When they are out of the field, they bump with nitrogen molecules in the air. Energy is imparted by the electrons to the nitrogen, thus, causing light. So why is triboluminescence very noticeable on the Life Savers Wint-o-Green pack if everything that is being ripped, rubbed, scratched, crushed and pulled apart leads to such manifestation? Methyl salicylate, also known as oil of wintergreen, is present in the Life Savers candy.
It is a fluorescent; therefore, it absorbs light of a shorter wavelength and emits it once again as light of a longer wavelength. Chemical bonds in the sugar molecules are broken, providing energy for the electrons in some of the atoms to actually jump around and form positively charged nitrogen ions, which produce a blue or green luminescence.
Some ultraviolet energy visible with a black light is also produced from the methyl salicylate oil of wintergreen so that you will see a blue fluorescent color. Although these Life Savers do not contain methyl salicylate oil of wintergreen , they do contain menthol C 10 H 20 O and sugar. This phenomenon of triboluminescence can also be seen if you have two samples of milky quartz, which is frequently used in landscaping rocks.
Triboluminescence is the emission of light resulting from something being smashed or torn. When you rip a piece of tape off the roll, it will produce a slight glow for the same reason. Triboluminescence occurs when molecules, in this case crystalline sugars , are crushed, forcing some electrons out of their atomic fields.
These free electrons bump into nitrogen molecules in the air. When they collide, the electrons impart energy to the nitrogen molecules, causing them to vibrate. In this excited state, and in order to get rid of the excess energy, these nitrogen molecules emit light -- mostly ultraviolet nonvisible light , but they do emit a small amount of visible light as well.
This is why all hard, sugary candies will produce a faint glow when cracked. But when you bite into a Wint-O-Green Life Saver, a much greater amount of visible light can be seen. This brighter light is produced by the wintergreen flavoring. These nitrogen molecules then emit ultraviolet light, which is outside of the human visual spectrum.
There is also, though, some visible light created when the crystal molecules recombine with some of the free electrons, when they jump across the crystalline structure. So then, most all hard sugar candy will emit anywhere from a very faint brief glow in the visible spectrum, to a relatively bright flash when crunched, depending on what other chemicals are also in the candy for the electrons to react with. For the somewhat less technical answer, when sugar crystals are crushed, they emit an electrical discharge that can excite molecules near the discharge, such as nitrogen in the air, which will then in turn make them give off various types of light while they are in this excited state.
So why do the Wintergreen Lifesavers seem to flash so much brighter than other hard sugar candies? It turns out, there is a fluorescent chemical flavoring, methyl salicylate oil of wintergreen , in the Wintergreen Lifesavers. What this means is that methyl salicylate is a substance that has the ability to absorb light at shorter wavelengths and then emit light at longer wavelengths, giving off visible light.
Basically, similar to how fluorescent lights and neon tubes work. So when you bight into Wintergreen Lifesavers, the electrical discharge excites the nitrogen in the air, producing mostly ultraviolet light; which then in turn is absorbed by the methyl salicylate; this then emits light in the visible spectrum, creating a visible flash. Many artificial flavors in hard candies will induce similar effects creating a flash in the visible spectrum, not just in the ultra-violet range.
Other crystals, such as diamonds or salt, will do the same thing with the structure of the crystal being the determining factor on whether or not it will emit light when broken; so basically, whether it is a triboluminescent crystal or not.
0コメント