Science Questions

When you snap a glow stick, what makes it glow? Catherine in Ashwell

It's luminol that you're activating. It's a chemical that things like glow worms produce. You can carry it around but to make it glow you need to activate it. What we usually use to activate it is hydrogen peroxide. When you snap a glow stick, it allows the two chemicals to mix together and causes a chemical reaction. The reaction won't last forever, but you can get to do what flies can do naturally.

November 2005