Blue Glow Research Articles

Nightingale Floor, and: Refrain, and: Blue Man Song

Nightingale Floor, and: Refrain, and: Blue Man Song David Barber (bio) NIGHTINGALE FLOOR In the innermost roomWithin the inner sanctum Ofnesting planes and turns,An ingenious meansOf making enemies known: In each hewn inch, in betweenEach unseen seam in the grainWhere nails were driven home,A nightingale singing inPiercing strains, slipping in And out of tune each timeA step is taken that canBe mistaken for meaning harm,And then a thousand and oneOf its kind joining in . . . Or instead you can beginTo turn your own thin skinInside out until you're the oneOn the outside looking inAs you sound the alarm— No asylum but the one knownTo a lone sparrow blown in thenOut of a banquet hall from gloomTo gloom in a vision, that oneBright instant in between. [End Page 161] REFRAIN Big house little house back house barnA farmhouse a homestead a little song Form and function one and the sameOne roofline one compound home sweet dung Downhome vernacular rambling onGoing in one ear and out the other end Sing it from the rooftops style is the manBig house little house back house barn A room is a frame is a scheme is a charmBless the hardscrabble we hunker down on Round and around crack of noon stroke of dawnAn old children's playtune a homespun sound One by one going going going goneBig house little house back house barn [End Page 162] BLUE MAN SONG Diagnosis: Argyria Cause of death: Pneumonia Bellevue Hospital 1923 All I can tell you is what I told you before.It's getting to where I can barely get air.My heart keeps pounding like I'm a locked door.I don't know how much more I can bear.But whatever I've got, it's got nothing to doWith the shade of my hide. I was born this blue. Call me a freak, but I know what I know.It must be something else that's laid me low.I've always been tall, I've always been thin,I've always been the bluest of men.Blue tongue, blue lips, toes and fingers all blue,And the whites of my eyes—see, they're blue too. Didn't you know the circus was in town?Haven't you heard about Barnum's Blue Man?Now that you've got me stretched out and stripped down,Can't you see that I'm blue to the bone?You must not know who you're talking toIf you're saying I'm dying to be blue. All my pals told me, up there in BellevueThey'll know what to do, or nobody will.But I'm starting to think you don't have a clueHow to heal a fellow who feels like hell.Whatever I've caught, it's got nothing to doWith my ballyhooed hue. I've always been blue. Go ahead, take it all down one more time.No, I've never set foot in an old silver mine.No, I'm not some kind of a darkroom bum.No, I've never gulped down one bullet or coin.No, no, no, it's just like I've been telling you:When my maker made me, he made me true blue. [End Page 163] I don't have a thing to get off my chest.I was a blue babe at my mother's breast.I grew up blue, and until I drop deadBeing blue is how I'll make my bread.They say even my shadow throws a blue glow,Somewhere between azure and indigo. Since when is being so blue such a sin?Out on the Midway, I've blended right in.There's Rubber Man and there's the Wild Man,And me in between, serene in my skin.It must be the pox or some foul agueThat's got me in knots right out of the blue. I must have heard every sick joke in the bookAbout blue ruin, blue moons, and blue balls...

AlGaAs/GaAs Photovoltaic Converters of Tritium Radioluminescent-Lamp Radiation

Electrical supply sources based on photovoltaic converters and tritium radioluminescent lamps with blue and green glow are developed and fabricated. AlxGa1 –xAs/n-GaAs p–n heterostructures with various band-gap widths (Eg = 1.4–1.9 eV) and compositions of the active region (x = 0.1–0.35) are prepared by low-temperature liquid-phase epitaxy. The photovoltaic converter with an area of S = 0.12 cm2 upon irradiation by a green tritium lamp (wavelength λ = 550 nm) has the short-circuit current density 180 nA/cm2 and output electrical power >100 nW/cm2.

