How Does a Firefly Make Its Light?
Although we readily accept the fact that we can get light from a light bulb, the idea of it coming from the tail end of an insect seems somehow mysterious. In reality, however, we find that these two sources of light are really not all that different from one other. Energy can exist in many forms, and although it cannot be created or destroyed, energy can be converted from one form to another. Some possible forms include heat energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, and, most important for this discussion, light energy. Let’s consider our familiar example of the light bulb within the framework of energy conversion. When we turn on a light, electrical energy, supplied by a battery or a live outlet, is converted into light energy as well as heat energy (the light bulb gets hot). The actual light that we see is created when tiny charged particles called electrons, which are contained in the atoms of a metal filament inside the bulb, become energized as the filament heats up due to the
Although we readily accept the fact that we can get light from a light bulb, the idea of it coming from the tail end of an insect seems somehow mysterious. In reality, however, we find that these two sources of light are really not all that different from one other. Energy can exist in many forms, and although it cannot be created or destroyed, energy can be converted from one form to another. Some possible forms include heat energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, and, most important for this discussion, light energy. Lets consider our familiar example of the light bulb within the framework of energy conversion. When we turn on a light, electrical energy, supplied by a battery or a live outlet, is converted into light energy as well as heat energy (the light bulb gets hot).
For countless ages children and grown ups have loved the fairy lights of the flickering fireflies. Some of the cleverest scientists have tried to find out how the bitsy bugs light their tiny bulbs. Many experts also wondered how the lightning bugs manage to flash their signals on and off. Peop1e have always admired the wonders of nature and tried to explain how they work. The age of science began when thoughtful people used their heads to find out why the sky is blue, why the grass is green and how fireflies make their fairy flashes of light. An up to date expert does not believe one of these problems is solved until he can prove it and prove it and prove it with tests. The experts started trying to find the secrets of the firefly about 100 years ago. Since then they have found some of the chemicals that the happy little bug uses to light his bulb. They know that it is a splendid light that glows without also becoming warm. It would be fine to know how this trick is done, because all o
Sitting outside on summer evenings, you may have wondered how fireflies make those bright little flashes of light. To begin with, the firefly is not a fly, it is a beetle. And inside that beetle’s stomach are five chemicals. When oxygen enters the firefly’s body, it stimulates a nerve reaction which causes those five chemicals t
