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The mystery of a glowing natural stone solved
Scientists unravel the secrets of how natural stone glows in the dark.
BY
AMIT MALEWAR
NOVEMBER 8, 2020
Image: University of Turku
“Glow-in-the-dark” materials are known to practically everyone who has ever traveled by airplane or cruise ship since they are commonly used for self-lit emergency exit signs. The green afterglow, persistent luminescence (PeL), is obtained from divalent europium doped to a synthetic strontium aluminate, but some natural minerals can be capable of afterglow.
The materials used at the moment are all synthetic. But, there are also some natural minerals capable of afterglow.
One such mineral is hackmanite, which can be found in Afghanistan, Greenland, Canada, and Pakistan. However, all hackmanites are not capable of glowing in the dark.
Scientists at the University of Turku have discovered the origin of the natural mineral’s glow that generates white luminescence in the dark.
Postdoctoral Researcher Isabella Norrbo from the research group said, “We have conducted a lot of research with synthetic hackmanites and have been able to develop a material with an afterglow distinctly longer than that of natural hackmanite. However, the conditions affecting the luminescence have been unclear so far.”
More:
https://www.techexplorist.com/mystery-glowing-natural-stone-solved/36043/