Our display UV lights are mostly based on fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs require a special ballast to operate. Lots of folks buy surplus transilluminators on Ebay and upgrade them to very powerful SW lights using off-the-shelf bulbs and new electronic ballasts. When...
I recently had the opportunity to test a 395nm 100 LED unfiltered flashlight. It is advertised as having 100 high power LEDs and claims to have high radiant intensity, a flood effect, and an 18-watt UV beam suitable for commercial and domestic use, even in ambient...
Friends don't let friends use crappy unfiltered 390nm flashlights. This is an educational post, directed towards folks new to the hobby. There has been discussion in our FB group lately about using cheap 395nm flashlights for fluorescent minerals. I am passionate...
Over time folks have posted pictures of their own fluorescent mineral displays in the Facebook FMS Fluorescent Mineral Group. These are great examples of what you can do at home with some simple cabinetry and a good UV display light.Use these for hints on building...
Rock collecting is a pretty easy hobby to get into - buy a hammer, find a pile of rocks, and you're rock collecting. Fluorescent mineral collecting is a little more complicated. But folks are drawn to our hobby without even having learned how to collect white light...
Fluorescent mineral photography is a challenge. People (and cameras) usually take pictures of well-lit scenes and rarely have to worry about overexposing an image. When photographing fluorescent minerals the game is changed dramatically. The camera now has to capture...
White light mineral displays are always well lit with bright lights, offering a beautiful range of colors that makes them attractive to collectors. But some minerals have a unique property - a hidden rainbow of color that is only revealed using special ultraviolet...
There have been several posts i our FB group lately about this fluorite listed on eBay as "Black Rose" from China sellers. Specific locale unknown. The pictures seemed unbelievable so I had to get one for myself to see. They are kind of believable, for a little while....
There was a post in the fluorescent mineral group about sulfur fluorescing a dull green under SW on a piece of calcite from Michigan, and a discussion about this being real fluorescence ensued. I have several pieces of similar material from Italy and had noticed what...
In the early 1800's geologists noted that some specimens of sodalite from Greenland exhibited a bright pink color on freshly broken surfaces. This color rapidly faded ("bleached") upon exposure to bright light, reverting back to its original (natural?) color. Exposure...