NATS 1870 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Glow Stick, Phenyl Group, Photon
19 Nov 2014
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Document Summary
Composed of atoms; have very specific energy levels enable the electron to absorb specific wavelengths/energies - remaining wavelengths are reflected to the eye and produce substance"s color. Or: given a source of energy that raises the electron to upper levels, electron can drop to lower energy levels and emit light of specific wavelength or energy. Example: glow sticks; bend a glow stick, breaks a vial inside and a chemical reaction occurs (no heat generated, luminescent process) 3 component chemicals: 2 react and release energy. That energy is absorbed by the fluorescent dye molecule; the energy is used so the electrons can jump to a higher level ( exothermic reaction because it generates energy) Once the electron is up in the high level, it returns to a lower energy level and creates a photon; this photon has specific energy/wavelength for color. Below 700m about 90% of all species are bioluminescent.
