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Have you ever heard of tribolu- minescence? Few people know what this curious word means. Here is an experiment that uses Lifesavers, and helps to illustrate a fascinating scientific principle.

• Wintergreen Lifesaver candy (sorry, but no other flavor will work)
• A glass of water, in case you get carried away and start choking!

1. Find a dark room with a mirror (like the bathroom).
2. Make sure you’ve got your water in case for some reason you should choke on the candy.Allow your eyes to adjust to the dark. You will be able to see your teeth once you are used to the dark (15 minutes or so).
3. Chew a single lifesaver with your lips open so you can see your teeth.
4. Each time you crush a part of the lifesaver, you should see a flash of white light, like a spark!
5. Now you can turn on the lights.

What Happened:

What you have just witnessed is called triboluminescence. This is the mechanical generation of light. It occurs when certain chemical bonds are torn apart by mechanical crushing. These bonds were formed when the candy was in a liquid state before it was poured into a mould and solidified.

Triboluminescence is being studied by automotive scientists who hope to use the phenomenon as a manner of setting off air bags during a car crash. Maybe sitting in a dark room with a roll of Wintergreen lifesavers isn’t as crazy as it seems after all!