Article Title

Chem Gems and Joules

Authors

Document Type

Article

Abstract

About thirty years ago it was discovered that crunching on mint Lifesavers will produce green sparks and a crackling noise. Peppermint Lifesavers will produce similar results. According to Lifesavers, Inc. of New York, the mint Lifesavers contain sugar and methyl salicylate (a component of the mint flavoring). When these two compounds are crunched together, a crystalline energy is produced which stimulates the methyl salicylate to emit light. The process is known as triboluminescence.

Publication Date

April 1982

Journal Title

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Volume

19

Issue

1

First Page

30

Last Page

30

Copyright

© Copyright 1982 by the Iowa Academy of Science

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

(1982) "Chem Gems and Joules," Iowa Science Teachers Journal: Vol. 19: No. 1, Article 18.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/istj/vol19/iss1/18