Crack that Rock! (You never know what’s inside)
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Seems to go without saying for most experienced fluorescent mineral collectors; rocks that sit exposed to the elements for millennia (give or take a few million years) develop a "rind" on the outside, oxidize,...
Catching the Afterglow: Taking Pictures of Phosphorescent Minerals
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Many minerals exhibit an “afterglow” when the UV light is turned off. This glow can last for milliseconds or hours depending on the mineral. Some are very bright while others are barely perceptible. Examples...
UV Light: Demos & Experiments
Experiments on Ultraviolet Light and Fluorescence are performed by James Lincoln for the AAPT Films Project. Also explained are the three colors of UV and phosphorescence.
An introduction to UV bulbs and tubes
A good introduction to UVA (longwave), UVB (midwave), and UVC (shortwave). The focus of the video are the UV tubes or bulbs mostly used in the past as UV lights. With some considerations of uses and safety. Today, most of these lights are replaced by LEDs, in...
Ultraviolet light: 365nm vs 385nm
An old video with a quick explanation of the light spectrum and why 365nm is important to us as fluorescent mineral collectors (as well as filters) compared to 385nm LED lights (without filters). Of course this video is trying to sell something: a 365nm LED light for...
Greenland Hackmanite: Quick Change Artist, Tenebrescent Champion
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Tenebrescence of Greenland sodalite is amazing. This is a piece of a deeply tenebrescent sodalite. Note how when the SW light is first turned on the sodalite fluoresces a bright orange but almost immediately...
Agate from Scott’s Gulf, Smyrna, Tennessee
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow in August 2017. A major component of rock collecting (for me) is simply getting out in nature. A buddy dragged me out to a very remote area here in middle TN to hunt for agate. Since I'm a pure "Glow Hound" I...
The Fluorescent Minerals of Greenland
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. The Ilímaussaq complex is one of the world's most fascinating igneous complexes. The abundance of rare elements has resulted in more than two hundred and twenty-five different minerals and many unique...
A Short History of Fluorescence
Dr. Beniamino Barbieri (of the Fluorescence Foundation) gave a lecture on the history of fluorescence. His slides are reposted here (w/ permission), where they can easily be found by our mineral folks. This was written mostly towards biologic fluorescence, but...
Another Esperite Photography Tutorial
This article was originally published on Nature's Rainbow in 2017. After a recent recurring discussion on the photography of Esperite, I posted an image I created several years ago. Someone asked how I did it, and because I documented what I did in an email discussion...