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Minerals that glow
Speaker: Doctor Paul Beatty
Paul will be telling us all about these amazing minerals, why they glow and the many ways they’re used.
Mineral enthusiasts concentrate on displaying these minerals under UV lighting to reveal their beauty. Some minerals produce light when exposed to X-rays, electron beams (cathode rays), radioactivity, high electric fields and even mechanical energy from grinding. Others glow in response to heating, thermoluminescence, is used in archaeology, geology and environmental science to date artefacts and geological formations accurately. Other uses include TV screens based on cathode ray tubes, advertising and electronic displays, fluorescent lamps, and more recently in LED lighting using blue or UV LEDs as the means of excitation.