The molecules of methyl salicylate (wintergreen oil used for flavoring the candy) absorb the ultraviolet light (shorter wavelength), and then re-emit visible blue-green light (longer wavelength). The free electrons strike the nitrogen molecules, causing them to emit invisible ultraviolet radiation and a faintly visible glow. Meanwhile the sugar crystals disintegrate, causing nitrogen molecules from the surrounding air to attach themselves to the surface. So when you crush a Wint-O-Green Life Saver between your teeth, negatively charged electrons break free the atoms that once were their homes become positively charged, and the free electrons start dashing about in search of a new home. The effect is even more pronounced with Wint-O-Green Life Savers because of the flavoring used: wintergreen oil is technically known as methyl salicylate, a fluorescent chemical, which means it absorbs light of a shorter wavelength and then emits it as light of a longer wavelength. Hence the name triboluminescence from the Greek tribein ("to rub") and the Latin lumen ("light"). The effect is usually observed with asymmetrical crystals when those materials are scratched, crushed or rubbed, the chemical bonds are broken and a small flash of light is emitted. Or, as Wikipedia succinctly puts it: "electrical fields are created, separating positive and negative charges than then create sparks while trying to reunite." It's rather like a lightning strike, in fact. The nitrogen molecules want to get rid of the excess energy - I guess the vibrations make them uncomfortable - so they emit light, usually in the ultraviolet range, but there's usually a small amount of visible light as well. The collisions cause a transfer of energy from the electrons to the nitrogen molecules, which begin to vibrate (an "excited state"). The simplest explanation is that when molecules are crushed or torn asunder, electrons are forced from their atomic fields and start colliding with nitrogen molecules in the air. There's actually rather a lot going on here, from a science standpoint. Open certain postal envelopes in the dark, or tear a Band-Aid wrapper very quickly, and you might see a brief blue-green glow. It's not just sugar that shows the effect, either, When a diamond facet is being ground, or the gem is being sawed during the cutting process, the diamond may fluoresce blue or green. And of course, when the sugar cone was nipped in a darkened setting, there would be tiny bursts of visible light, and Beccaria's little party trick became less effective - because everyone knew about it by then. Once transported and sold, the cone would be broken into smaller chunks using a "sugar nip" - I'm guessing similar to, say, nail clippers or a similar type of pinching device. (Actually, considering the level of superstition at that time, he was fortunate not to be run out of town, or even burned at the stake.)īy the late 1790s, sugar production began to produce more refined crystals of pure sugar in the shape of a large solid cone. In 1753, one Father Giambattista Beccaria wrote a treatise on "artificial electricity," in which he described how easy it was "to frighten simple people only by chewing lumps of sugar, and, in the meantime, keeping your mouth open, which will appear to them as if full of fire." One bets Beccaria was just a laugh-riot at parties. It's pretty well known that if you chew fresh, dry Wint-O-Green candies in a dark room - or snap them in two using a pair of pliers - you'll get a spark of greenish/bluish light. I adored Wint-O-Green Life Savers as a child, mostly for the refreshing minty taste, but they also had loads of entertainment value. Sounds like a secret sweet tooth to me! This also establishes Bacon as the earliest to record the phenomenon, known as triboluminescence, a.k.a., "the Wint-O-Green Life Saver Effect." Now, one could argue that Bacon was merely being an observant scientist following his natural curiosity, but stop and think for a moment under what conditions he might have discovered such an effect - alone in a darkened room with a bag of hard candy and a knife to break up the pieces into smaller bits that were easier to consume. But Jen-Luc Piquant suspects he might have had a secret fondness for hard candies, based on a passing remark Bacon made in his treatise, Novum Organum (published in 1620): "It is almost certain that all sugar, whether refined or raw, provided only it be somewhat hard, sparkles when broken or scraped with a knife in the dark." One wouldn't expect the 17th century English philosopher Francis Bacon to have much of a sweet tooth he always struck me as a rather curmudgeonly sort, thoughts firmly fixed on Higher Matters, eschewing the paltry comforts of the flesh.
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