Let there Be Light:: the Sweet Science of Triboluminescence

Science, dear readers, can be sweet. Literally.

You can actually generate light using just your teeth and a Lifesaver. But only one flavour will work (my favorite when I was a child) wintergreen. Read on!

This happens through a phenomenon known as triboluminescence, which is the mechanical generation of light energy, through the breakdown of chemical bonds caused by the physical fracture of a substance. There are two other names for the phenomenon: mechanoluminescence and fractoluminescence (a part of fracto-emission) - luminescence (light emission) from rubbing, mechanical action and fracture.

Mad Science has this edible experiment which kids and teens may like to perform at home.

Dr. Linda Sweeting is a chemist at Towson University in Baltimore, MD. You can read her essay on triboluminescence and see some cool pics of what happens when you smash wintergreen lifesavers with a hammer in the dark.