A fluorescent mineral is one that will glow in
the dark if it has an ultraviolet, or black, light shined on it.
When we went to the Sterling Hill Mine, we found out that there are
fluorescent minerals found with the
zinc that was
mined there. Our tour guide showed us a place, deep inside
the mine, that had chunks in a large bin. We were able to
pick one and then put it under an ultraviolet light for a
minute. When the lights were turned off, the mineral glowed!
Some fluorescent minerals are:
There are many uses for fluorescence. It is used in neon lights, highway lights, TVs, computers, microscopes, and paints. Fluorescent rocks can cost a lot of money if they are rare, very beautiful, or have large crystals.
When the lights went off in the zinc mine, the minerals were giving off amazing colors! Some were red and others were green, orange, and yellow. We asked our science teacher to use his black light to show us his collection of fluorescent minerals. [This is the picture on the right.] It was really cool to see it all over again!
Fluorescence is caused by radiation hitting the atoms that make up the mineral. This is a hard thing to understand.
Fluorescent rocks at the
Sterling Hill Mineral Museum
