
Hold a glass of tonic water near a black light, if you have access to one, and you'll see a much brighter version of the same blue glow that appears when you expose tonic water to ordinary sunlight. Special fluorescent tubes sometimes called black lights emit mostly ultraviolet light and very little visible light. In that case, ultraviolet light emitted by energized mercury vapor inside the lamp is converted into visible light by a special material applied to the inside of the glass tube. The structure of the quinine molecule enables it to take in energy in the form of invisible ultraviolet light and immediately radiate some of that same energy in the form of visible blue light.Īnother case of fluorescence we know from everyday experience is the glow of a fluorescent tube. Using a sharp fruit sugar, in very low amounts, let us deliver a light, delicate citrus profile that accentuates gin, rather. In this particular case you are exposing quinine to ultraviolet light, the invisible component of sunlight that produces sun tans and sunburns. Light in both form and function, this precise tonic water is one for the true believers. A material is said to be fluorescent if it emits light of one color whenever it is exposed to light of some other color from another source. That blue glow comes from quinine, the substance that gives tonic water its bitter taste, shining by the process of fluorescence. In comparison, ordinary clean tap water does not glow. In the tonic water you will see a faint blue glow against the dark background. Set both containers on a piece of dark cloth in direct sunlight. Fill one with ordinary tap water and the other with tonic water. Get two similar colorless, clean drinking glasses or jars.