The fluorescent blue glow of banana fruits is not due to symplasmic plastidial catabolism but arises from insoluble phenols estherified to the cell wall

Banana fruits are firstly green due to chlorophyll, then yellow due to carotenoids and finally turn black due to polyphenols. However, bananas glow blue when observed under UV light. It has been reported that chlorophylls fade to give rise to fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (FCCs) in senescent banana leaves and in ripening banana peels. FCCs are short lived catabolic intermediates that ultimately lead to non-fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs). FCCs are abundant in bananas due to hypermodification; therefore, it was concluded that FCC caused yellow bananas to glow blue. Experiments were performed in order to shed new light into the autofluorescence phenomenon. Microscopy performed on living plant samples contradict the interpretation that the fluorescent blue glow is mainly caused by FCC inside the cell. Blue fluorescence in banana emerges from the cell wall, not from the symplasm. It is not primarily caused by soluble chlorophyll catabolites in the vacuoles or senescing plastids. Insoluble phenolics from the apoplast make bananas shine strongly blue under black light. Chlorophyll is a light trap that generates black holes of blue fluorescence, and therefore cells with chloroplasts glow less blue. The white pulp of banana fruits shine more strongly than the outer peel. In both tissues autofluorescence arises from insoluble phenols that are estherified to the cell wall. In monocot species (banana, maize, sugarcanne), blue fluorescense was strongest in the cell wall, whereas in dicots (e.g. arabidopsis, spearmint, hibiscus), blue fluorescence may be dominant from cytosolic, vacuolar or plastidial compartments.

Blue Death of Nematodes

This paper shows that the aging and death of nematodes, accompanied by the ignition of a blue glow under fluorescent microscopy, are not directly linked to any lipofuscin (aging pigment), nor with the anthranilic acid (a product of degradation of tryptophan residues of proteins). The main contribution in the blue flash of the dying nematodes belongs to parasitic light, scattered on the cuticle and bodies of the worm. The main contribution in the blue region at spectrofluorometry of homogenates, obtained from nematodes, really gives anthranilic acid. However, the content of anthranilic acid, measured by spectrofluorimetry, in adult nematodes is lower than that in the young ones. Artificial aging of nematodes by moderate heating revealed no accumulation of anthranilate and no loss of tryptophan, from which it must be formed. Thus, it is hardly lipofuscin or anthranilic acid. The cause of aging and death of nematodes is the formation of strong cross-links between proteins. This is supported by data on tryptophan fluorescence and light scattering of homogenates: the old worms show a large number of denaturated proteins and large protein particles with a strong cross-links, which are not destroyed be detergent.

Redshifted Cherenkov Radiation for in vivo Imaging: Coupling Cherenkov Radiation Energy Transfer to multiple F\xf6rster Resonance Energy Transfers

Cherenkov Radiation (CR), this blue glow seen in nuclear reactors, is an optical light originating from energetic β-emitter radionuclides. CR emitter 90Y triggers a cascade of energy transfers in the presence of a mixed population of fluorophores (which each other match their respective absorption and emission maxima): Cherenkov Radiation Energy Transfer (CRET) first, followed by multiple Förster Resonance Energy transfers (FRET): CRET ratios were calculated to give a rough estimate of the transfer efficiency. While CR is blue-weighted (300–500 nm), such cascades of Energy Transfers allowed to get a) fluorescence emission up to 710 nm, which is beyond the main CR window and within the near-infrared (NIR) window where biological tissues are most transparent, b) to amplify this emission and boost the radiance on that window: EMT6-tumor bearing mice injected with both a radionuclide and a mixture of fluorophores having a good spectral overlap, were shown to have nearly a two-fold radiance boost (measured on a NIR window centered on the emission wavelength of the last fluorophore in the Energy Transfer cascade) compared to a tumor injected with the radionuclide only. Some CR embarked light source could be converted into a near-infrared radiation, where biological tissues are most transparent.

Utilizing the power of Cerenkov light with nanotechnology.

The characteristic blue glow of Cerenkov luminescence (CL) arises from the interaction between a charged particle travelling faster than the phase velocity of light and a dielectric medium, such as water or tissue. As CL emanates from a variety of sources, such as cosmic events, particle accelerators, nuclear reactors and clinical radionuclides, it has been used in applications such as particle detection, dosimetry, and medical imaging and therapy. The combination of CL and nanoparticles for biomedicine has improved diagnosis and therapy, especially in oncological research. Although radioactive decay itself cannot be easily modulated, the associated CL can be through the use of nanoparticles, thus offering new applications in biomedical research. Advances in nanoparticles, metamaterials and photonic crystals have also yielded new behaviours of CL. Here, we review the physics behind Cerenkov luminescence and associated applications in biomedicine. We also show that by combining advances in nanotechnology and materials science with CL, new avenues for basic and applied sciences have opened.

