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How Do Glow Sticks Work?

Have you ever bent a glow stick and watched it start to shine?

There are no batteries inside, so where does the light come from?

A glow stick is a plastic tube with a small glass tube inside it.

The glass tube holds one liquid, and the plastic tube holds another liquid around it.

When you bend the stick, the glass breaks, and the two liquids mix.

Then a chemical reaction starts.

The reaction makes energy, and a special dye in the liquid takes that energy and gives it off as light.

The dye also decides the color, so different dyes make different colors.

Light made by a chemical reaction like this is called chemiluminescence.

A glow stick makes very little heat.

Most of the energy becomes light.

Temperature changes the glow.

When it is warm, the reaction goes faster, so the stick shines more brightly but for a shorter time.

When it is cold, the reaction slows down, so the light is weaker but lasts longer.

That is why a freezer can help a glow stick last longer.

However, you cannot turn a glow stick off.

Once the liquids mix, the reaction keeps going until it ends, so each stick works only once.

Never cut a glow stick open, because the liquid can be bad for your skin.

Fireflies make light with a chemical reaction, too.

A glow stick lets you hold the same kind of light in your hand.