• Question: what liquid makes glow sticks glow and why do they only glow when cracked?

    Asked by Izzy the Iguana to Paul, Alison, Hannah, Jonny, MarthaNari on 20 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by x-x-LILSKI-x-x.
    • Photo: Paul Brack

      Paul Brack answered on 20 Jun 2015:

      Glow sticks contain a dye mixed with diphenyl oxalate in one tube, and hydrogen peroxide in another tube, When you crack the glowstick you break one of the tubes and allow the chemicals to mix. They react to make a molecule which is luminescent, or in other words, emits light, appears to us to glow. Before the molecules mix and react, they do not have the property of luminescence, and so there is no glow. By changing the dyes in the glow stick, you can change the colour and brightness of the glow stick.

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