Luminescence

Luminol and haemoglobin, an example of chemiluminescence
UV-photoluminescence in microbiological diagnostics

Luminescence can be simply defined as any emission of visible electromagnetic radiation (light) not ascribable directly to incandescence. Incandescence emerges at high temperatures due to thermal radiation; in contrast, because luminescence is often independent of temperature, it is sometimes termed cold light. However, some kinds of luminescence (e.g., candoluminescence, pyroluminescence, thermoluminescence) are associated with or require elevated temperatures. Notably, luminescence is exhibited by primary light sources (which emit light) rather than by secondary light sources (which reflect or transmit light).

Luminescence has also been defined to include all optical radiation, rather than being limited to visible radiation. In addition, it has been defined as a spontaneous emission of radiation from an electronically or vibrationally excited species not in thermal equilibrium with its environment. 

Types

Applications

The dials, hands, scales, and signs of aviation and navigational instruments and markings are often coated with luminescent materials in a process known as luminising.

Luminescence occurs in some minerals when they are exposed to low-powered sources of ultraviolet or infrared electromagnetic radiation (for example, portable UV lamps) at atmospheric pressure and atmospheric temperatures. This property of these minerals can be used during the process of mineral identification at rock outcrops in the field or in the laboratory.

An industrial application of X-ray luminescence is its use in the automated sorting of diamonds. To improve the recovery of diamonds with weak or anomalous luminescence, their surface can be modified with a luminophore-containing agent. This treatment enhances their X-ray luminescence signal, making them detectable by the sorting machine and significantly increasing recovery rates.

History

The term luminescence was first introduced in 1888 by German physicist Eilhard Wiedemann.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "luminescence". ANSI/IES LS-1-22, Lighting Science: Nomenclature And Definitions For Illuminating Engineering. New York: Illuminating Engineering Society. 2022. §6.4. Retrieved 19 Jan 2026.
  2. ↑ "Luminescence". Britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 19 Jan 2026.
  3. 1 2 e-ILV, online version of CIE S 017:2020, International Lighting Vocabulary (2 ed.). Vienna: International Commission on Illumination. 2020. Retrieved 19 Jan 2026.
  4. ↑ Chemistry (IUPAC), The International Union of Pure and Applied. "IUPAC - luminescence (L03641)". goldbook.iupac.org. doi:10.1351/goldbook.L03641. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  5. ↑ Bulychev, Nikolay V.; Kazaryan, Mishik A.; Kudryavtseva, Anna D.; Kuznetsova, Mariya V.; Limonova, Tatyana F.; Shevchenko, Mikhail A.; Tcherniega, Nikolay V.; Zemskov, Konstantin I. (2018). "Anti-Stokes luminescence in nanoscale systems". In Tarasenko, Victor F.; Kabanov, Andrei M. (eds.). International Conference on Atomic and Molecular Pulsed Lasers XIII. Vol. 10614. p. 106140N-2. doi:10.1117/12.2303482. ISBN 978-1-5106-1732-2.
  6. ↑ Matousek, Vaclav; Matuska, Radek; Vranka, Tomas; Adamec, Martin; Herentin, Tadeas; Kalacek, Jiri; Havlik, Jan (2023). "Exploring Triboluminescence and Paramagnetism: A Rapid Mn Complex Synthesis for High School and Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratories". Journal of Chemical Education. 100 (8): 3062. Bibcode:2023JChEd.100.3061M. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00372.
  7. ↑ Jaszczyn-Kopec, Paulina; Kallmann, Hartmut; Kramer, Bernard (1968). "Cryoluminescence of ZnS Phosphors". Physical Review. 165 (3): 901. Bibcode:1968PhRv..165..901J. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.165.901.
  8. ↑ Sidran, Miriam (1968). "The Luminescence of the Moon". In Kopal, Zdeněk (ed.). Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Volume 6). Vol. 212. Academic Press. p. 301. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0565-28. ISBN 978-1-4831-9924-5.
  9. ↑ Mesaros, Amalia (2023). "Luminescent Materials: Synthesis, Characterization and Application". Applied Sciences. 13 (20) 11221. doi:10.3390/app132011221.
  10. 1 2 3 Valeur, Bernard; Berberan-Santos, Mário N. (2011-06-01). "A Brief History of Fluorescence and Phosphorescence before the Emergence of Quantum Theory". Journal of Chemical Education. 88 (6): 731–738. Bibcode:2011JChEd..88..731V. doi:10.1021/ed100182h. ISSN 0021-9584.
  11. ↑ Piezoluminescence phenomenon N. A. Atari Physics Letters A Volume 90, Issues 1-2, 21 June 1982, Pages 93–96 doi:10.1016/0375-9601(82)90060-3
  12. ↑ Meetei, Sanoujam Dhiren. "Synthesis, Characterization and Photoluminescence of ZrO2:Eu3+ Nanocrystals" (PDF). Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Jorio, Ado; Dresselhaus, Gene; Dresselhaus, Mildred S. (2007-12-18). Carbon Nanotubes: Advanced Topics in the Synthesis, Structure, Properties and Applications. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-540-72865-8.
  14. ↑ "Light-emitting particles illuminate understanding of cellular malfunctions - News & Media @ UOW". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  15. ↑ Cooper, John R.; Randle, Keith; Sokhi, Ranjeet S. (2003). Radioactive Releases in the Environment: Impact and Assessment. Wiley. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-471-89924-2.
  16. ↑ Chanturiya, V. A.; Morozov, V. V.; Dvoichenkova, G. P.; Podkamennyi, Yu. A.; Timofeev, A. S. (2023-11-29). "Optimizing composition and application conditions of agents for modifying spectral characteristics of diamonds in X-ray luminescence separation". Gornye nauki i tekhnologii = Mining Science and Technology (Russia). 8 (4): 313–326. doi:10.17073/2500-0632-2023-09-154. ISSN 2500-0632.
  17. ↑ "Über Fluorescenz und Phosphorescenz, I. Abhandlung" (On fluorescence and phosphorescence, first paper), Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 34: 446–463. From page 447: "Ich möchte für diese zweite Art der Lichterregung, für die uns eine einheitliche Benennung fehlt, den Namen Luminescenz vorschlagen, und Körper, die in dieser Weise leuchten, luminescirende nennen." [For this second type of light excitation, for which we lack a consistent name, I would like to suggest the name of "luminescence", and call "luminescing" [any] bodies that glow in this way.]

Further reading