# Formula For Cyalume Lightsticks

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-for-cyalume-lightsticks/270992>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 25, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-for-cyalume-lightsticks/270992 "2004-10-25T04:05:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-for-cyalume-lightsticks/270992/1 "2004-10-25T04:05:01Z")

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Okay, on my recent [bus trip adventure](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=282609) a guy made the claim that the liquid inside Cyalume lightsticks (or similar glow sticks) was made from dish soap. I find this a little hard to believe, considering some of the other things the guy said, so is it? And if not, what’s the formula?

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-for-cyalume-lightsticks/270992/2 "2004-10-25T04:13:29Z")

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Well, I searched, but [no soap](http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/lightstick.html).

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**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-for-cyalume-lightsticks/270992/3 "2004-10-25T04:20:51Z")

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In addition to the chemicals mentioned by Q.E.D., there is also the solvent system, a weak catalytic base and any number of fluorophors - none of these is soap.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-for-cyalume-lightsticks/270992/4 "2004-10-25T04:25:26Z")

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The green cyalume sticks use 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene as the fluorophors. [Here’s](http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa031703a.htm) a list of the dyes they use for other colors. None of them look very soapy.

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**Author:** ![\_xiao\_wenti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b782af/32.png) [@\_xiao\_wenti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_xiao_wenti)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-for-cyalume-lightsticks/270992/5 "2004-10-25T12:06:59Z")

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I looked up the 9,10-Bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene on Fisher Scientific’s web site – $104 for 500 mg. Youch. Guess that I’m not going to be making any this Halloween.  
9,10-Diphenylanthracene is a lot cheaper; 5 g for ~$95.