Evidence that ferritin is associated with light production in the mucus of the marine worm Chaetopterus

The blue glow of the mucus from Chaetopterus involves a photoprotein, iron and flavins. Identity and respective role of these components remain, however, largely unresolved today, likely because of viscosity issues and inhibition of this system by oxidizers conventionally used to track bioluminescence activity. Here, we used gentle centrifugation to obtain a mucus supernatant showing no inhibition to oxidizers, allowing for further analysis. We applied conventional chromatographic techniques to isolate major proteins associated with light emission. Luminescence ability of elutriate fractions was tested with hydrogen peroxide to track photoprotein and/or protein-bound chromophore. Fractions producing light contained few major proteins, one with similarity to ferritin. Addition to the mucus of elements with inhibitory/potentiary effect on ferritin ferroxidase activity induced corresponding changes in light production, emphasizing the possible role of ferritin in the worm bioluminescence. DNA of the protein was cloned, sequenced, and expressed, confirming its identity to a Chaetopterus Ferritin (ChF). Both ferric and ferrous iron were found in the mucus, indicating the occurrence of both oxidase and reductase activity. Biochemical analysis showed ChF has strong ferroxidase activity, which could be a source of biological iron and catalytic energy for the worm bioluminescence when coupled to a reduction process with flavins.

Hydrocarbon composition of Russian amber from the Voznovo lignite deposit and Sakhalin Island

Amber of different color and fluorescence has recently been found in a lignite seam in the Zerkal'nenskaya depression, Primorsky Krai, Russia. In this deposit, the amber is associated with abundant charcoal and fusain fragments in the host rocks. Beside three composite samples of different color from the lignite and one composite amber sample from the Sakhalin Island has been included in this study for comparison.Based on previous fluorescence and fluorescence excitation measurements, the blue glow of amber has been related to the fluorescent aromatic hydrocarbon perylene, although FTIR study of the Russian blue amber has not found any distinct signature of this compound. The present analyses using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry have also identified no perylene in any of the four Russian amber samples. The hydrocarbon fractions of the extractable organic matter from the ambers are dominated by C18 to C20 diterpenoids of the labdane, abietane, pimarane, phyllocladane and kaurane types. Their biomarker composition is consistent with the proposed origin from gymnosperms of the families Pinaceae, Cupressaceae, and/or Taxodiacceae. The cause for the blue amber glow could not be clarified based on the commonly used methods of hydrocarbon composition study.

Breakdown of Chlorophyll in Higher Plants--Phyllobilins as Abundant, Yet Hardly Visible Signs of Ripening, Senescence, and Cell Death.

Fall colors have always been fascinating and are still a remarkably puzzling phenomenon associated with the breakdown of chlorophyll (Chl) in leaves. As discovered in recent years, nongreen bilin‐type Chl catabolites are generated, which are known as the phyllobilins. Collaborative chemical‐biological efforts have led to the elucidation of the key Chl‐breakdown processes in senescent leaves and in ripening fruit. Colorless and largely photoinactive phyllobilins are rapidly produced from Chl, apparently primarily as part of a detoxification program. However, fluorescent Chl catabolites accumulate in some senescent leaves and in peels of ripe bananas and induce a striking blue glow. The structural features, chemical properties, and abundance of the phyllobilins in the biosphere suggest biological roles, which still remain to be elucidated.

Facile and Efficient Synthesis of Carbosiloxane Dendrimers via Orthogonal Click Chemistry Between Thiol and Ene.

A combination of a thiol-Michael addition reaction and a free radical mediated thiol-ene reaction is employed as a facile and efficient approach to carbosiloxane dendrimer synthesis. For the first time, carbosiloxane dendrimers are constructed rapidly by an orthogonal click strategy without protection/deprotection procedures. The chemoselectivity of these two thiol-ene click reactions leads to a design of a new monomer containing both electron-deficient carbon-carbon double bonds and unconjugated carbon-carbon double bonds. Siloxane bonds are introduced as the linker between these two kinds of carbon-carbon double bonds. Starting from a bifunctional thiol core, the dendrimers are constructed by iterative thiol-ene click reactions under different but both mild reaction conditions. After simple purification steps the fifth dendrimer with 54 peripheral functional groups is obtained with an excellent overall yield in a single day. Furthermore, a strong blue glow is observed when the dendrimer is excited by a UV lamp.

