You may have heard them called light sticks, chem sticks, rave lights, and light bars, but the glow stick will always be a glow stick. They are one of many examples of chemiluminescence, which is quite similar to bioluminescence, except that with bioluminescence, you don’t have to crack plastic to get the chemicals to run.
Glow sticks are plastic batons filled with chemicals that react and produce visible light energy. You might have seen them at fun fairs, parties, clubs, and discos. Children use glow stick bangles and necklaces to have fun, and they can even be found in exercise classes. Chemical manufacturing companies produce glow sticks, and some of the largest manufacturing companies make them. Glow sticks are used in almost every field as they are waterproof, weatherproof, and can withstand high pressures. Here is something important you should know about glow sticks.
History of Glow Sticks
Dr. Edwin Chandross made the very first glow stick and was a Brooklyn-born organic chemistry specialist in the 1960s. It’s assumed that they were made as emergency flares and for other recreational purposes, but Doctor Edwin Chandross had nothing complex on his mind while inventing the glow stick. In fact, he was captivated by the idea that fireflies can emit light and glow naturally, and he wanted to imitate fireflies.
Over the years, other scientists have improved on the innovation that Edwin started, and with his initial intrigue being by chemical luminescence, the interest was then peaked by the luminol experiment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He fumbled through countless experiments until he landed on one brilliant experiment that helped him to discover the gateway to chemiluminescence. With the reasoning that per oxalate and esters were the most important components, he wanted to put his idea to the test.
Did you know that the US Department of Defense is the largest user of glow sticks? They’re not just for discos. They are used in places of other lights because of their durability, their lightweight nature, and the fact that they glow rather than shine.
The Science
Glow sticks have chemicals: fluorescent pigments and hydrogen peroxide that can help trap potential energy.
The energy ingredients in the glow stick must be combined to produce light, so you have to snap and shake a glow stick to work. It creates a chemical reaction that produces heat, but the chemical energy is transformed into light energy when the reactions occur within the glow stick. How bright your glow stick becomes depends on the surrounding temperature.
In fact, the glow sticks will glow brighter in hot climates than in cold climates because the energy levels of the molecules within the chemicals are elevated. The only downside is that they don’t burn brightly for hours when you crack a glow stick in a hot location.