineMinerals.com,
  www.Wikipedia.com, www.galleries.com, and
  www.geology.com.

7
Goodbye and good luck using your new knowledge!