Glowing Bottles

[KentOhio]

I bought a blacklight yesterday and was curious to see if it would make any of my bottles glow in the dark. As it turns out, a lot of them do glow yellow-green. Does anyone know what is in the glass that makes them glow? Uranium makes glass glow, but it wouldn't be that, would it? Most of the bottles I have that glow are clear, and date anywhere between 1820 and 1910. Some of my aqua, sun-colored amethyst, and peacock blue bottles also glow. Have any of you tried a blacklight on your bottles?

 

[cobaltbot]

My understanding is that manganese makes the glass glow. Most that glowed have the potential then to turn amethyst. Even some aqua bottles glow, they have some manganese but the iron content in the sand overpowered the small amount of manganese and they stayed aqua. Other substances as you say will also glow. I have some marbles that really light up and I think its something other than manganese, like uranium.

 

[GuntherHess]

Are you sure they are actually glowing , as phosphorescent minerals do , or just reflecting the light better , like white T shirts do under a black light?

 

[appliedlips]

Brian,

Glass with manganese present will glow under a blacklight.The more manganese the more it glows.Some aquas will only have a very faint glow and some none at all.Almost all late 1800's clear glass will glow.

Cobaltbot,
If you are talking about handmade marbles glowing,that makes sense.They were made in Germany the primary supplier of manganese to the glass industry.I know there is uranium glass too,and it really glows.

 

[KentOhio]

I did some more reading and it must be the manganese that glows. I wouldn't have thought that aqua bottles would have manganese though. I wonder if an aqua bottle with some manganese in it would turn lighter, or even clear, if left in the sun. Not that anyone would want that, though.

 

[GuntherHess]

I wonder if an aqua bottle with some manganese in it would turn lighter, or even clear, if left in the sun.

We discussed that in an earlier thread. Apparently aqua bottles can have enough manganese in them to turn purple under UV exposure. They wont turn clear.