Pascal Goetgheluck/SPL
Fireflies, jellyfish and glow sticks — one flies, one lives deep in the ocean and one provides entertainment in clubs. What is the link? The answer is some intriguing chemical reactions that produce light.
Chemiluminescence is the production of light from a chemical reaction. Two chemicals react to form an excited (high-energy) intermediate, which breaks down to give products and releases its energy as a photon of light in order to reach its ground state (see Box 1 for an explanation of energy levels).
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