Brief Communications
Nature 444, 163 (9 November 2006) | doi:10.1038/444163a; Received 20 June 2006; Accepted 12 October 2006; Published online 8 November 2006
Mechanoluminescence: Light from sonication of crystal slurries
Nathan C. Eddingsaas1 & Kenneth S. Suslick1
Mechanoluminescence, also known as triboluminescence or fractoluminescence, is light emission induced as a result of mechanical action on a solid1, 2, 3 — for example, Francis Bacon noted as long ago as 1605 that lumps of sugar emitted light when scraped4. Here we elicit mechanoluminescence by a new means, acoustic cavitation, and find intense luminescence and emission lines that are not generated by other mechanisms such as grinding, cleaving, rubbing, scratching, biting or thermal shock.
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
Correspondence to: Kenneth S. Suslick1 Email: ksuslick@uiuc.edu
