Abstract
Triboluminescence (TL) is studied in 22 crystals of common inorganic nitrates. With the exception of Zn(NO 3) 2·6H 2O all of the non-centrosymmetric crystals are triboluminescent and all the crystals which do not exhibit TL are centrosymmetric. The TL spectrum of (UO 2)(NO 3) 2·6H 2O crystals shows that the emission originates from both the uranyl ion and from nitrogen. The TL of the other crystals originates from excited states of nitrogen. TL appears concurrently with the sudden force decrease in the fracture region of the force vs compression curve of the crystals. The motion of cracks and thereby the creation of new surfaces is responsible for the excitation of TL. The mechanisms of the TL excitation in piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric crystals are discussed.
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