Posted: 11/26/2002 6:21:52 PM EDT
| Ok don't ask how I found this out. I have a 120 lumen Surefire light. When I shine it on my wifes diamond and then turn off the light it glows for a long time (like 15 minutes although it steadily decreases in brightness. Any ideas on how or why this happens? |
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Yes..This would be my specialty. Many diamonds and other gems glow when exposed to light which contains relatively high amounts of ultraviolet(such as fluorescent light). Some even glow to strong visible light. The glow , or fluorescence, results from the interaction between the lights energy and the atoms in the gems. Around 50% gem diamonds fluoresce strongly enough for it to be seen under special conditions. Only 10% strongly enough to make a noticeable difference between the stone's color in incandescent(which is low in ultraviolet) and in sunlight or fluorescent(which are high). By far the most common fluorescence color in gem diamonds is blue; others include white..yellow..and orange. Gemologist[x] BLOAT |