[Rockhounds] colour perception, organic fluorescence, etc

[Axel Emmermann]

Horst, 

The chitinous exoskeleton of some insect is very fluorescent.
The brightest in scorpions... you can see those coming from far with a
simple UV-LED torch.
Some beetles fluoresce too. I haven't seen it in other insects yet.


Axel Emmermann
European Regional Vice President of the
Fluorescent Mineral Society
<http://www.uvminerals.org/>
=========================
Mineralogische Kring Antwerpen/Antwerp Mineralogical Society
<http://www.minerant.org/index.html>
Werkgroepleider/Workgroup leader: Fluorescerende mineralen/Fluorescent
minerals
Technische Realisaties/Engineering
My website:<http://users.pandora.be/axel.emmerman/home/>


> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com
[mailto:rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com]
> Namens Horst Windisch
> Verzonden: zondag 14 december 2008 9:02
> Aan: jr50wv at yahoo.com; Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and
gem collectors
> Onderwerp: Re: [Rockhounds] colour perception, organic fluorescence, etc
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Many years ago, some botanists ap[proached me to lend them a portable long
> wave UV lamp. They were going to check for insects on orange trees, which
> were affecting the orange trees. Cannot remember the results. Anybody
heard
> of this before?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Horst
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "J. R. Hodel" <jr50wv at yahoo.com>
> To: <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
> Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 4:11 AM
> Subject: [Rockhounds] colour perception, organic fluorescence, etc
> 
> 
> HI Axel, Kitty, et al:
> 
> Someone remarked about color perception, and this not only varies between
> people but between eyes. Now I'll date myself . . . Back in the day when I
> spent a lot of time in a darkroom and comparing color results from film
> batch to batch, and from video camera to video camera despite the best job
> the color engineers could do, I noticed that my eyes had slightly
different
> color responses. Partly this was noticable because back then you aimed a
> film camera with one eye at the viewfinder.
> 
> One eye was closer to Ektachrome and one was closer to Kodachrome - go
> figure. It's less noticable now, but still there. So comparing colors of
> phosphorescence and fluorescence with the naked eye and discussing it via
> email may be futile. Surely the color business has sensors that make this
> all objective nowadays?
> 
> Axel, here in the North American forests we have several woods that
> fluoresce under the right stimulation. Locust (I think the black locust
> variety native to the WV forest) glows, as does the shrub sumac. This
isn't
> the poison sumac which I think is a western shrub, this is a shrub which
> bears bright red fruit clusters with which you can make a pleasent
> non-intoxicating beverage. It glows best in long-wave "black light". I
don't
> remember which spectrum locust responds to best.
> 
> Do we know what mechanism might cause the fluorescent reaction in organic
> materials?
> 
> Just wondering, sorry if we're off topic, but it is related to black
light,
> etc.
> 
> Merry Christmas, everyone!
> 
> JR
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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