#Triboluminescence is so cool

[ryusbeans]

Possibly the best thing I learnt from reading Tunnels (and the sequels) was the existence of Triboluminescence. All you need is two bits of quartz and you can make magic light. Triggers all the wee goblin parts of the brain that likes bashing rocks together and making magic light

[todays-xkcd]

If a materials scientist gives you a present, always ask whether regifting will incur any requirements for Federal paperwork.

Materials Scientists [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[Ponytail, White Hat and Cueball are standing around a table. On the table is a gift with thin black stripes, with a present with a black ribbon sitting on top of it. Cueball is trying to holding a gift that has thick black stripes, trying to open it.] Cueball: Where is this wrapping paper from? It's so thin, but I can't tear it. Is this amarid fabric?! Cueball: Maybe I can unpeel the... oooh, the tape flashes as I pull it up! Triboluminescence! Did you add a phosphor? It's so bright! Cueball: Wait, are these patterns structural coloration?

[Caption below the panel:] Materials scientists are like cats - the best present you can get them is an empty box with cool wrapping paper.

[itari-exe]

oh also white quartz glows kind of a orangey yellow color (its p dim tho) when you hit/rub two pieces of it together called triboluminescence it's so cool

SOME CRYSTALS WHEN ELECTRICITY PASSES THROUGH THEM VIBRATE AT A PRECISE MEASURABLE FREQUENCY WHICH IS WHY THEY ARE IN WATCHES?????? I THOUGHT THEY JUST PUT THAT SHIT IN THERE JUST BECAUSE!!!!!

[cuuno-moved]

Something I do think is interesting abt gems tho is Triboluminescence- it’s especially prevalent in quartz (this is how you can tell if a quartz is real! Rub two together real fast and it’ll glow!) and some diamonds (which fluoresce while being cut)! I also think Tenebrescence (changing colour under UV in gems such as Hackmanite, a type of sodalite) is really awesome in gems especially since it’s kinda rare! Also tenebrescence in gems lead to us making colour changing shades that go darker under UV so that’s pretty cool! (I love reading abt how gems glow and change colour and refract light so much-) also! Less cool but alexandrite appears different colours whether it’s under natural or artificial light, being either reddish-pink or green-blue!

yooooo that's actually really neat.

[medusozoic]

HI! i'm back again in your inbox to bother you and not even in the good way, for another DnD question, so in dnd there's a spell called meteor swarm, which summons meteors (shocker amirite) and does massive fire-damage, but i was wondering if there's any rocks that (with magic involved ofc) could perhaps do other types of damage? like quartz generates electricity right? something like that but based on the rocks n stuff

NOT. A. BOTHER. I LOVE THESE.

This is a bit of a harder question though, because minerals don’t really anyhave actual fantasy worthy capabilities. Also, I might not be the best to ask since I really only know the basics about minerals. Best I could find while still being true to reality:

- Some minerals glow when you fracture/crush them. This is called  triboluminescence. The process isn’t fully understood yet, but it’s probably caused by the release of static electrical charges, which will release when you fracture the minerals. Examples of minerals that do this:  sphalerite, fluorite, calcite, muscovite, some opal and many feldspar (minerals like orthoclase, labradorite, they make up more then 50% of the earth’s crust, so very common) minerals. Also, sugar crystals are known to be triboluminescent as well. Maybe in a DnD world these light flashes could be enhanced so that they’re blinding? Or just to use as a light source?

- Piezoelectricity is what happens in quartz minerals, where an electric pulse is released when the minerals is brought under pressure. Other minerals that exhibit piezoelectric effects are Rochelle salt, topaz and tourmaline. ALSO BONE?? I JUST FOUND THAT OUT THAT PRETTY COOL THO, you can just easily enhance this effect and make some taser weapons, maybe they only give of a pulse after you hit something?

- A property that all rocks have that you could work with is that they have very high melting temperatures. So maybe you could make it that some rocks can absorb and release heat at the choice of whoever has control over the rocks?

- some minerals have magnetic properties, maybe you could use this? Don't really know how to elaborate on that though

- minerals can be described as transparant you can see through it), translucent (some light passes through), and opaque (no light passes through). Maybe very transparent/translucent minerals could be used to enhance other powers?

- you could also just look at commonly associated themes of rocks (can probably find that on astrology sites, non if it is based on sience but hey it's fun). For example opals are said to bring luck, topaz to balance mental and physical health etc.

I think that's all I can come up with rn? Might DM you if I think of more, but hope this helps!!

[earthstory]

Triboluminescence; Sugar Coated.

Imagine you are traveling with the ancient Native American Ute shamans in the American Midwest, hunting for quartz crystals. After collecting the crystals and placing them into ceremonial rattles made of translucent buffalo skin, you wait for the night-time rituals to begin to summon the spirits of the dead. When it is dark, you shake the rattles and they blaze with flashes of light as the crystals collide with one another.

What is the cause of this ‘spiritualistic’ dance of light? Well, you are experiencing one of the oldest known applications of triboluminescence, a physical process through which the light is generated when materials are crushed, rubbed, and ripped—as electrical charges are separated and reunited. The resultant electrical discharge ionizes the nearby air, triggering flashes of light.

