Yes, there is science all around us... even at the school dance!
Did you know that Glow Sticks produce a light called, "Chemiluminescence"?
It is created when the little glass tube inside the glow stick (it contains hydrogen peroxide)
is snapped or bent allowing the chemical to combine with the fluorescent dye and
another chemical (phenyl oxalate) found inside the plastic stick. These chemicals
immediately react to one another and the atoms begin emitting fluorescent light.
Most glow sticks found in stores will last for a few hours. You can speed up or slow down the
rate of this reaction (how long the light will glow) using temperature. If you heat the glow stick
in a bowl of hot water, the extra energy will speed up the reaction and your glow stick will
glow brighter, but will die faster. If you place your glow stick in cold water, the reaction will
slow down and the light will glow dimmer, but will last longer. If you want to preserve your
glow stick for the next day, you can put it in the freezer. The cold temperature will not stop
the chemical reaction but it will slow it down until you warm up the glow stick again.
