![]() Although these Life Savers do not contain methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen), they do contain menthol (C 10H 20O) and sugar. We don’t recommend this method, however, since you can chip or damage your teeth.Īs an experiment, you can try this with Pep-O-Mint Life Savers. If you’re in the bathroom or you have a hand held mirror, you can chomp into a Wint-O-Green mint and see the sparks fly between your teeth. If you don’t have a hammer, you can try using a pair of pliers or a mortar and pestle. Some ultraviolet energy (visible with a black light) is also produced from the methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen) so that you will see a blue fluorescent color. Chemical bonds in the sugar molecules are broken, providing energy for the electrons in some of the atoms to actually jump around and form positively charged nitrogen ions, which produce a blue or green luminescence. The friction of the hammer on the sugar crystals excites the nitrogen air molecules. The flash of light results from a static electric discharge from fracturing the sugar crystal. It might be helpful to have another person do the hammering, so that you can focus on seeing the flash of light.If you didn’t see the sparks, try again, this time smashing two Life Savers together. ![]() You should be able to see green luminescent sparks. Keep your fingers away from the mint and smash the Life Saver with a hammer.Using your sense of touch, place a Life Saver in the middle of the piece of wood.Wait a few minutes until your eyes adjust to the darkness. Go into a dark room, such as a large bathroom without windows, a spacious closet, or maybe a laundry room.At least one roll of Wint-O-Green Life Savers (Note: Do not use sugar-free Life Savers).You can easily replicate the colored light produced from grinding, cleaving, biting, or scratching a crystal at home with a hammer and some Life Savers. Sir Francis Bacon first discovered Triboluminescence, also known as mechanoluminescence, in 1605 when he scraped a lump of sugar with his knife. You can see triboluminescence! Get your hammer and Wint-O-Green mints ready!
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