Isotope program expands activities

To meet the growing demand for isotopes and lessen dependence on foreign sources, the Department of Energy has been realigning its capabilities and connecting with universities.

Influence of ultrasonic frequency on Swan band sonoluminescence and sonochemical activity in aqueous tert-butyl alcohol solutions.

The multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) spectra of t-BuOH aqueous solutions submitted to power ultrasound at 20, 204, 362, and 613 kHz show emissions for the Δυ = -1 to Δυ = +2 vibrational sequences of C2* Swan system (d(3)Πg → a(3)Πu). The Δυ=+2 emission overlaps with the CH(A-X) emission band. The maximal Swan band emission is observed when the MBSL of water itself is almost completely quenched. In general, MBSL is more intense at high-frequency compared to 20 kHz ultrasound. However, in the presence of Xe, the MBSL of C2* at 20 kHz is so bright that it can be seen by the unaided eye as a blue glow in the close vicinity of the ultrasonic tip. The intensity of the C2* band emission exhibits a maximum vs t-BuOH concentration: 0.1-0.2 M at 20 kHz and (1-8) × 10(-3) M at high-frequency ultrasound. Such a huge difference is attributed to a much smaller bubble size at high ultrasonic frequency or, in other words, to a much higher bubble surface/volume ratio providing more efficient saturation of the bubble interior with t-BuOH vapors and to the fact that high frequency bubbles remain active for many more cycles than 20 kHz ones, thus accumulating more hydrocarbon decomposition products. Simulation of the emission spectra using Specair software demonstrated the absence of thermal equilibrium for C2* radicals (Tv > Tr), where Tv and Tr are the vibrational and the rotational temperature, respectively. In Ar, Tv decreases with increasing t-BuOH concentration reaching a steady value in the concentration domain that corresponds to C2* emission maximum intensity. In the presence of Xe an extremely high Tv is obtained, which is explained by the relatively low ionization potential of Xe providing a higher electron temperature of nonequilibrium plasma generated during bubble collapse. Analysis of the gaseous products of t-BuOH sonolysis reveals a significant sonochemical activity even at high t-BuOH concentration when MBSL is totally quenched, indicating that drastic conditions could be produced also within nonsonoluminescing cavitation bubbles.

Blue-fluorescing amber from Cenozoic lignite, eastern Sikhote-Alin, Far East Russia: Preliminary results

Blue and greenish-yellow, in addition to ordinary yellow-orange amber, has recently been found in a lignite seam in the Zerkal'nenskaya depression, Primorsky Krai, Russia. The amber is associated with abundant charcoal and fusain fragments in the host rocks. Its FTIR spectra indicate the presence of significant quantities of volatile matter, including free hydroxyl groups and carbon dioxide. Both CO2 and OH− contents are greater in the greenish-yellow and blue hard varieties, suggesting rapid heating, possibly from a wildfire, followed by rapid cooling in water as a causative agent of amber hardening and extreme polymerization. This process and the following amber deposition in the reduced environment might produce the fluorescent aromatics that have been previously suggested and confirmed by this study as the blue glow main cause.

First assessment of noctilucent cloud variability at midlatitudes

As the Sun dips below the horizon, the last rays of light can glint off crystals of ice high in the atmosphere, lighting up the sky with an electric blue glow. Known as noctilucent clouds, these collections of ice crystals occur most often at high latitudes, but the long polar days make them difficult to see. With the eye, noctilucent clouds can best be seen at night between 50° and 60° latitude in both hemispheres.

Effect of SO2 on the chain reaction of hydrogen oxidation: Intermittent flames

The effect of SO2 on the chain reaction of hydrogen oxidation in the autoignition region (T = 470–510°C and p < 200 torr) is studied. In the absence of SO2 under flow conditions, the process occurs in a low-temperature flame mode with a characteristic pale blue glow. With the addition of sulfur dioxide, SO2 is transformed to elemental sulfur and a new phenomenon is observed. At a small contact time (less than 4–5 s), the process enters the mode of intermittent flames. Dependences of the rate and intensity of light flashes on pressure, temperature, and contact time are studied. An interpretation of the observed phenomenon is given.

