Ultra Violet torch

Recently I bought a small UV torch.  Mostly because I want to look for scorpions, but also because a lot of things look incredible under ultra violet light.  

While I have no way to measure or confirm this for myself (and have to go off what it said on the order spec sheet) this torch emits light in the range of 365nm 395nm.  

Anything below 400nm is often referred to as invisible, but that isn’t strictly true.  In small torches like this there is always a trailing off of light to the edge of the visible spectrum.  The 365 emits a dull bluish light that is almost invisible to the human eye.  The 395 emits a blue purple light that is more easily seen by the human eye.  

If it only emitted invisible light I would not know if my torch was ever working, so I find that the little visible light they produce is a good thing.  This little torch runs off three AAA batteries and can make things glow intensely even from a reasonable distance.

Parts of corn stalks fluoresce under UV light 

There are a bunch of things around the house that glow under UV light.  Some plastics glow, while others do not.  I can't work out by looking at them which will and which won't.  Interestingly some white paper glows intensely, and other white paper does not.  Some fabrics glow, while others do not.  Under UV light my daughters' room looks somewhat like what I imagine a fairy princess rave party would look like.

Some clear plastics glow, some white ones glow, and some of the dark colours glow.  Below are some photos of things under UV light as well as under normal light for comparison.  

I can't take photos that really look the same as the UV light looks, my phone alters some of the photos and makes them less bright, but this gives you a decent idea of what we are seeing.

A plastic jewel

Some plastics glow, but not others

The plastic container on the lower shelf looks the same but did not glow

My little pony under UV light

My little pony under normal light

This glows a lot more in real life

The same bottle 

Some foods also glow under UV light.  Some things I would have guessed, such as milk, while others took me by surprise.

Honey under UV light looks cloudy

The same jar of honey under normal light

Peanut butter under UV light

Peanut butter under normal light

Ripe bananas under UV light - not a great photo

The same bananas under normal light

White sprinkles glow

I took the kids for a quick walk around the yard to see what would glow under UV light.  We found something under a log that glowed which I think was eggs of something.    

One thing I found interesting is that some spider webs glowed.  No other spider webs glowed, so I think this one had an egg sack under it.  Once the weather warms up and more things are active I would like to see if all spider egg sacks glow, or if it just some species.  I have a feeling that most do not glow.

This spider web glowed, most others do not

As we were walking past the guinea pig hutch something glowed brightly.  

I had a closer look and it was part of a corn stalk.  I wasn't sure if it was due to guinea pig urine, or if corn stalks normally glow under ultra violet light.  

I noticed something in the guinea pig house glowed brightly

This photo does not show the colour, but the corn stalk was bright yellow/green

Glowing corn stalk under ultraviolet light

I still have some corn in the garden that is standing from last season, so we went to have a look at it.  To my surprise, parts of the corn stalks glowed green/yellow, other parts glowed bright blue.  Some of the corn stalks glow intensely under UV light.  I looked on the internet and have not been able to find any other mention of corn stalks glowing under UV light.

To be honest, I thought the corn looked a bit creepy under UV light.  Blair witch style creepy...

I am interested to see if corn stalks glow when they are alive and growing, or if it is only once they are dead.  It may be that there is some fungus or something breaking down the dead stalks that makes them glow.  I don't know yet but I plan to find out in Summer when I have new corn plants growing.  

Corn glowing under ultraviolet light

My photos don't do it justice

I need to look around and see what else glows under ultraviolet light and take some photos.  I really should also put up a blog post of scorpions under ultra violet light because they look incredible.