In 1620, the English scholar Francis Bacon published the first known documentation of the phenomena, in which he mentions that sugar will sparkle when “broken or scrapped” in the dark. This was also taught to me in my first chemistry lecture at University, it's an easy experiment to carry out at home by breaking sugar crystals in a dark room. Another experiment can be carried out with WintOgreen Lifesavers candy, the wintergreen oil (methyl salicylate) in the candy absorbs ultraviolet light produced by the crushing of sugar and reemits it as blue light.

The spectrum of light produced by sugar triboluminescence is the same as that for lightning. In both cases, electrical energy excites nitrogen molecules in the air and they're ready to party. Most of the light emitted by nitrogen in the air is in the ultraviolet range that our eyes cannot see, and only a small fraction is emitted in the visible range. When the sugar crystals are stressed (aggravated not agitated), positive and negative charges accumulate, finally causing electrons to jump across a crystal fracture and excite electrons in the nitrogen molecules.

Here is something else that’s cool: If you peel Scotch tape in the dark, you may also be able to see emitted light from triboluminescence. I haven’t tried this so guys, if you do, let me know the outcome! Interestingly, the process of peeling such tape in a vacuum can produce x-rays that are sufficiently strong to create an x-ray image of the finger! Of course, I haven’t tried this and I probably wouldn’t recommend anyone else doing so either.

Take home message: Scratching a sugar cube is sweet.

~ JM

Image Credit: http://bit.ly/1HeKruE

More Info: Triboluminescence short intro: http://bit.ly/1CElHFq

WintOgreen Candy experiment: http://bit.ly/1KI20l0

Triboluminescence with quartz: http://bit.ly/1FwsqIO

Triboluminescence in sticky tape:http://bit.ly/YTKqcG

[goldpilot22]

it's 1 am and i just got a hangnail so i went to put on a bandaid and the wrapper Fucking Glowed when i opened it and thats how i learned today's Cool Science Fact: triboluminescence! shit glows a little when it breaks! sugar apparently does this too. i tried to take a video of it but my phone camera sucks ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

but if you don't know about it Pleas e look up triboluminescence it's so Fucking Cool

[myownsuperintendent]

Ficlet: “Camping Trip”

Scully takes her daughter on a Girl Scout camping trip.  This is complete fluff and really just an excuse to relive my Girl Scout childhood, giant spiders and all.  Rated G and also here at Ao3.

.....

She was a Brownie in Maryland, holding Melissa’s hand as they walked to meetings.  She was a Brownie in a different troop in California, walking to meetings by herself because Melissa had taken a stand against wearing the beanie.  She was a Girl Scout in California too, getting up extra early to go door to door selling cookies, because she wasn’t about to let Cynthia Clark, who was in her troop and lived on the same base, get all the orders.  And now, in Virginia, she’s standing on a dark path in front of eight ten-year-olds, showing them how to crunch Wintergreen Life Savers to make sparks.

There’s a chorus of shouts— “Cool!” and “My mouth is glowing!” and “How come it works that way, Susanna’s mom?” (Carly always addresses Scully and her co-leader as “Susanna’s mom” and “Miyoshi’s mom,” no matter how many times they tell her she can call them Dana and Chiyo.)

“It’s called triboluminescence,” she explains.  “You can see it in the Life Savers because the wintergreen oil is fluorescent.”  The girls ooh and ah and continue to crunch the Life Savers with gusto.  Susanna beams with pride.

“All right, let’s keep walking,” Chiyo says.  “Make sure you hang on to your buddy.  We’re going to head back to the tents.”  Chiyo leads the group and Scully brings up the rear, the four pairs of girls between them. This is their first camping trip as a troop—Scully and Chiyo had to get an extra certification to take them—and they’ve been very excited about it, talking about almost nothing else for the past few meetings.  They voted unanimously to put some of the money they earned from cookie sales (which were high this year, partly thanks to Mulder, who’s a soft touch when it comes to their daughter’s salesmanship) into buying camping supplies, and now they all have matching luminous combination compass-whistles on lanyards around their necks.  They practiced using the compasses earlier today, although Scully explained that the whistles were only for if they got separated from the group and is relieved that, so far, they haven’t been put into action.  She’s proud of the girls; they’ve been excited, too, about getting their Camper badges, and she thinks that they’ll have more than earned them.

They have two small tents, each for one of the leaders and four of the girls.  Scully gathers up her group—Susanna, Carly, Sarah, and Rebecca—and leads them in.  “Okay, everyone,” she says.  “Time to get into your pajamas.”

There are a lot of questions and comments during the process.  “Susanna’s mom, can you help me with my sleeping bag?  The zipper’s stuck.”

“Giant spider, giant spider!”

“What if we have to go to the bathroom at night?  I don’t want to go back there.”

“Are we going to have any more marshmallows?”  Scully helps with the offending zipper, lets Susanna catch the spider and usher it outside the tent, and tells the girls that they can walk to the latrines and that yes, however gross they may be, the latrines are the only options right now. She checks the marshmallow supplies; there are just a few left, enough for them to have one each, and she hands them around.  They’ll be brushing their teeth soon anyway, and it saves having to secure their sweets where animals can’t get at them.

