Blog 13: Black Lights In Space

Okay, so we weren't really in space, but we were all pretty up there on the night of the Neon And Space Adventures dance. That's because we were on the third floor of Weinberg!

Yeah, there were some questions when I heard about the dance venue - why would we want to have a dance inside the school? Would I get to dance in Mr. Park's room? 

He didn't look too happy about that idea.

In truth, I wasn't interested much in NASA as a non-dancer. I was drawn by the intrigue of a third-floor dance, and stayed for the physics.

The notion of having a neon-themed party would be nullified without a crucial technology: the black light. This "black" light, of course, is a misnomer; as black is not an actual color (but rather the absence of visible light), this bulb is actually shaded in the upper regions of violet-wavelength light.

Technicalities aside, the black light works by employing a phosphor-coated covering over a fluorescent lamp. This covering absorbs all visible light wavelengths, as well as UV-B and higher forms of electromagnetic radiation, while allowing the highest-energy violet and UV-A waves to pass through.

Quite the selective process.

So how does the black light cause other things to glow, such as every single piece of lint on your black shirt? It turns out that these glowing objects contain external phosphors as well. By exposing these objects to the filtered black light, they reflect this light as well. 

I spent the night watching these lights. At the next dance I will ponder glow-sticks.

I'm on the pursuit of happiness, and I know / Everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold / I'll be fine, if it's phosphors.