Luminescence has been defined as the emission of light from a substance by all processes except incandescence. Energy is first absorbed, then released in the form of light. Luminescence in minerals has been linked with structural defects or the presence of foreign ions that act as activators replacing major ions in the structure, but it may also be an intrinsic property of a mineral.
Of the four main types of luminescence in minerals—fluorescence (q.v,), phosphorescence, thermoluminescence (q.v.), and triboluminescence—the first is most common.
Fluorescence
The term “fluorescence” is derived from the mineral fluorite (CaF2) which fluoresces blue under ultraviolet light if activated by rare-earth elements replacing Ca2+ in the structure. Fluorescence is a useful tool in prospecting and in ore dressing. The tungsten ore mineral scheelite (CaWO4) is a colorless mineral difficult to distinguish from quartzin ordinary light, but it shows up strikingly in the dark under a...
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References
Berry, L. G., and Mason, B. H., 1959. Mineralogy. San Francisco: Freeman, 612p.
Przibram, K., 1956. Irradiation Colours and Luminescence. London: Pergamon, 332p.
White, W. B., 1975. Luminescent materials, Trans. Am. Crystollogr. Assoc., 11, 31–49 [48 references].
Zeller, E. J.; Wray, J. L.; and Daniels, F., 1957. Factors in age determination of carbonate sediments by thermoluminescence, Bull., Am Assoc. Pet. Geol., 41(1), 121–129.
Cross-references
Order-Disorder; Thermoluminescence; see also mineral glossary.
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Vitaliano, C.J., Vitaliano, D.B. (1981). Luminescence . In: Mineralogy. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_67
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