luminesce

In 1969, scientists discovered that all metals luminesce to some degree, but the intervening years failed to yield a clear understanding of how this occurs.

These animals and habitats look more realistic than those at other light shows because of their sculpted forms — you could almost mistake them for the real thing, if not for their luminesce.

Never mind that blood doesn’t actually luminesce under black light; the phosphorescent glow is haunting, and the process of surfaces being gradually wiped clean, erasing all evidence of what just happened, is unsettling.

The team dated sediments at the site using a technique called optically stimulated luminesce, which measures the last time sand grains were exposed to sunlight.

In lab experiments, copepods tend to scoot away when dinoflagellates luminesce, suggesting the light display does work as a deterrent.