I had a friend tell me to turn the light off and chew a Wintergreen Certs TM in front of a mirror. Sure enough I did it and they spark in the dark. Does anyone why?
the master speaks:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_129.html
Thanks for the link. I kept searching for Wintergreen Certs and turned up nothing on the search feature. That’s because it’s Wintergreen Life Savers.:smack:
Lots of things light up a little bit when you break them apart. Atoms are somewhat bound to each other by several mechanisms and when you break these bonds you put energy into the atoms. Often, some of it leaks back out by changing into photons. You generally have to have a dark place to look for it, though, because it’s never much light.
Many kinds of adhesive tapes do this, too - take a roll into a dark room and unwind it, and look at the spot where the tape is being separated from the layer underneath.
Are Lifesavers the same thing as Polos in the UK?
one word: triboluminescence