Converting a Transilluminator into a Short Wave Lamp
This article was originally published by Dennis Michael on Nature's Rainbow. My small hand-held short wave lamp is useful, but has its limitations. I was interested in a much more powerful light for display and photography. After some research and talking to...
Do All Rubies Fluoresce the Same?
A member asked a practical question: do all rubies fluoresce the same way, and if they do not, can weak fluorescence be predicted from the way a specimen looks in daylight? The answer is no on both counts. Rubies do not all fluoresce the same way. Some glow intensely,...
The Rock Cycle Illustrated
Although not specifically fluorescent mineral oriented, these graphics are a great illustration of how our rocks are created. Just add some activators into the cycle and we have fluorescent rocks!Processes that shape the earth's surface are ongoing, continuously or...
What’s the Difference Between Fluorescence and Bioluminescence?
What’s the difference between fluorescence and bioluminescence? We illuminate the biochemical distinctions.
The Definitive Guide to Franklin/Sterling Hill Wollastonite
A regularly recurring question in our Facebook Fluorescent Mineral Group is the differences between the various wollastonites found the the Ogdensburg area (areas around Franklin NJ). If you are a serious Franklin collector you can almost identify what boulder at...
Long Wave Filters are Now More Expensive: #400 LW Filter Glass is no Longer Made
This an old short article originally posted around 2016. Also available on UV SYSTEMS website: https://www.uvsystems.com/blogs/news/long-wave-filters-are-now-more-expensive-400-lw-filter-glass-is-no-longer-made By Don Newsome; UV SYSTEMS, Inc. Kokomo Opalescent Glass...
Black Display Boxes for Flats
Ever want to store your glow rocks in boxes, but don't want to pay for flats? Do what I do - collect copy paper boxes at your place of business. Put the bottom of the box into the lid, then trace around it with a pencil. Use a carpet knife and yardstick to cut along...
Hyalite specimens from Hungary, Zemplén, Tarcal
Hungary has some really outstanding localities for unique hyalites: Monok, Gyöngyössolymos, and recently Tarcal. Specimens from this locality tend to be the biggest, glassiest and the best from Hungary! The downside is that the andesite quarry uses explosives, which...
The science of fluorescent minerals by Bob Oblack
A presentation on COLOR & ENERGY... Learn the scientific concepts behind why rocks glow in the dark. This video provides an in-depth look into the science behind fluorescent minerals, presented by Bob Oblack. It covers the science of color and energy, luminescence and...
Spodumene var. Kunzite Dara-I-Pech
This is the tip of a large kunzite crystal (130 * 30 *5 mm) in halogen light, 365 nm Convoy S2+, and MW-UV respectively. When lighted with halogen from below, through the base of the crystal along the c-axis, the color deepens dramatically, due to pleochromism. The...