GLOW STICKS
Summer
10/16/07
Glow sticks are fun to play with for young kids at parties and carnivals. But did
you ever think about how they were made? Well the reason the glow sticks were created was to make a mock-up of a firefly. The creation had to do with lots of chemicals and the scientists themselves.
Around the 1960s scientists had been working on this project to make a copy of a firefly. They had an idea of what was required, so they didn’t start from scratch. When the experimenting took place, Edwin A. Chandrass, a young chemist, found the right chemicals and created the reaction, but he never patented it. Many other scientists have also been experimenting this too, from his ideas. The two people finally found the re-make of a firefly. They were Laszlo J. Bollyky and Rauhut. The glow stick then became the trademark name for the American Cyanamids Light Products.
The process on making a glow stick took a very long time. The making involved chemical reactions. These reactions in a light stick releases energy in the form of light. The light produced by the chemical is chemiluminescences. Examples of chemiluminescences in a light stick: cold temperatures slow down the reaction because less light is being released, which is why it lasts longer. But if it’s in hot temps it makes the reaction fast, making the stick very bright but it wont last as long.
There are three components of a light stick: two chemicals to interact and release energy, and a fluorescent dye to accept energy and convert it into light. Common glow sticks use a solution of hydrogen peroxide that is kept separate from a solution containing phenyl oxalate ester and a fluorescent dye. The glow sticks can last up to 4 to 12 hours once cracked. But it may vary if it is in a hot or cold place. On shelf life they can be there for 1 to 2 years unopened. But if...