They go over to the little cabin to do that, once they’re in their pajamas.  Scully chats with Chiyo by the sinks.  “Anything else we need to do now?” Chiyo asks.

Scully shakes her head.  “I think we’re good.  I’m setting an alarm for seven so we can get them up.”

“That part ought to be fun,” Chiyo says with a laugh.  “Take getting a kid up in the morning and multiple it by eight.  What could go wrong?”

Scully laughs too. “Maybe they’ll like getting up here more than they like getting up for school.  We can hope, anyway.”  

They get the girls to finish up and apply last coatings of bug spray before going back to the tents.  Susanna falls into step beside Scully as they walk, and Scully smiles down at her.  “Having fun?” she asks.

“So much fun,” Susanna says.  “It’s like an adventure.  Like all those times you and Dad told me about.”  Susanna loves their stories from their days on the X-Files; Mulder’s usually the one to start telling them, but Scully always finds herself joining in, because she figures if Susanna’s going to hear them she wants her to hear what actually happened, without exaggerations or outright flights of fancy. Whoever’s talking, though, Susanna always hangs on every word, full of questions, full of wonder.

“Well, I hope it doesn’t turn out like any of those,” Scully says.

Susanna shrugs. “If it did, you’d know what to do about it.  And we could all help.”  They’re back at the tent now, and she burrows into her sleeping bag: it’s got purple and blue stripes, and she picked it out herself.  “Good night, Mom.”

“Good night, Susanna,” Scully says.  “Good night, girls.”  They say their good nights, and then there’s whispering for a while after that; she lets it go on for a bit and then shushes them, telling them they need to get their sleep.

Scully’s awake for a little while longer, though.  She doesn’t relish the idea of having to defend their troop from murderous mites or mothmen, but she’s touched, all the same, that Susanna thinks she could.  She’s glad that these things are stories to Susanna, something she sees as an adventure, as easily defeated: she’s never had to face anything like that, and Scully’s more grateful than she can say. They’ve kept her safe.  And she wouldn’t have imagined it, but here she is, at sixty-four, spending the night in the woods again, just to take her daughter on a Girl Scout camping trip.  One with nothing untoward in sight.

Except that spider, which has made its way back into the tent—or maybe it’s a different spider, there’s really no way to tell.  It certainly is giant, though.  She makes a few efforts to get it out through the tent flap, which it resists.  She hopes that Susanna’s confidence in her ability to surmount all problems isn’t misplaced.  Eventually she sleeps.

[confluence-and-drift]

So today I got to see some triboluminescence.  This is pretty cool >.>.  

[wiresandwifi]

Light is a rlly big thing in discerning what a gem really is! Fluorescence, for example, can quickly and easily show you whether a gem is a pink sapphire or a morganite!

I really really love the light effect of triboluminescence, which occurs in quartz when you strike/rub them together! Also in quartz sand if you run in it! Basically the friction makes em glow and fun fact! Back in ye olde alchemy times apparently this kinda thing is how they used to tell if it was glass or quartz (because gem fraud was RAMPANT at some points in time) (but ALSO sometimes it didn’t work with certain gems like rubies and garnets since they considered them to be the same gem and they were like “well. Sometimes it works but idk?” lol)

I also can’t bring up light without talking about tenebrescence because!!! It’s so cool!!! Like, hackmanite just goes from white to purple under UV???? That’s so rad to me (plus it helped us develop sunglasses that darken under strong UV lol)

Also this isn’t quite tenebrescence but!! Alexandrite turning green in daylight but pink in artificial light is so cool to me

reblog this with a cool fact you want to share. i want to hear it. info dump. talk to me.

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Transcript copied from below the cut for accessibility

[Ponytail, White Hat and Cueball are standing around a table. On the table is a gift with thin black stripes, with a present with a black ribbon sitting on top of it. Cueball is trying to holding a gift that has thick black stripes, trying to open it.]

Cueball: Where is this wrapping paper from? It's so thin, but I can't tear it. Is this amarid fabric?!

Cueball: Maybe I can unpeel the... oooh, the tape flashes as I pull it up! Triboluminescence! Did you add a phosphor? It's so bright!

Cueball: Wait, are these patterns structural coloration?

[Caption below the panel:] Materials scientists are like cats - the best present you can get them is an empty box with cool wrapping paper.

If a materials scientist gives you a present, always ask whether regifting will incur any requirements for Federal paperwork.

Materials Scientists [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[Ponytail, White Hat and Cueball are standing around a table. On the table is a gift with thin black stripes, with a present with a black ribbon sitting on top of it. Cueball is trying to holding a gift that has thick black stripes, trying to open it.] Cueball: Where is this wrapping paper from? It's so thin, but I can't tear it. Is this amarid fabric?! Cueball: Maybe I can unpeel the... oooh, the tape flashes as I pull it up! Triboluminescence! Did you add a phosphor? It's so bright! Cueball: Wait, are these patterns structural coloration?

[Caption below the panel:] Materials scientists are like cats - the best present you can get them is an empty box with cool wrapping paper.