Effects of Positive Corona Discharge on PH Value of Tap and Distilled Waters in Liquid system

In this paper, the effect of positive corona discharge on the PH values of tap and distilled waters are studied in water liquid system. The photographs of the results show that the shape of water drop that formed in the end of capillary tube is extended into a cone as well as a blue glow appears at the end of capillary tube. The size of cone decreases with increases of applied voltage and because of the change distance between the liquid electrode and the surface of liquid, the cone diameter at the end of capillary tube oscillates with period approximately 1 Sec. In addition, the PH values of both tested waters are constant when the applied voltage is less than 5 KV, while when the exterinal applied voltage is equal to or greater than 5KV, the PH value of both water types are increases rapidly where the tap water shows increases rate larger than that for distilled water.

Visualizing CH* chemiluminescence in sooting flames

This investigation presents and validates a method to visualize CH* chemiluminescence in a sooting non-premixed flame. Excited-state CH radicals (A2Δ→X2Π, denoted CH*), upon relaxing, emit a photon in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, giving what is seen as a faint blue glow. Optical methods, especially those that rely on passive emission, provide a simple and non-intrusive means to characterize combustion; however, in the presence of hot solid particles – particularly soot – chemiluminescent emission can be obscured by blackbody radiation. This paper describes an image post-processing technique where flame emission is imaged through multiple filters near the CH* emission band in order to infer and filter the contribution of continuum radiation from soot in the CH* band. This information is then used to produce a soot-free image of CH* chemiluminescence.

Comparison the Formation of Spark Corona Discharge between Tap and distilled Waters at Liquid Electrode System

In this paper, we studied the spark corona discharge in tap and distillited waters. The results show the shape of cone that generated on the tip of capillary tube is different with conductivity of liquids. The blue glow appears at the end of capillary tube and the drop extends into a cone. In addition, the conducitivity is affected on the relationship between the appearance of the blue glow discharge with the applied voltage. The size of the cone decreases with an increase in applied voltage. The cone diameter at the base of capillary tube oscillates with period approximately 1 Sec. this oscillates in the cone diameters is due to the change distance between the liquid electrode and the surface of liquid. The intensity of spark corona discharge that formed in tap water higher than that formed in distillited water. In addiation, when the applied voltage is 5 KV on distillted water, the drope extends into two cones while in tap water the drop extends into one cone. These contrast between two water types which under test (i.e. tap and distillited waters) is due to the differance in condictivity of water.

Comparison the Formation of Spark Corona Discharge between Tap and distilled Waters at Liquid Electrode System

In this paper, we studied the spark corona discharge in tap and distillited waters. The results show the shape of cone that generated on the tip of capillary tube is different with conductivity of liquids. The blue glow appears at the end of capillary tube and the drop extends into a cone. In addition, the conducitivity is affected on the relationship between the appearance of the blue glow discharge with the applied voltage. The size of the cone decreases with an increase in applied voltage. The cone diameter at the base of capillary tube oscillates with period approximately 1 Sec. this oscillates in the cone diameters is due to the change distance between the liquid electrode and the surface of liquid. The intensity of spark corona discharge that formed in tap water higher than that formed in distillited water. In addiation, when the applied voltage is 5 KV on distillted water, the drope extends into two cones while in tap water the drop extends into one cone. These contrast between two water types which under test (i.e. tap and distillited waters) is due to the differance in condictivity of water.

The Spectrum of Quantum Dots Film for UV CCD

A new kind of UV-responsive film with quantum dots (QDs) fabricated by a spin-coating method is proposed in this paper. In a previous study, the monolayer QDs film is deposited onto fused silica slides by the spin-coating way, which has some luminous problem. The introduction of composite QDs coating which adds PEDOT:PSS and poly-TPD films to the monolayer QDs film is found to have excellent performance. The reason can be that PEDOT:PSS and poly-TPD weaken the scattering and enhance the emitting of quantum dot fluorescence. The intensity of photoluminescence (PL) for composite QDs coating is dozens of times stronger than that for monolayer QDs film. Experiment results show that this composite coating has excellent fluorescent properties and emits a blue purple glow together a wide excitation spectrum field from 190 nm to 300 nm. The spectrum of the composite coating matches accurately with the detected zone of CCD, which achieves an outstanding UV-responsive coating for conventional silicon-based image sensors.